When the going gets tough financially, the last thing you need is a gift that you know youll be barely using. From decorative pottery, perfumes and oversized clothes, to serving dishes and unaesthetic wall mounts, most people would rather have the worth of a present in cash than something theyll probably never use.
This is a universal tend, in fact, of a greater preference for more pragmatic presents. The Financial Times covered two articles on the changing dynamics of gift-giving. One focused on children skewing towards technological presents, such as tablets, over toys, while the second talked about how gift cards are gaining great popularity amongst Americans.
"49 percent of people said they would prefer to receive a $25 gift card than a present worth $50," the FT article quoted the findings of a survey.
Domestic retailers have also realized this turn of preferences amongst Pakistani consumers and the evolved role of the gift card from something non-sentimental and impersonal, to something practical and useful.
Popular retail outlets that have started offering gift certificates for customers include Liberty Books and Chen One. The great thing about gift certificates and gift cards is that people living abroad can also send them to their loved ones living in Pakistan.
Besides retail outlets for manufactured products, services-based companies are also now offering gift certificates for customers. Examples include the well-known salon, Toni & Guy that offers gift certificates worth a certain value that can be redeemed at their outlet in exchange for a particular beauty service. Similarly, some restaurants have also started offering meal-based gift certificates that can be gifted to friends and family.
Another interesting change in retail dynamics of Pakistan is taking place through web-based businesses. A great example is Dealtoday.pk, a local company offering various discount deals on services and products from different brands and companies across the country. Orders for deals can be placed online, with delivery of the discount voucher at your doorstep. The voucher can then be cashed in at the relevant outlet.
Daraz.pk is another up and coming example of retail sales through the internet. The company sells outfits and accessories for men and women in all sizes, colours and types online. Its not just a company selling its products online; instead it lets shoppers buy items from top-class brands around the country.
The success of companies like Daraz.pk can also be attributed to another interesting change in consumption patterns amongst shoppers. Instead of the hassle of waiting to get pieces of clothing stitched by tailors, women - traditionally the largest shoppers for clothing items - are not opting for off-the-shelf clothes that are available in various sizes from XS to XL.
The shift is certainly an adoption of retail shopping from the developed world where custom-made clothes - the closets domestic example being getting clothes stitched by the neighborhood tailor - are a rarity only the extremely rich can afford.
That by no means suggests that tailors should now pack their bags and look for another profession; the popularity of ailor-made clothes is still quite there.
However, retail shopping is seeing quite a change locally, and that can be ignored. It may be gradual, but mushrooming malls, greater awareness of technology and more inclination towards convenience show that conventional shopping will definitely evolve into something different in the near future.