The December holiday is a period of the year when people do a lot of shopping. There is either a lot of stock in the shops for the many consumers, or overpriced goods, and sometimes both. People purchase goods for others, and at the same time they expect presents from the people they are buying for the goods. For this reason, there are those who purchase goods and those who receive these gifts that have been purchased (Bige, 2008, p. 425). The two groups of people have a different perspective on the way they view the gift. There is also the group of people who produce the gifts so that many people can consume them during the holidays. These gifts can connect people or separate them, and this depends on the way the gift was produced and the person purchasing the gift (Mick, 2008, p. 379). In relation to the study of consumption, the act of gift giving during the holiday period can be understood using two different approaches. The two approaches are the way gift giving connects or separates people.
December holiday is a period when people take time to show love to their friends and family (Durkheim, 2008, p. 47). It is traditionally done by the act of gift giving. It is a way of demonstrating care and thoughtfulness. December holidays is a time when people come together to celebrate and share their life experiences through the year (Mick, 2008, p. 377). It is not necessarily a family time since at times friends can be invited to such occasions. The people coming together on the basis of family or friendship may not have seen each other for a very long time. It means that they have many things to share; both stories and gifts. Some people who were in distant lands carry with them artifacts and presents for their loved ones. The act of gift giving is an important component during this holiday period (Bige, 2008, p. 423). It has become traditional, necessary and a custom event. It is much so that retailers around the world make it a very important period in their calendar.
The first approach to the act of art gift giving in relation to the art of gift giving is connection. The act of gift giving connects people and makes them come closer together (Marcoux, 2009, p. 185). Shopping has become a common human habit that it is done as an obligation to oneself or to other people (McMeekin and Southerton, 2007, p. 45). When buying a gift, one has to consider a number of things both for himself and the person to which the gift will be presented (Luedicke, 2011, p. 236). Considerations include the price of the commodity, how fashionable the product is, the gender and value it will have to the person it is presented with during the holidays (Ahuvia, 2005, p. 177-183). The price of a gift will determine the extent to which one will value it and consequently the person giving the gift (Shove and Pantzar 2005, p. 46). Expensive gifts will bring forth a deeper connection among people than a less expensive gift (Bradford, 2009, p. 109). However, this is not necessarily true since some people do not care much for the price but the thoughtfulness of the gift.
Fashion refers to what people consider to be trendy at a particular time. The holidays are considered an appropriate time for people to purchase products that are in fashion. Retailers avail these fashionable products in bulk since they anticipate a large demand from consumers. Products such as phones, computers and other electrical accessories are fashionable during a particular time. When a consumer buys this product for a loved one, he or she will hold it in high esteem (Annamma and Eric, 2012, p. 153). Consequently, the two people; the giver and receiver, will be more connected than before. In the same light, people who have the same fashionable products will feel connected. Some clothing and jewelry also become fashionable at some point (Luedicke, 2011, pp. 232-239). A consumer who purchases these fashionable items will feel connected to the people who bought it for them (Marcoux, 2009, p. 187). In addition, they will also be connected to other people who wear the same fashionable products.
December holiday shopping is mostly done in order to show love for other people (Durkheim, 2008, pp. 47-52). However, one may want to treat him or herself after a long year. In this case, he or she will purchase a product that he not necessarily requires, but one that is fashionable at the moment (Annamma and Eric, 2012, p 157). In this way, the person will become a consumer in order to feel a connection to a certain group of people who have the same product. When referring to the consumption and the act of giving gifts gender plays a huge role. It determines the type of gift that one will buy for oneself or for another person (Warde, 2005, p. 132). Men are mostly interested in electrical devices, unlike women who are mostly interested in dressing. Therefore, men will be out shopping for the latest gadgets, while women will be very interested in the latest clothing designs. A connection with the art of gift giving would be felt if a person gets an appropriate gift for the other person (Bahl and George, 2010, p. 181). This means that gift giving can bring a connection between people exchanging the gifts and also among other people who have the same gifts.
Female items form a large proportion of the gift bought during the December holidays. It means that females form a bigger number of shoppers and gift givers than men. It may be because men prefer to save than spend while women prefer to express their love for others by buying gifts. This is a trend that many retailers have noted, and they then avail goods according to the shopping trends (Shove and Pantzar 2005, p. 52). The purchase of men products is few, but this is compensated by the fact that men products are more expensive than female products. In relation to consumption and gift giving, a connection will be felt when one gets an appropriate gift for another (Cook, 2004, p. 647). Another way in which connection is brought about by gift giving is when a person considers the gift he or she is buying for another person. It is normally a gift that the loved one has requested for and the buyer feels obliged to provide it for him or her.
One can buy a gift when considering the requirements of the other person (McCracken, 2005, p. 81). One can buy a diary because of a loved one’s busy schedule or a computer for necessary programming needs. In this way the consumer will form a connection with the loved one since the gift will show a lot of thought and consideration. Considering a person when purchasing a gift shows that one has been deeply thinking about the other person. In addition, gift giving is a reflection of the way the one feels about another person (Bahl and George, 2010, pp. 179-186). The gift is not necessarily the desire of the person who it is bought for, but an expression of love, care, and the way one views the other. The connection is brought about in the act of gift giving depending on the value the buyer and the receiver holds on the gift (Tellis, Stremesch and Yin, 2003, pp. 117-121). However, with or without the knowledge of the consumer or producer, these gifts may sometimes cause a separation.
The second approach to the act of art gift giving in relation to the art of gift giving is separation. Purchasing and giving the gifts may bring about different scenarios of separation. Price of the gift determines the value it has on the buyer and the recipient of the gift (Bradford, 2009, p. 98). A high price tag on a gift will make the buyer value it more when purchasing and when presenting it to a loved one. When the price is low, and this is the only gift the buyer can afford, he will not value the gift. It would lead to a separation with the gift even when presenting the gift to the loved one. The gift may be viewed as a formality bearing neither thought nor value. Separation will be evident since the buyer will feel that the gift does not bear a lot of value (Tellis, Stremesch and Yin, 2003, p. 119). The person given the gift will also feel that the gift does not fit to their requirement.
One might argue that it is the thought that counts and not the price tag on the gift. However, in reality, the buyer and the person who is given the gift will always worry about the price tag on the gift. For this reason, prices of gifts bring about a separation of the consumers. Fashion can also cause a separation in the act of gift giving in relation to the study of consumption (McMeekin, 2007, p. 46). Unlike the way fashionable people feel connected, someone who gets a gift that is not fashionable feels alienated from the rest. The gift that is not fashionable makes the person feel separated from other people (Marcoux, 2009, p. 187). Furthermore, the connection he or she had with the loved one is weakened and separation moves in between them.
Separation in relation to the study of consumption also comes about when the one has a fashionable product. He or she is connected to other people who have the same product, but separated from people who do not have the same fashionable product (Cook, 2004, pp. 659-661). Therefore, gift giving leads to people being separated depending on what product is in fashion at the particular time. There is a divide between those who have the fashionable gifts separated from the people who do not or cannot afford them. In addition, lack of thought in the gift one gives to another person leads to separation (Bahl and George, 2010, pp. 188-190). It leads to a situation where people have no thought, love or consideration or their loved ones. People then feel separated from the gifts and the people they share the gifts with during the holidays. Another form of separation is when people are overly concerned about the products they buy without showing any concern to the production process (Ritzer, 2014, p. 3-9). Many people do not care about the processes that were used in the manufacturing of the gifts they buy for their loved ones during the holidays.
This is a form of separation where the producers have with the products and the consumers have with the people who produced the products (Ritzer, 2014, p. 9). According to Morreale (2014 p. 119), people view products lustfully, completely oblivious of the people who made them (Ahuvia, 2005, p. 179). Human labor and the final products are sometimes thought of as separate entities while they are dependent on each other (Cook, 2004, p. 647). There are many leading companies that people buy their products. The same companies sometimes have workers working harsh conditions. They complain of mistreatment, misrepresentation and little pay for their hard work. All the companies care about is maximizing their profits (Leve, 2011, p. 536). All that both the companies and buyers care about is the product (Cook, 2004, pp. 647-648). This causes a separation of the workers and the products they produce.
December holiday is a time associated with gift giving and with it a lot of consumption. Both retailers and consumers are busy during this period in the process of selling and buying. Sometimes there is the selfless purchasing of gifts and sometimes there is the giving of gifts with the expectation of getting a gift in return (Durkheim, 2008, p. 52). Both the producers and the consumers have a feeling of connection or separation with the products. In addition, the act of gift giving either causes a connection or separation among the people exchanging the gifts. Most companies aim to use very little input and achieve maximum profits (Morreale, 2014, pp. 121-123). It often leads to poor working conditions for the employees and minimal pay. As a result, the people who actually produce the goods feel separated with the goods they produce. They can only remember the hardship since most of the profit goes to the company owners. Separation and connection in relation to consumption and gift giving is a complex subject. It is determined by many factors, including price of the gift, the thought put in the gift, gender, and how fashionable the gift is at that period. Therefore, giving gifts during the holiday period can be understood using two different approaches, which are connection and separation.
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