Articles and News
Shoppers Seek Out Personalized, Thoughtful Holiday Gifts to Feel Connected During Pandemic November 19, 2020 (0 comments)
Englewood Cliffs, NJ--CNBC's Melissa Repko writes, "Shoppers seek out personalized, thoughtful holiday gifts to feel connected during pandemic," in this article. Care packages, such as the ones made by Gift Box Love Co., has been a popular gift item on Etsy during the pandemic. (Image Credit, Gift Box Love via CNBC.)
From the article:
KEY POINTS
- Online searches on Etsy and Pinterest indicate that holiday shoppers are seeking out meaningful holiday gifts, from personalized items to handmade goods.
- In a recent report, Nielsen predicted that homemade gifts and cooking will thrive during the holiday season, especially among shoppers who are on a tight budget or want to limit trips outside of the home.
- Some retailers have adapted their approach to reflect that mindset, such as Home Depot’s collaboration with Pinterest and Signet Jewelers’ development of jewelry lines with a sentimental story behind them.
For about two years, Ashley Houck has put together care packages of items like candles, bath salts and caramels with a personalized note. She ships the gift boxes from her home in Iowa to recipients across the country to mark milestones, from birthdays and breakups to the death of a parent.
Business picked up in mid-March, however, as the coronavirus pandemic brought much of life to a halt. Orders shot up from around 15 to 20 per day to about 200, said Houck, founder of Gift Box Love Co.
“It got to the point where we were running all the time just getting orders out,” she said. “I had my mom come in. My mother-in-law come in. My brother. We were all just packaging orders, just to keep up.”