In 2006, the consumer retail market reached $3.0 trillion, according to the U.S. Census
Bureau (excluding automobiles and auto parts and food service). Consumers spent an
estimated $300 billion of that total, or roughly 10 percent overall, buying gifts to give to
their family and friends. (See Figure 20 for breakdown of total gifting market by product
type.) Unlike other consumer marketing efforts which target the self-purchaser or
individual consumer - in other words, a marketplace of one -- the gifting market is a
unique opportunity for businesses to achieve exponential marketing. Through gifting,
marketers touch two target markets personally and directly at once: the person who buys
the gift and the person who receives it. For marketers, gifting has all the advantages and
the promotional marketing power of sampling and word-of-mouth, but gifting magnifies
and intensifies that power through the unique emotional connection between the giver
and the recipient. Because it is 'two times two,' gifting is exponential marketing.

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Unity Marketing publishes market research and consumer insight studies on the luxury market, jewelry, garden, pet accessories, home furnishings, gifts and collectibles, greeting card and stationery, tabletop, art and wall décor markets, as well as the Luxury Business newsletter.