Recently, Dr. Deborah Y. Cohn’s bad gift giving research was discussed in The Academic Minute. The article, “Deborah Cohn, New York Institute of Technology – Bad Gift Giving,” delves into Dr. Cohn’s research and rationale for why people give bad gifts. In the article, Dr. Cohn states, “U.S consumers spent 626 billion dollars during a recent gift-giving season, and gifts returned to stores that season totaled 63 billion dollars, or about ten percent. The proportion of returns reflects a lot of unsatisfactory gifts.” Dr. Cohn’s research shows that people intentionally give bad gifts because they are not concerned with pleasing the gift recipient. She then identifies “five categories of gift-giving in which the giver does not aim to please.”

The article also mentions Dr. Cohn’s advice to marketers and retailers on how to handle bad gift-gifting. She thinks they should hire seasonal “gift experts” who can assist shoppers before they make a purchase. Additionally, they should help people donate the bad gifts they have received to charity, which will in turn, allow the gift recipient to have a positive experience.

Dr. Cohn’s research on this topic has also been featured on NYIT’s Blog (“When Good People Get Bad Gifts”) and Good Morning America (“Why People Return Your Christmas Gifts and There May Be No More Goody Bags at Parties”)

By Konstance Teleisha