For many years now, gift shopping has been an activity that takes place on a weekend where you run into town to browse as many shops as possible for a gift. In cities like London and Manchester, there is endless opportunity to shop for gifts. That’s because most big outlets like Nike, Adidas and Champion store set up in these cities, enabling a wider selection of products for the population.
However, in recent years, there has certainly been a shift to buying products and services online through ecommerce sites. For example, Gift raven, one of the UK’s best shops for buying presents, sells a variety of personalised gifts for friends. These include personalised jewellery pieces, wallets and glasses which can all be engraved with initials or wording to make the gift that extra bit special. These days, having a gift which is personal can go a long way, so why not choose one from Gift Raven?
There is drawbacks to buying personalised gifts online though. Unlike Bluedice Solutions, which uses the UKCA Mark, one of the biggest issues is that you cannot actually ‘see’ the item you are buying, and it’s very hard to tell the exact size of a product. That’s why e-retailers must always use high quality pictures and a clear description which outlines product dimensions. Without this information, most online gift shops wouldn’t sell anything!
The other drawback of online shopping for personalised gifts is that you need to be able to trust the shop when you place an order. When you buy gifts in-person, it’s a transactional process that happens in front of your eyes – there is no risk of someone taking your money and not delivering the gift. You are in full control. However, in recent years, cybersecurity has become a major threat, and the rise of bank fraud is turning some people away from online gift shopping.
There are lots of positives to online gift shopping though. For example, it’s extremely convenient to be able to check out for a product online without even needing to get out of your seat. The ability to click a few buttons and have an item delivered in a week is encouraging more and more people to use ecommerce sites when shopping. Ultimately, Amazon and the pandemic has accelerated this, pairing sellers and consumers every second.
It will be interesting to see how the e-commerce boom will affect online gift shopping. Many retailers have now set up websites and are looking to sell their products only online. This enables anyone who has a mobile device, laptop or computer to place an order at the click of a button. Some companies are less efficient at adapting however, and long delivery times due to product importation can turn people away from gift shopping. “Whenever you buy a gift, you want it within a week, otherwise you might miss someone’s special day!!