Christmas in July

Christmas in July

Team In The Bag PR should have been in London last month at the Christmas in July festival showcasing the amazing collection from one of our clients – Electra Bicycle Co, sadly due to COVID-19 the festival had to be postponed until September.

The festival is the #1 retail event for the media; it enables brands and retailers to increase exposure of their gift products to a wide variety of media, for the fraction of cost of hosting an individual press launch. The event attracts an impressive list of publications!

Yesterday we took part in a Zoom call with 170 other brands, retailers and PR agencies for a presentation on Christmas Trends & Top Gifts for 2020.

The overall feeling amongst the industry is that Christmas 2020 is set to be bigger and more magical than ever before as businesses and families come out from COVID. More than ever Christmas will be about bringing family and friends together.

While there has had to be a major shift to online shopping the general consensus is that this Christmas families will do lots of research and window shopping online but they will look to go out to their local high streets with the family and make Christmas shopping a much bigger day out then in previous years. Shopping local, supporting small businesses and embracing the Christmas spirit in the local communities; hearing the festive music, the wonder of all the decorations and feeling the buzz of busy stores and high streets once more.

Unsurprisingly the trends and gifts the industry predicts to be key this Christmas have been heavily influenced by lockdown.

1/. Educational/Home learning – with home schooling having such an impact on our lives there is little wonder that gifts where tech meets tradition and games that inspire learning in a fun yet educational are going to be key.

2/. Nostalgic/Retro Games – lockdown brought families together for games night via Zoom so instead of virtual games, board games will see a major resurgence.

3/. Foodie Gifts – home baking and entertaining has never been so popular thanks to lockdown so it is expected that we will see a much wider offering this Christmas from the retailers.

4/. Aspiring Baristas/Mixologists – how many homemade coffees over ice did you see on Instagram during lockdown and who doesn’t like experimenting with a cocktail or two at home! Expect to see lots of exciting drink related gifts on offer this Christmas.

5/. Ethical/Eco Friendly – ethically sourced, reduced packaging and natural gifts are predicted to be more important than ever as people are more aware than ever on our effect on the environment.

6/. Home is Where the Heart is – due to lockdown we have all been busy redecorating and sorting out our homes. Gifts for the home that the whole family can enjoy will be a big trend.

7/. Mindful, relaxation and pampering gifts – if lockdown has shown us anything it is that we need to look after others and ourselves.

8/. Subscription Boxes – Subscription boxes have seen a huge increase in popularity during lockdown. Everything from razor blades to roses, cheese to chocolate can now be ordered as a subscription. Gifts that keep on giving all year round will be key. 

9/. Personalised Gifts – a firm favourite every year but this year they are predicted to be even bigger as people look for gifts with a difference, highly thoughtful gifts, unique to the recipient as giving back has never been so important.

10/. Tik Tok Tastic – with Tik-Tok taking social media by storm there is no surprise to see it’s influence on gift giving this Christmas; expect to see lots of neon coloured gifts, the resurgence of old-school gifts such as furbies and tamigotchies and even more surprise unboxing gifts for children.

As you can see the Key Trends and Gifts for Christmas 2020 are very much focused around home life, family, wellbeing and nostalgia. Gifts with purpose and giving back will be more important than ever this year.

So, what will be on all your Christmas shopping list this year?   We’d love to find out…