The processes behind the giving of gifts!

For me, the amount of thought that is put into gift giving is dependent on who the gift is for, and what kind of present is in mind. To buy a pair of socks would require a different level of thought and involvement (absolutly zero for me!) compared with buying an expensive piece of jewellery or a new mobile phone or computer.

It seems that mainly items of higher value and interest to the purchaser will be an involved decision as there are more risks involved with the purchase. 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 assumpton about you based on the product?)

A present that is always somewhere on a girl's christmas or birthday wish list is perfume. Laurent and Kapferer use a number scale to rate the level of involvement put into buyng different products. Perfume rates very highly across all components affecting consumer decisions, indicating that buying perfume is a highly involved process. This may be because of pricing; perfumes can be fairly expensive, so wanting the best for your money will be important, especially in this economical climate. Another factor that would affect the purchase of a perfume may be the worry of making a bad purchase - will the recipent like the scent, will your choice of perfume for others send out a message about you, and will it be a positive one or a negative one?

Looking at a scale based on Kotlers Buyer Decision process, it is stated that the more often you buy a product (routine based items such as coffee, loo paper), the less involvement. This is due to the fact they that they are bought on a regular basis so no thought it needed in the decision process. Items however that are bought infrequently require a high amount of involvement because it will not be a purchase that you are used to making. For christmas, my brother wanted a popcorn maker, a product that I had never bought before in my life! This meant that there was a lot of involvement because I wanted to look around at the different options so to get the best I could for my money. I visited a range of different shops and asked shop assistants probably really stupd questions, but it was because ths was a product that was alien to me, therefore I needed to to put more involvement into the process than I would have done if I were buying him a Wii game etc.

One of the main factors affecting purchasing decsions 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. Different products have different features that helo to drive the value of that product. It could be the functionality...something that can be utilised. It could be that the product is symbolic, either through its branding or its image; giving the consumer that extra reason to choose their product over another. Finally the purchase could be hedonistic, involving a sense of fun. For instance, my dad will always buy my brother and separate silly presents at christmas, last christmas I got given a mini Henry desk hoover...a little dig at me for never dusting! This gift would therefore fall nto the funxtional category as well as the hedonistic category.

Danziger (2004) states that the process of gift giving creates an emotional connection between the purchaser and receiver. He sees the element of emotion as the main factor affecting decision making, the ultimate goal of purchasing gifts to result in a special feeling, both by the purchaser and the receiver. Danziger looks at the gift as a symbol of a message wanted to be portrayed to the receiver. This can be demonstrated by taking champagne as an example; if you receive champagne as a gift, it normally gives out the message of celebration. If the giver and recipient's value drivers differ however, this can lead to problems in the emotional connection and message sent out.

This theory of emotion affecting purchases supports the fact that gift selection is right brain dominated, the emotional side of the brain. The selection of the store to get the gift from however, is decided from the left side of the brain, the rational thinking side. 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. Some shops will try to create a more enjoyable shopping experience by offering extra unpaid for 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.