Will Christmas,Birthdays and Valentines Day ever be Abolished.....?

The amount of effort and thought that has to be put into the process of gifts and presents is quite possibly the most painful thing i can think of doing after gauging out my eyes with a toothpick.....a slight exaggeration i hear you say but it really is not.

The consideration process is immense its like sitting my year 9 s.a.t's test, i suppose the the purchase of a present is highly dependent on who i am purchasing for,after i have written this blog i am sure that i will be buying for people in the near future is socks....

The purchasing of gifts of any sort has a a level of involvement whether it be high or low there will always be a thought a process behind each process, for example you know to get your aunt a tin of shortbread as all your going to get is a horrible jumper that the moths love and that you get your other aunt a bottle of smelly stuff as you know what ever present she produces will be cracking!!



Obviously the higher the cost the higher the consumer involvement,as there is a higher risk when making a purchase of high value,things like this would be a car,holiday or house.

This can be described by Laurent and Kapferer (1985) who argue there are 4 components that affect a consumers purchasing decision.



1. Importance and Risk. FTPEPS - Finance, Time, Performance, Ego, Physical and Social.



2. The probability of making a bad purchase (the product may not work, or there may be a problem).



3. Pleasure value of product category ( enjoyment in purchase transaction).



4. Sign value of product category (What will others think of the product; will they make an assumption about you based on the product?)



but with this i ask the question,are you being judged on the gifts you are giving to people? i say with this economic climate people should be happy with what they are given!?!



Consumer Involvement By Pirjo Laaksonen says that "Confusion arises between product importance and involvement"

Taken from the same online text Mital 1989 argues that it is the importance facet that is the proper representative of involvement itself.

I believe both of these statements to be true because if the product has a functionality then the idea behind purchasing it is high and if it will be an everyday object like socks then although it is important the functionality and involvement behind the purchase is low compared to the amount of use a computer could possibly be.
One of the main factors affecting purchasing decisions currently, whether it be for a gift or for a regular purchase, is value. People are wanting to spend less but obtain the same results for their money.
Do emotions really effect the purchasing process.......? what i have found is that when i am buying a gift for a friend which is rare i tend to buy an item that will create a nostalgic feeling for him or her, i feel that buying a gift should make the recipient feel good and actually remind them of a time or a person ((PREFERABLY ME))
emotions affecting purchases supports the fact that gift selection is right brain dominated, the emotional side of the brain, the process begins by the selection of the store to get the gift from however,this is decided by the rational thinking side,the left side of the brain, This has a big impact on marketing as it is is the experience of the shopping experience in the particular shop that will affect whether the customer will return or not.

Danzinger (2004) takes a different approach to gift- giving and suggests that gift-giving emotionally connects the giver and the receiver, therefore creating emotional shopping where the goal is to achieve a special feeling by giving a gift that communicates a message.

Shops and stores a always trying to create a more enjoyable shopping experience by offering extras, extras such as wrapping the product and placing it in elegant looking bags; making the purchase feel special, creating an emotional connection with the purchaser before the gift has even been given to the receiver.

A post from myself just would not be the same without a video so here is one for you to enjoy....

Practical

Giving

Emotional

I stick to my earlier point that from now on all i will ever be buying for anyone is a sock...not a pair just a sock,there for they can look forward to me giving them the other sock for their birthday,Christmas or Easter if i am feeling generous....