There’s an element of social obligation and pressure to equal the value and meaning of gifts you’ve received. And while research has found that 78% of Australians enjoy giving gifts, it’s all wrapped up in inherent social risk.

Getting a gift wrong can genuinely harm relationships. So when those gifts are for our nearest and dearest – the people we love most in the world – the stakes suddenly feel uncomfortably high.

In his book Scroogenomics, economist Joel Waldfogel called purchasing gifts for others a “terrible way to allocate resources” purely because gift-givers lack knowledge of what recipients actually want.

Waldfogel estimated that, in the US, about USD $12 billion is ‘misallocated’ over the Christmas period alone (this was back in 2009). Worldwide, he put that figure at US $25 billion.

More recently, research from the Australian Institute found that about 6.1 million Aussies expect to receive Christmas presents they will never use.

That waste is estimated to cost $921 million, contributing to the 275,000 tonnes of Christmas waste (including food, wrapping and decorations) expected to end up in landfills over the season.

Bad gifts can have social and environmental consequences. Great ones, on the other hand, strengthen relationships and don’t contribute to landfills—time and money well spent.

Personalisation done differently: What role do retailers play?

There’s an opportunity here for retailers to make life easier for their customers – helping them to choose the right gifts for the right people, and saving them time and money, while alleviating some of the anxiety that comes with gifting.

Ultimately it comes down to personalisation, not only relating to the customer’s own preferences, but to their network of family and friends too.

The digital revolution has led to personalisation in all manner of products and services (think Spotify and Netflix recommendations), and consumers have come to expect the same treatment in retail.

But historically, this has been tricky when it comes to gifts (and if you’ve ever scanned the ‘for mum/dad/him/her’ sections online or in-store, you’ll know that many miss the mark entirely).

Impersonal shopping experiences are frustrating, and consumers are overwhelmingly more likely to shop with brands that provide offers and recommendations relevant to them. 

Good personalisation, however, creates a strong emotional attachment to a brand – especially when combined with the warm and fuzzy feeling of absolutely nailing a gift.

Throughout the year, there are opportunities for retailers to help their high-value customers to buy presents for their loved ones that they will actually use and enjoy.

How Omneo can help

Omneo’s range of personalisation capabilities can help you help your customers to give better gifts. We believe that’s something they will thank you for. 

Here’s how we can help:

Gift cards

Gift cards are the ultimate form of customer referral; gift givers are essentially betting money that the recipient will like the brand or products they’re suggesting.

Omneo’s Profile Portal allows gift givers to register a gift card both to their own profile and the recipient’s.

That means retailers can give the recipient a gentle reminder to spend it. If the recipient is a returning customer, Omneo allows for suggestions based on previous purchases or interests. If they’re new, there’s an opportunity to create a strong relationship from the get-go, helping you acquire a new, high-value customer.

Finally, if a gift card is not used after a certain amount of time, Omneo allows the credit to be transferred back to the gift giver, rewarding them for the referral and minimising the risk of wasted money.

Linked profiles

Omneo’s linked profile capability is designed to give retailers a deeper view not only into their customers, but in the context of their relationships to others, and the social groups they belong to.

It allows retailers to see the connections between a high-value customer and their mum, people they’ve referred or bought gifts for, and even the stylists and service providers they prefer.

This lays a foundation for true personalisation that goes beyond the individual.

Sharable wishlists

Omneo allows customers to build and curate multiple different wishlists, allowing retailers to build a better idea of what they like, and to notify them when products they’ve expressed interest in come back into stock.

Wishlists are curated across channels for products available in multiple locations, in-store or online, or across connected brands. 

Once profiles are linked, customers can also see their loved ones’ wishlists, making it endlessly easier to get a gift right.

Shareable hint pages

Customer profiles are private and viewable only to them and the people within the brand. However, Omneo allows customers to publicly share selected parts of their profile, allowing their loved ones to buy gifts in their preferred size and style.

For example, if a customer has a profile with a jewellery brand, they could share their ring sizes and favourite metals and gemstones, dropping the ultimate hints for anyone looking to buy them something special.

Shareable pages are opt-in only and are controlled by the customer, allowing them to share as much or as little as they like.

Personalised communications

Through Omneo, retailers can send personalised communications ahead of gifting events such as Christmas or Mother’s Day, as well as ahead of birthdays and other important dates.

These communications can not only offer a reminder to buy a gift, but also make suggestions based on the recipients recent preferences and interests.

The last word on personalisation for gifting

It’s clear Australians love to give gifts and want to get it right. Helping them to do this will only foster positive sentiment about your brand and offering. Done really well, and it could generate referrals, bringing in a new wave of high-value customers.

Interested in how Omneo can help you deliver premium omnichannel customer experiences? Reach out to our team here.