Holiday Shoppers More Likely to Give Food Gifts During Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa

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Nov 16, 2018, 11:25 ET

ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- It's beginning to look a lot like food gifting season. Market research firm Packaged Facts estimates 54% of those who purchased food gifts for others in the last 12 months have done so for the winter holidays of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Likewise, 29% of those who have purchased food gifts for themselves have done so during this period.

The findings were published in the report Food Gifting in the U.S.: Consumer and Corporate, 6th Edition.

"The winter holidays have become a food gifting mainstay," says David Sprinkle, research director for Packaged Facts. "Even food gifting sales for other popular occasions including birthdays, Valentine's Day, and Mother's Day can't match the flurry of activity during the winter holidays."

Types of Food Gifts Given and Motivations for Purchasing

Overall, boxed chocolates/candies remain the most prevalently chosen food gift that people purchase for others, with some 27% of food gifters purchasing boxed chocolates/candies for someone else in the past 12 months, according to Packaged Facts' survey. Other relatively widely purchased food gifts include coffee/tea/hot chocolate gifts, sweet baked gift foods, nut/salty snack gift foods, and popcorn tins/gifts.

Not to be overlooked, convenience is an important motivating factor that food gift purchasers cite as a reason for choosing to give these types of presents. Part of convenience involves delivery availability and purchase convenience for out-of-state gifting. Givers also often consider food gifts as ideal for people who "don't really need anything" but who nevertheless would enjoy a high-quality and attractive present.

Amazon and E-Commerce are Pivotal, but In Person Purchases at Walmart and Other Stores Still Trending

While online shopping may be an important component of the food gifting purchase experience, it remains a supplementary driver. Some 29% of food gifters say they typically look for specialty food gifts they can purchase online.

Packaged Facts estimates that 36% of food gifters have purchased food gifts at Walmart and 27% purchased them at similar stores such as Target and Kmart. Some 30% purchased food gifts from a traditional supermarket and 28% did so from a warehouse club.

Ever omnipresent Amazon is used to buy food gifts by 24% of respondents. Some 10% of respondents use this source the most for their food gifting needs. Other digital-only options, such as online floral retailer and other online-only retailer, rank near the bottom of the list.

About the Report

For this report, food gifts are defined as food items that are packaged in a way that is suitable for gifting. Food gifts must be purchased; a food item prepared at home and given to someone is not included. There are two types of food gifts: 1) Gift-packaged candy – includes boxed chocolates, other gift-packaged chocolate and non-chocolate gift-packaged candy; and 2) Specialty food gifts – gift-packaged foods other than candy/chocolate. Food gifts range from baskets of treats to eat while watching football to food gift baskets at Christmas or birthdays. Food gifts can be purchased for any occasion or no occasion, for someone else or for oneself. While some food gifts, particularly assortments, may include beverages such as coffee or alcohol, those products as stand-alone gifts are excluded from this report. Food baskets refer to pre-packaged assortments of foods and beverages, not consumer-assembled baskets of these items.

View additional information about Food Gifting in the U.S.: Consumer and Corporate, 6th Edition, including purchase options, the abstract, table of contents, and related reports at Packaged Facts' website: https://www.packagedfacts.com/updates/Food-Gifting.

About Packaged Facts

Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer market topics, including consumer demographics and shopper insights, consumer financial products and services, consumer goods and retailing, and pet products and services. Packaged Facts also offers a full range of custom research services. Reports can be purchased at our company website and are also available through MarketResearch.com.

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SOURCE Packaged Facts