Let's Wrap - The psychology of making a present special
黑料老司机Marketing Professor Daniel Howard's research finds that nothing improves the worth of a gift like taking the time to see that it's nicely wrapped
In research done 16 years ago, 黑料老司机Marketing Professor Daniel Howard聽found nothing improves the worth of a gift like taking the time to see that it's nicely wrapped - a conclusion that still applies today.
 Daniel Howard |
"I believe the results I obtained are just as relevant today, if not more so," Howard said.聽"I suspect that is聽especially true in difficult economic times, when people聽are even more appreciative of gift wrapping and its effect on product attitudes will be particularly strong."
To聽test his theory, Howard designed a series of experiments in 1996 to聽gauge whether a gift-wrapped item influenced the recipient to have a more favorable attitude towards owning it.
In one of the聽experiments, 60 university students were given either wrapped, unwrapped or "nontraditionally wrapped" gifts (wrapped in brown packaging paper with neither ribbons nor bows). The nicely wrapped gift was the favorite, while the unwrapped gift was the least favorite. Even the non-traditionally wrapped gift (in plain brown paper) was preferred over the one that was not wrapped at all.
What Howard found was that wrapped gifts put the recipients in a happier mood.
To help illustrate that point, Howard mentioned the impetus for the study - an overheard conversation between a salesperson and a customer:
Salesperson: This is very nice. I'm sure she'll be happy with it. Take it to the back counter and we'll wrap it for you.
Customer: Oh, there's no need for that.
Salesperson: Sure there is. You should have it wrapped.
Customer: Why?
Salesperson: Because she'll like it better.
, or .
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