From The Straits Times    |
Singapore is a nation of ‘gift-givers’ THUMBNAIL.jpg

Results of a recent survey show that Singaporeans are fairly generous when it comes to giving gifts, 44.5 per cent of you spend more than $200 on a gift for a special someone!

Singapore is a nation of gift-givers.jpg

According to the report conducted by “experience gift” company uniQgift, “97 per cent of respondents said that they do not feel that gifts are a waste of money”. So there you go, Singapore is a nation of generous people.

Forty-five per cent of you will spend over $200 on something for “someone special” and another 24.3 per cent spend between $100 and $200; you’ll spend up to $200 on gifts for family members, and around half of you spend up to $50 on your friends and colleagues.

Singaporeans will even spend up to $20 on gifts for acquaintances – 75 per cent of the respondents said so.

Although you are prepared to spend on gifts, the report said that convenience is more important than having lots of choice when you’re choosing them. Malls are the most popular choice as places to find gifts, but online shopping is increasingly important; one in three respondents use the web to shop or at least do their product research.

With the festive season just around the corner – obviously the time most of us do a huge amount of gift-giving – people are already moaning about “shopping hell”. The uniQgift report found that 48.1 per cent of their respondents do most of their festive shopping at the last minute; talk about putting it off.

And although you’d think women would be the most organised when it comes to Christmas shopping, the uniQgift report said that 60 per cent of the “last minute shoppers” were actually women.

However, the burden is lessened somewhat by the Singapore shopper’s tendency to “pick up presents” all year round during sales, especially during the Great Singapore Sale.

So, with all this gift-giving going on, what do you actually like to receive? According to the report, the top three gifts included dining opportunities, spa treatments, vacations and vouchers. The least liked gifts? Basically anything “generic” – pens, photo frames or anything that lacked personality or appeared to have been chosen for the person receiving the gift.

As for all those unwanted gifts, Singaporeans usually “re-gift” or recycle them; the most “re-gifted” item? The photo frame; 61 per cent of the respondents in the uniQgift survey said that they pass these on as quickly as they can.

It makes you wonder if there’s a finite number of photo frames circling around the island?

Other items that topped the least wanted list included candles and toiletries like aromatherapy oils and bath salts.

So, before you head out this festive season on a mad dash to the shops for “something for Auntie Mary”, think about what she’ll actually enjoy. You could try going online for something more thoughtful, or give a dining voucher or spa package. 

At least that way you won’t end up with yet another photo frame to get rid of this time next year.

Singapore is a nation of gift-givers Divine Desserts.jpgThe Singapore Gifting Trends 2011 Survey by  polled over 300 Singaporeans over a two-month period, with a fairly even split between men and women. uniQgift creates gift packages based on themes like food and dining out, spas and wellness retreats or activities, sports and adventure activities and even fun workshops like cooking classes. You can get one of these “gift boxes” – which includes a voucher and information about the “experience” online from www.uniqgift.com, or from Harris Bookstore at Great World City and The French Bookshop at Turf City. There are 14 different themes to choose from. Prices range from $38 for Divine Desserts (for two people) up to $268 for Gastronomy (also for two people).

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