Personalized Christmas Throws
As gifts, gifts to nail it. Cards, bonds, and the oldest checks or vouchers will be the last thing this Christmas, predict traders, restaurants, Internet portals and travel agencies. The so-called personalized christmas throws gifts, and have decided to call them experts in marketing, are a rising trend, which appeared a few years ago, but this holiday is poised to raze. In some establishments, 35% of projected sales for the next few days will be made through this system, already triumphant in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The phenomenon is growing because it is simple and convenient for buyers and because it guarantees success, as it is the receiver who ultimately ends up choosing his gift, said a spokesman for El Corte Ingles department store that introduced vouchers present in Spain for over 40 years. The format has changed the title redeemable in recent times, but the philosophy remains the same, he adds. People want to receive gifts that are appropriate to their needs, says Javier Sanchez, the communication device of Deloitte, a British consultant for six years analyzing the habits of Spanish consumers Christmas. Another trend confirmed in the report is the rise of the Internet as means of purchase and the importance of social networks to detect special offers and product assessments. In the last three or four years, custom gift cards have clearly gained ground, to the point that they now represent 35% of sales this holiday season, supports Germà Meritxell, commercial director of the Spa Broquetas, an establishment with Headquartered in Caldes de Montbui (Vallès Oriental) who pioneered the use of Catalan in the hotel system. The model has two great virtues, say its advocates: a diversity of products and the very wide range of amounts expected. Typically in gifts made to personal bonds are between 25 and 100 euros, indicate sources of Inditex, the company that sells, among others, the brands Zara, Massimo Dutti and Pull & Bear. The successful formula has been such that, for this Christmas, has launched a new voucher at Zara that can be recharged with the amount the customer chooses from 25 to 500 euros. Usually the buyers are people from middle-high, residents in urban areas, the spokesman of the English Court. The trend also prevails in corporate gifts. Some use them to pay incentives and, in recent years have replaced the traditional batch and personalized christmas throws baskets for employees, she says. Meanwhile the traditional trade this December, hopes to leave behind one of the worst years in recent years. People have content still further, the expenditure. In November alone, sales have fallen by between 10% and 15% over the same month in 2009, said Joan Mateu, Barcelona president of the foundation Commerce. So bad things are sure that personalized christmas throws will not be worse, he adds. Traders expect this season to recover from what they have left to join the rest of the year, people have gone with the handbrake on, the crisis or the possibility of becoming unemployed, says . At the moment, given the reaction of consumers after the bridge of the Constitution, there are good prospects, advances Mateu. People have already seen and compared and it is expected that this weekend will get down to work and start buying at least until January 6, he says. The sectors that have the best selling items are those that can be given as gifts, from toys, computers and textiles and footwear to homeware. And, of course, food, emphasizes. . . .
