- People spend less on individual gifts but more on group gifts.
- Group gift value rose 8% to $420.29 since 2023, says eGifter.
- Retirement gifts attract most contributors, while emergencies see highest individual contributions.
SALT LAKE CITY — Hearts are as open as ever. But with the costs of nearly everything going up over the past few years, wallets have tightened. That's led to study after study showing people just cannot give like they would like to. But interestingly, there is one type of giving that is growing — group gifting.
Shelley Hunter works for the digital gifting company, eGifter. She shared its data showing that as rising prices price people out of giving individual presents, they're finding ways to give as a member of a group.
Since 2023, the average value of a gift purchased by a group has jumped 8% to $420.29. And the individual contribution from everyone in that group has risen 6%.
"People want to contribute," said Hunter. "And they give a little more because they're not handling all the other things that go along with giving a gift."
At $820, emergency or last-minute gifts generally garner the highest-valued group gift. More often than not, it shows up in the form of a gift card for a food delivery service.
"Food is the new flowers or the new casserole in a crisis," remarked Hunter.
It's not all about crisis.
The most popular group gifting occasion is celebrating life's big moments. eGifter found that 49.7% of the group gifts purchased were given for such events as weddings, babies and retirements.
People are also contributing more on group gifts for coaches and teachers with group gifts. In fact, the study found only one category of people that has seen a drop in the value of the group-gifts they receive.
"I'm sorry bosses," said Hunter. "But they had the lowest level of contribution."
Retirement gifts draw in the biggest crowd of contributing individuals, averaging 14 people per gift. Emergencies win the highest individual contribution towards a group gift at $81.85 per person, suggesting wallets still do open up when it matters.
