Bigger plans for company gift giving this year

Companies are expected to be more generous this holiday season when it comes to corporate gift giving.

More than one-third (37 percent) of  businesses surveyed by the Advertising Specialty Institute anticipate they’ll provide gifts to prospects and clients, 5 percentage points more than the previous year.

Nate Kucsma, executive director of research and corporate marketing for ASI,  which is based in Pennsylvania and serves the $23.6 billion promotional products industry, says 2018  could be the strongest year since 2015.

“I think it’s just a compounding effect,” says Kucsma. “Businesses are always waiting for that shoe to drop, and if it didn’t drop in the past year or two, they start spending money again.”

Ten percent of companies said they plan to spend more on holiday gift giving than in 2017, up from the 8 percent last year, says Kucsma; 79 percent expect to spend the same as 2017 and 11 percent expect to spend less.

 For those spending more, the average gift cost will be $48,  up 4.3 percent from last year.

Locally, promotional and gifting firms say they’re seeing an uptick in orders and spending.

“I’m seeing a slight, but noticeable increase,” says Lisa Chalker, president of Family Affair Distributing in Massapequa, which specializes in imprinted promotional products, decorated apparel and gourmet gift baskets.

She’s been getting orders for gift items ranging from embroidered fleece blankets to stainless-steel wine glasses. The range runs the gamut from $10 per item up to $150  for a gourmet  food basket.

The upside of baskets  is they’re shareable, but in general when it comes to gift giving, “the more functional, the better,” says Chalker.

Evan Bloom, co-owner of the Westbury, Hauppauge and Melville franchises of Sir Speedy, a print, signage and marketing company, says  he will probably see  a 20 percent increase in corporate gifting this holiday season.

“This past year we decided to put more emphasis on that end of the business, and it’s really exploded for us,” he says,  so this year a dedicated person has been appointed to run the division.

In general, people are looking for gifts that stand out, he says, noting they’re doing a lot of apparel with logos.

The lower-tier items like pens or calendars, used more for branding, aren’t as popular for gift giving, he says. “When you get into appreciation-type items, spending $10 to $15 per item is where it starts.”

Don Hochler, a Woodbury commercial litigation and collection attorney, spends  from $100 to $500 and up on each of about two dozen clients,  for gift certificates to spas, high-end restaurants  or custom clothiers. 

He’s still finalizing gifting plans but is planning to spend the same or more than last year, noting he’s never cut back his spending.

“It’s an opportunity once a year to show appreciation,” says Hochler.

He buys gifts mostly for clients and prospects and gives a holiday cash bonus to employees,  and sometimes a spa gift certificate.

This year’s ASI survey found that 42 percent of employers plan to give gifts to workers, up from 40 percent in 2017.

Andrew Janosick, a partner at Proforma Executive Business Services, a St. James-based printing and promotional products firm, says he has some customers giving employees name-brand gifts including Swiss Army backpacks, Yeti tumblers and New Era hats.

“People want their gifts to stand out and have that wow impression,” so some companies are also spending on custom-branded packaging  for their client gifts, he says.

Janosick anticipates a 10 percent increase in holiday orders over last year:  “People want to be top of mind.”