Research by gifting company The SOL Group reveals that one in two men will let you know if they don’t like the gift they receive and a whopping 75 per cent will give away, return or re-gift a present they don’t like, something worth knowing with Father’s Day just around the corner.
Results show that 49 per cent of male respondents believe honesty is the best policy when receiving gifts they don’t like, compared with 32 per cent of women. Further, 77 per cent of men won’t keep gifts they don’t like, with 43 per cent saying they give them away, 36 per cent re-gift them and 18 per cent will exchange them.
Choosing the right gift is a real challenge, says The SOL Group’s gift manager, Rebecca Horsey, and we are still not getting it right.
“Thirty-nine per cent of men who had re-gifted admitted that they already had the item, and a further 34 per cent said the gifts were not suitable,” she explains.
“To reduce the chances of your gift being re-gifted, it’s best to ask people who know that person well for ideas, or you could even ask the gift recipient for some hints. There are some gifts, however, that are universally loved, such as fine food and wine packs, and gift cards. Three quarters of our survey respondents said they would love to receive a voucher as a gift.”
However, many Aussies don’t seem to mind receiving re-gifted presents. Just 31 per cent of all respondents and 35 per cent of male respondents said they would be offended or disappointed if they received a gift they knew had been re-gifted while, in true Aussie spirit, 22 per cent said they would be amused.
Horsey says that with our busier-than-ever daily schedules, reliance on technology and increasing access to online shopping, convenience has become king—even in gifting.
“I believe many people have been guilty of adopting a ‘what can I get away with?’ attitude when gift giving, and there is also etiquette to follow when receiving gifts,” says Horsey. “It is time to take a long hard look at our current gifting habits, and update old-fashioned gifting etiquette rules to suit our modern lifestyles.”
By Marion Gerritsen
