PPB July 2021

become critical to the buying process, and advances in shipping have made it possible to have nearly any type of goods delivered. For businesses, rapid product innovation and enhanced personalized options have created exponential gifting capabilities, and ecommerce continues to reshape the gift-giving experience. During the pandemic, as consumers used gifts to stay in touch while staying safe, more people navigated the ecommerce landscape, ordering and sending gifts to loved ones, and their online shopping behavior changed along with the rapid digital transformation and ecommerce growth. According to digital marketing firmNetElixir, the online gifting industry saw the biggest growth in new online shoppers last year, growing eight percent year-over-year in 2020 compared to 2019. NetElixir also found that Millennials and Gen Z’s contributed the most to the pool of new online shoppers and according to Google, global searches for “online gift” increased by 80 percent in 2020 compared to 2019. In promotional products sales, business gifts was the second most-popular program category in 2020 (after brand awareness) at 15.3 percent, contributing $2.9 billion in total distributor sales, according to PPAI’s 2020 Sales Volume Report. Luxury food and beverage provider Cartwright & Butler reports that 95 percent of businesses see corporate gifting as an indispensable part of their business strategy because employee recognition gifts help keep employees engaged and feeling appreciated during tough times. Joelle Stahlecker, CAS, marketing coordinator for supplier Maple Ridge Farms, says that gourmet food gifts have been an easy way for businesses to reach out to clients and employees. “Working through a distributor, an insurance company put together a promotion, mailing our treat cylinder filled with gourmet treats, a sweatband and a jump rope to employees to remind them to stand up and step away from their desks while working from home. It was a great initiative to keep employees motivated in improving their health,” she says. Research firm Alyce reports that 70 percent of people say they would like to receive a gift that was uniquely selected for them based on their interests, and the same percentage believe that a hand-selected gift will entice them to do business with a company, making unique gifts 2.3 times more powerful than standard, one-size- fits-all choices. Gifts reflect both the giver and receiver’s personalities, so for clients looking to strengthen or build relationships, encourage them to give unique gifts that reflect the response and reaction they want to achieve with recipients. Picture Perfect For clients looking to commemorate an event or connect with their employees, photo-personalized gifts are one-size-fits-all. Products that can incorporate personal photos are impactful, representing a large portion of the total personalized gift market, according to consumer research firm Technavio. The personalization of photo-related products can elevate any promotion and effectively demonstrate brand values. The global personalized gift market is expected to grow to $31.6 billion by 2021, representing a growth of over 50 percent from 2016 when the market for personalized gifts was estimated to be $20.5 billion. While it’s easy to snap a picture, getting the photo off the screen takes time and money. According to Keypoint Intelligence, people will take 1.4 trillion photos in 2021, most of which will not be printed. The growth of camera phones and digital cameras has made it easier to share and store countless photos, significantly diminishing the need for film and traditional film development. But the novelty and aesthetic of retro film cameras has once again popularized Polaroid and disposable cameras in mainstream media, signaling the continued vitality of printed photos. In the promotional products industry, disposable cameras are available with a branded wrapper and photo-related products—such as easel-backed frames and desk cubes that hold a printed photo along with pens and paperclips—signal the rise in consumer interest for more creative ways to capture, share and display cherished memories or artwork. Clients can also choose unique and trendy photo-related products like a photo- personalized puzzle or a digital photo frame to instantly display pictures from their smartphones. Whether for a school graduation or a sales meeting, personalized photo keepsakes show thoughtfulness that help clients connect with every recipient. | JULY 2021 | 51 GROW