Wednesday, 10 December 2014

The thought really is worth the most

Consumers put a ton of thought into purchasing for others, perhaps more so than they do when purchasing for themselves. There are multiple things to consider when purchasing for someone else such as your own relationship with them, the time you've known them, how you know them, what their interests are and personality is like, what the occasion is for the gift giving, and so on. Not only is there several aspects about your relationship to consider when buying someone a gift, you must also consider the potential risks involved.

In class there were many different outcomes discussed in regard to getting someone a gift such as an epiphany where the individual receiving the gift views it as a turning point in the relationship. This could be viewed negatively or positively depending on what the gift was and how it was perceived. In turn, this can cause a lot of anxiety for the gifter when making their decision in what to buy for another. However, the thought of finding someone the perfect gift can be just as exciting on the other end of the spectrum.

With the holiday season quickly approaching I've had to think long and hard about the gifts in which I am buying for those close to me. My roommates and I do a Secret Santa gift exchange, and this was by far the easiest and most fun gift to purchase. This ties in to class discussion around the achievement and satisfaction one gets out of buying for another. Since my roommate and I have such similar personalities and interests it was super easy for me to shop for her!



On the other hand I also had to buy for someone whom I'm not particularly close with, yet her opinion of me greatly matters. This particular gift was for my significant other's mom, so a fair amount of thought went into it. This is where the anxiety and stress of gift giving ties in. It wasn't necessarily an epiphany moment I was looking towards with her gift, more of an affirmation as I already am confident she thinks positively of me. Because of her role in my life it is important the gift is remains fairly conservative yet still show that I know her well enough. With this I decided to head to Bath and Body works for their candle collection as well as Chapters for a book. The candle was a more general purchase, however the book was something I knew she would like. Her and I always chat about what we're reading and what we have really enjoyed before, and this particular book was something I had read in the past was something I remembered her saying she was quite interested as well.
The gifts!
She ended up loving the gift I got her and thus gaining the affirmation of our current relationship!