The festive season in India carries substantial economic importance, aided by a thriving gifting industry and in that, corporate gifting is driving significant growth during this year. According to data revealed by online multi-category gifting platform, IGP, its corporate gifting segment has excelled with an impressive 20 per cent year-on-year expansion during this festive season. While gift cards constitute 10 per cent of the business, the personalized gifting sector has exceeded expectations with a 25 per cent year-on-year growth, it said.
“During festivals such as Diwali, New Year, and Christmas, the gifting industry witnesses substantial growth, consistently contributing to a significant portion of the gifting market. With a pre-pandemic growth rate of 40 per cent (2019-20 to 20-21) and a post-pandemic surge of 50 per cent (2021-22 to 22-23), IGP demonstrates the industry’s resilience and adaptability. Corporate gifting has evolved into an integral component of the business landscape, and the festive season remains a platform for meaningful expressions,” it said in a statement.
Corporate gifting, it added, currently constitutes more than 10 per cent of IGP’s total revenue, steadily growing year by year. “A noticeable trend this festive season is the organic shift of D2C customers toward bulk purchases for personal gifting, highlighting the close place gifting holds in our culture,” it added. In terms of corporate gifting, major metropolitan areas play a significant role, while tier-II cities also show steady growth.
In terms of categories most in demand, home and fashion accessories and food products were popular in 2018-19, and this trend has shifted toward curated hampers featuring sweets, chocolates, dry fruits, and health foods in 2022-23.
City engagement is on the rise, it added, with a surge of 60 per cent in orders from the top 50 cities during festivals. Notable cities such as Mumbai, Delhi/NCR, Bangalore, and Hyderabad have shown strong engagement.
“We all spend a substantial part of our lives at our workplace, so the relationship between employer and employees, or even a company and its clients is very critical. We at IGP are in the business of enriching relationships, and we are pleased that we are able to help our corporate clients foster connections with our wide range of gifts,” said Tarun Joshi, CEO and Founder of IGP.com
Further, sustainable gifting has experienced significant growth, surging from 1 per cent to 10 per cent over the past five years. Hampers have grown from 10 per cent to 30 per cent, personalized gifting has flourished from 10 per cent to 20 per cent, and the same-day delivery service has skyrocketed from 20 per cent to 50 per cent, IGP stated.