New trends in the business gift sector is helping a leading national supplier to bounce back following the Covid-19 lockdowns.
AdGiftsOnline say that sales are up by 50 percent on 2020, thanks to a strong demand from companies looking to reconnect with customers who may have gone quiet in 2020.
Tony Altham, a director of the Lymedale Business Park, Newcastle-under-Lyme, firm says that the pandemic has led to new gifting trends and drivers for this include flexible working patterns and an increase on online meetings, due to the pandemic.
“The market for corporate gifts was very slow following the original announcement of lockdown in March 2020, with sales down overall by around 70 per cent. Even the usual build up to Christmas was almost non-existent.
“Across our business sector, last year was a matter of survival and planning for the future, but there’s signs of recovery with many businesses back to between 60% – 85% of pre-Covid levels.
“The 2021 recovery has gathered pace as business confidence has grown. We are on target to double our 2020 sales for the year and our Christmas sales during October and November have been 52% up compared to the same period in 2020.”
Tony said that trends had changed following the lockdowns and gifts had become more personal.
“We have seen a rise in personalised gifts sent to both staff working from home and customers this year. Online platforms such as Zoom and Teams became the norm for interaction during the pandemic and that’s not going away.
“Sales and marketing staff no longer want to travel 40 minutes for an hour long meeting, not only is it seen as a waste of time, but most companies are now looking to stress their green credentials and cut vehicle use.
“People are realising that a video meeting can be greatly enhanced with a personal gift, such as chocolate, coffee and tea. These are now being packaged in such a way that they fit through home letter boxes.
“The best options this Christmas are gifts that can be individually personalised for each recipient rather than just a generic company branding. When you give a gift that is personal to the individual and it has their name on it, they are more likely to keep it and use it in the long term. Items for the home, in particular the kitchen are definitely retained, used and talked about by the recipient to their family and friends so they have a very long life.”
AdGiftsOnline supply companies from multi-nationals, high street banks and major football clubs, through to scores of local Staffordshire businesses.
ENDS
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