Christmas is the most difficult holiday to abstain from gift-giving without seeming like a “Grinch”, according to a Deakin University researcher.
Most people felt comfortable ignoring Valentine’s Day or Halloween traditions but were unwilling to break convention at Christmas, consumer behaviour expert Paul Harrison said.
Vetoing Christmas gift-giving was very difficult due to the festive season’s rituals being “fairly consistent” in all western cultural messaging, Dr Harrison said.
“For anyone challenging this norm, there can be an unpleasant backlash.”
While many accepted the scientific community’s warnings that people needed to consume less because of climate change, Christmas was an exception, Dr Harrison said.
Skilled marketers had, over time, “cleverly” conditioned consumers to believe the amount of money they spent on a gift equated to love for the recipient, he said.
“That notion, inadvertently, is not great for consumption and the environment.”
Christmas enthusiasts would struggle to give up the idea of a tree crowded with gifts, or stockings “billowing with toys from Santa” anytime soon, Dr Harrison said.
“Society has fallen prey to the illusion created by marketers who work to tap into people’s vulnerabilities and emotions.”
But changing gift-giving culture from revolving around material items was possible over time, according to Dr Harrison.
“Christmas and the purchase of products don’t have to go hand-in-hand,” he said.
“We hear it said again and again that material things don’t make us happy and when it comes to gifts, research shows this adage to be true.”
According to Dr Harrison’s research, the gifts that make their receivers happiest for the longest time are personal, and show thought and effort.
The gift of an experience also gives the recipient longer joy and satisfaction than a material item, according to the research.
“But these take some effort, and skilled marketers know this,” Dr Harrison said.
“Making something, for example, can take a lot more time and energy than heading to the local huge chain store and buying a stack of presents.
“Those in charge of selling things know this, and sell convenience too.
“Marketers capitalise on key vulnerabilities – how time-poor the general population feels, and the notion that the more you spend, the more you show love.”
