āWeāre in the middle of changing thingsā¦ā āSorry weāre not doing Christmas shopping pages this yearā¦ā, the replies read from the editors on my Christmas Exclusive send out. I briefly paused. No gift guides anymore? How should that work? Is this the death of the golden themed shopping pages?
We are addicted to gift guides. As much as we love-hate them, in the end, we all get caught in that one compelling page. What started a couple of years ago as a pretty idea to inspire readers around holidayās season became a high priority marketing mission for editors and renown publications. The whole science behind it is to push and promote products, make them appealing to the reader’s eye (remember again that pretty glitzy Christmas page?) and to convince them to buy ASAP. Ever wondered why youāve never seen the same flashy gold loafers in Spring again?
Promoting products isnāt a bad thing and never was. Done correctly it can work smoothly, especially with content built around a product. Gift guides consist of images only, a little bit of text and thatās it. Over the years it developed into a nightmare we are annoyed by easily that got rampant and overloaded. Coming in two categories, we can either decide for the crappy ones that are bursting at the margins of the page and the super posh oneās that are a tiny bit over budget. So, weāre a bit done and over with them.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Gift guides come with the bonus of offering last-minute gifts, (for that one āspecial personā you just added to your shopping list) ones that arenāt too expensive or too cheap. In the end, youāve got to choose between Yankee candles, stocking fillers (they literally always work!), a book, wellness vouchers, jewellery, handbags (for me please?) or posh sweets that names you find hard to pronounce. They are, as I like to call them, universals and work for everyone you know only a year (+1ās are special, donāt gift them with guide buys please!)
If this is true, weāll have to talk about the Gift Guide Afterlife and what the shift might hold for us in future. Apps document our reading and shopping behaviours to meet our fashion and lifestyle needs (I still donāt get the ad algorithm on Facebook), but gift guides canāt be adapted to suit everyone. Taste is different and gift guides represent a kind of an issue in these days. Therefore, no gift guides in future could mean changes for print and online soon. If so, it will be only a matter of time until theyāre gone for good.
I do like gift guides, donāt get me wrong. Although itās the busiest time of the year I still try to get my hands on a couple of December issues. They light up my eyes after a busy day, Iām still dreaming of Vogueās Christmas gift guide and āEat Chicā and their peanut butter cups, and inspire me if theyāre put together nicely. But I consider gift guides from another perspective including layout, design, and quality of the chosen products. If I would miss them? Defo!
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