The Newsstand - January 2018

Etsy Releases New Study, Snapchat’s Major Redesign, Google Posts, and Online Ad Effectiveness

Etsy Reveals ‘Hot Trend’ of Thoughtful, Personalized Gifts

That’s right! Gone are the days when an expensive watch or a luxurious gift was the best present ever. Etsy recently released a new study showing an increasing trend of giving and receiving handmade, customized gifts, especially during the holiday season.

According to the platform, people all around the world are in love with the idea of thoughtful, personalized gifts, especially because of the sentimental value and emotional connection these gifts provide.

Personalized Gifts vs. Expensive Luxury Items

Do people still prefer giving or receiving expensive gifts over handmade, personalized ones?

Not really. The study revealed that 40% of the respondents said they were likely to give or receive a customized or handmade present on holidays like Christmas and Chanukah. Moreover, a survey of American shoppers also showed that 36% of them felt happy giving someone a personalized gift, while 51% felt thoughtful, 21% felt creative, and 23% felt special.

Compared to buying expensive, luxury items, handmade or personalized gifts are clearly given more preference. The survey showed that only 18% of U.S. shoppers felt happy, and 19% felt thoughtful, while purchasing expensive, branded items as gifts.

Millennials Want to Spend More Money on ‘Thoughtful’ Gifts

Another interesting fact the study pointed out was that more millennials are shopping for gifts this year, compared to other age groups. In fact, around 52% of millennials said they were purchasing more gifts than they were a couple of years ago.

Moreover, 70% of millennials said they were willing to spend their money on personalized gifts, such as home décor, jewelry and clothing items, instead of buying expensive, branded items. Also, around 58% of millennials said that Etsy was their go-to platform for getting their hands on customized and thoughtful gifts and items.

Snapchat Redesigns to Put Up a Wall between ‘Friends’ and ‘Brands’

In a big overhaul of their original app design, Snapchat has decided to divide ‘friends’ and ‘everyone else’ into two separate tabs.

The newest version of Snapchat started to roll out during the initial weeks of December, and features a “Friends-only” tab to the left, which displays both private messages and stories from a person’s mutually added contacts, and a “Discover” tab to the right, which is basically home to everyone other than friends, including brands, Snapchat’s original stories and shows, and even the Official Accounts of celebrities and influencers (unless they have added their followers/fans too).

Previously, the tab left of Snapchat’s main camera screen comprised of only private messages and snaps from friends, and to the right side were the Stories and the Discover tabs, which basically displayed all the stories and shows from friends, brands and celebrities/influencers alike.

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