Where to Buy the Best Gifts in 2020

Where to Buy the Best Gifts in 2020

The retail industry is facing incredible challenges in the coming years. There are changes in demographics, rising costs of raw materials and consumers changing behaviour due to increasing digitalisation and e-commerce. These are only some of the major changes currently taking place in the retail industry. The dramatic spread of smartphones and tablets will continue to change the way we shop and communicate with businesses that sell gifts. Shoppers are now able to access vast amounts of information, giving far more information about products and prices than ever before. 

The Mall
Brick and mortar stores remain the most preferred shopping destination, to gather information and to buy a gift. If you are looking for a 25th wedding anniversary gift a mall will offer you not just physical gifts that you can test before purchase, but also offers experience gifts around health and wellbeing that you can trust having seen them for yourself. The stores that are most successful in a mall have a broad range of goods, presented well, in modern retail outlets.

In the newest malls, you can grab a coffee, view an exhibition and drop into your favourite online brand’s newest pop-up store. This is all building on what the business calls the “community” element in the mall, which includes interactive spaces for socialising and collaborating with brands to improve the shopper’s experience. Wellness is the new luxury and is a big part of the gift market. Malls cater to this need not simply by selling more health products but offering health and fitness sessions at consumer’s favourite stores. 

Online
There are many online sites where you can find good value for money, a safe transaction and good customer service should there be an issue with an order. Here are the major players for the best gifts online in 2020. 

Amazon
During the early years of the internet, Amazon started as an online retail store for books. It is now one of the largest companies in the world with 250 million unique visits a month.

Alibaba Group 
Taobao and Tmall are both based in China and owned by the Alibaba Group. Taobao has 500 million users and Tmall has almost 200 million registered users. Alibaba is a global eCommerce website which has become increasingly popular, selling a vast array of goods. 

eBay
The offices around the world, eBay is one of the largest online stores with specific sites that cater to different regions and countries around the world. It is one of the oldest marketplaces online with a good reputation.

The high street
The high street has been forced to close or downsize in response to consumers moving to eCommerce. Fashion is one of the hardest hit sectors on the high street, with buyers moving online whilst rent and business rates continue to squeeze company finances.

On the high street, the need to transform is slower than that seen in malls. The biggest challenge is that people prefer to shop online because whatever they need is available at all times, with those under 30 years of age almost exclusively buying online.  Yet service-led offers still need to be local, so if you want to gift a manicure or a makeover, these can be found in independent retailers on the high street. 

The gifts you can find on the high street are also slightly different than in the past. Retail closures have opened new opportunities for alternative businesses not just in restaurants, but with trampoline parks, climbing walls, and other entertainment and health offers to make them true points of destination.