Atomik Research were commissioned by Boots to conduct PR research aimed at exploring the concept of Generation ‘G’; Generation Gifter. The research looked specifically at what people look for in the perfect present and how many people are using social media to make sure they get a gift spot on. To find out Atomik Research surveyed 2,002 UK adults.
Key findings from the PR research include:
- Almost 3 in 4 (73%) UK adults feel putting thought into gifting is the most important part.
- Just over a quarter of UK adults (26%) feel the most important part of a gift is who it’s from.
- Almost 1 in 5 (18%) feel presentation is everything when it comes to gift giving.
- Over a quarter of British adults who celebrate Christmas (26%) are in agreement that Mum buys the best gifts.
- Colleagues are considered the worst gifters (2%)
- A third of British adults who celebrate Christmas (33%) will turn to Facebook for gifting inspiration
- The most common way to drop hints for your Christmas list is to accidently drop them into random conversation (37%), almost 1 in 5 (18%) tag friends/ family in product posts on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) and create online wish lists (18%)
- Just under 1 in 10 British adults who celebrate Christmas (8%) admit to checking the receivers browsing history for gifting inspiration
- Of those who use social media for gifting inspiration over 1 in 5 (21%) look through the posts that they have liked on Instagram, tips and hints were also found by looking through their posts to get sense of personality (19%) or looking at who they are following and the kind of things they like (19%).
- When deciding who buys the best gift and why we look forward to it over half (55%) would agree it’s because they put the most thought into it.
- Almost a third (29%) look forward to receiving gifts that are useful/ practical from their favoured gift giver.
- Pets (16%) are more likely than grandparents (8%) to receive receive gifts at Christmas
- On average, we spend 11.7 hours researching gifts online and in-store before committing to buying goods for friends and family.
- Over a quarter of UK adults (26%) will tend to leave buying their partners gift to the last minute.
- On average UK adults are most generous with their partners gift (£50.80)
- On average UK adults will spend £4.33 more on Mum than Dad
- On average UK adults are more generous with their friends (£24.40) than their siblings (combined average £18.91).
- Over half of us (53%) have had a previous gift that we didn’t like.
- Main reasons behind this are:
- It didn’t suit/ wasn’t appropriate for me (58%)
- It wasn’t thoughtful (31%)
- It was cheap (28%)
- They made no effort (26%)
- Overall UK adults feel positively about workplace Secret Santa as 40% claim to enjoy it vs 15% who do not enjoy it.
- Over 1 in 5 women buy gifts for their pets for Christmas (21%) in comparison with just over 1 in 10 men (11%)
The research was part of a wider campaign created in conjunction with our parent company, 4media group, which consisted of research and broadcast PR elements. The broadcast day was fronted by Girls Aloud star, Kimberly Walsh, who gave broadcasters more insight into the findings of the research.
The campaign achieved widespread media coverage, picking up interviews across national and regional media. Highlights included Sky News, Capital Radio, Heart Online, BBC Leeds, BBC Radio Somerset, BBC Radio Oxford, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, BBC Radio Derby, BBC Radio West Midlands, BBC Radio Norfolk and much more!
