What are you giving your loved one this Christmas?
PAMELA Falk plans to give her 61- year-old boyfriend a lower-face lift that costs about $7,000 for Christmas. In return, she’s asking for $15,000 in surgery to tighten her thighs and buttocks.“This is a gift that keeps giving,” said Falk, a 53-year-old private-label home furnishings maker in Philadelphia.
Cosmetic surgery and surfing lessons are replacing more conventional gifts this holiday season as luxury shoppers spend on personal services. About a quarter of consumers will give such presents this year, said Pam Danziger, founder of a marketing firm that tracks spending among the wealthy.
“Americans have such enormous material wealth, most people really don’t need anything else,” said Danziger, who runs Unity Marketing Inc. in Stevens, Pennsylvania. “My guess is that this will continue to grow as a category.”
Every year, shoppers go through Herculean efforts to buy gifts that will please family and friends. But all too often items like clothes are returned to the store, said Annette McEvoy, a New York-based retail consultant. They get a kick out of giving something unusual, said McEvoy, whose clients include Merrill Lynch & Co.
The boom in spending on personal services during the holidays is being fuelled by the popularity of gift cards, many of which are used to pay for services, said Valerie Keating, president of American Express Co.’s prepaid services group.
“Gift cards have fuelled the expansion of the category, providing easier and more convenient ways to give valued experiences, from a day at the spa to a night on the town,” Keating said.
Fifty-seven percent of 1,033 consumers American Express surveyed in mid-October planned to purchase gift cards this year, compared with 55 percent in 2004. As of December 18, 47 per cent of 801 consumers polled had bought gift cards, compared with 40 percent a year ago, the America’s Research Group in Charleston, South Carolina, said today.
“If you project to the future, the entire consumer economy is going experiential as retailers figure out how to sell these things in a good way,” Danziger said.
The trend is also gaining as sales of traditional items declined. Home goods, apparel and jewellery fell 5.9 per cent to $48 billion in 2003, while health care, education and monetary gifts jumped 17 per cent to $62 billion, according to McEvoy’s most recent figures, which are based on the US Department of Labour Statistics diary of consumer expenditures.
Baby boomers 45 to 54 years old were the biggest gift- giving age group, with purchases of $37 billion in 2003, McEvoy said. By income, those with annual income of $70,000-plus spend the most, a total of $53 billion.
There is a certain magic in giving a gift that thrills and that magic can come from an experience rather than an item. If you want to cast the Christmas spell over a dog lover, then abracadabra, the web site signaturedays.com has got the perfect gift — a day in the country for a loved one’s canine companion for $75.
As part of the package, six to eight dogs are picked up and dropped off in a specially outfitted Jeep Grand Cherokee, according to Greg Beaubien, a spokesman for the site, which was founded in June 2004.
“We bound up trails, jump in streams, roll in the sand, climb mountains, chase butterflies, sniff fresh air, whatever it takes,” the web site promises. “These trips are truly a dog’s idea of heaven.”
In San Francisco, the site was offering two-hour surfing lessons for women for $90. By the end of the session, students are able to get up on a surfboard and know their “ever-important surfing etiquette.”
Elective health-related gifts alone could grow to a $50 billion category in five to ten years, McEvoy predicted.
“You’re always kind of racking your brain to find something that is different, that they are going to really enjoy and something that is more lasting than a sweater,” said Bandujo. “And I can enjoy it too.”
Last year, the Bandujo family gave itself a trip to Miami.
Americans are also giving philanthropic donations for others. On the web site charitygift.com recipients get to choose the charity, which include Action Against Hunger in New York.
Alternatively, they can buy car emission credits for their SUV-driving friends by going to www.driveneutral.org and purchasing green 2006 certification decals.
“For about the cost of a single tank of gas, we can help you neutralise your emissions for an entire year. Your payment goes directly to projects that reduce global pollution,” the web site says. The site has an emissions calculator.
The World of Disney Store in New York offers a $49 princess lesson that includes an hour of story-telling, singing, and game-playing, culminating in a coronation. “The story concludes with special keepsakes and memories that last forever,” according to the store’s web site.
“Does this means there are going to be no presents and retailing will shut down?” McEvoy said. “No, but that produces a powerful market that can cannibalise the mall.”
Women’s apparel retailer Talbots Inc. has its sales staff urging husbands to combine gift cards with restaurant certificates to create for their wives shopping days with their friends. Talbots will wrap the cards together.
“That whole gift shift to experience is something we have seen the past few seasons and it’s definitely growing,” said Talbots spokeswoman Betsy Thompson. “It’s about giving the gift that has special meaning past the morning of the holiday.”
For Falk and her boyfriend, giving each other plastic surgery is more than just exchanging gifts. It’s also about the experience of taking care of each other, she said.
She is so enthusiastic that she’s spreading the word.
“Two of my friends are also giving surgery as gifts,” Falk said.
