Jewelry, Gift Cards Top Women’s Valentine’s Wish Lists

Released: 02/05/07

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (Feb. 5, 2007) – Men, if you can’t dazzle her with jewelry this Valentine’s Day, grab her with a gift card. Such is the consensus from Woodfield Mall’s just-completed “Venus vs. Mars Valentine’s Challenge,” an online and in-mall survey of what men and women want for Valentine’s Day, and just how much the opposite sex knows about it.

Of seven suggested gift categories, jewelry was the undisputed preference among women surveyed, with 73 percent pegging it as their first, second or third choice gift. Woodfield gift cards came in second overall, making the top-three for 53 percent of the women, and posing an interesting contrast to 36 percent of men, and 34 percent of women, who identified gift cards as something they’d actually be likely to give their partners. Less than one-third (28 percent) of the men surveyed mentioned gift cards among the top-three gifts they’d like to receive.

“There’s a possible trust issue here,” said Woodfield Marketing Director Lisa Stricker. “It appears a significant percentage of women – almost twice that of men – would prefer to select their own gifts, rather than entrusting that decision to their partners.”

The survey showed 15-plus percent differences between women’s preferences and men’s intensions in three of the top four gift categories:

Women Want to Receive Men Likely to Give

Jewelry 73 percent 58 percent
Woodfield Gift Card 53 percent 36 percent
Health/Beauty 51 percent 68 percent
Apparel 51 percent 58 percent

Electronics were the big winner when it came to men’s gift preferences. Three-quarters (76 percent) of men surveyed picked electronics among their top-three gift choices. Outdoor lifestyle/hobbies and apparel were also popular. Women came within 10 percent of matching men’s interest in electronics and apparel, but missed the mark on outdoor lifestyle/hobbies by almost 25 percent:

Men Want to Receive Women Likely to Give Electronics 76 percent 67 percent Outdoor lifestyle 58 percent 34 percent Apparel 50 percent 57 percent

Women, give him time… The in-mall component of Woodfield’s “Venus vs. Mars Valentine’s Challenge” provided additional insights into how well specific couples understand each other’s gift preferences. Thirty randomly-selected couples were charged with picking from among a display of nearly 20 of the hottest Valentine’s gifts for men, and an equal number of seasonal stand-outs for women, the three items each would most like to receive, and be most likely to give his or her significant other.

Although the in-mall sample was too small to be statistically projected to the population as a whole, it provided some fun anecdotal information. More than 80 percent of participating women picked at least one of their partner’s top gift choices, as compared to 66 percent of participating men. The most significant disparity occurred among couples who had been dating for less than one year. All of these women picked at least one of their boyfriend’s preferred gifts, while none of the men matched any of their girlfriend’s choices.

After a year or more of dating, however, the tables turned. Among this group of dating couples, all of the men matched at least one of their girlfriend’s top choices, versus

71 percent of the women. More than 50 percent of the men in this group matched two of their girlfriend’s picks, versus 14 percent of the women.

But it wasn’t until 40 or more years of marriage that men again surpassed the women. Among couples that had been married 39 or fewer years, 86 percent of women matched at least one of their husband’s top gift choices, as compared to 57 percent of men. Offering that ray of hope at the end of the tunnel, 100 percent of male respondents who’d been married for 40-plus years matched at least one of their wife’s top gift picks. Eighty percent of the women in this group matched at least one of their husband’s picks, and 40 percent of both men and women matched two of their spouse’s top picks.

The Survey The on-line survey was conducted on www.shopwoodfield.com, the Woodfield Mall website, over the nine-day period from Jan. 25 to Feb. 2, 2007. The in-mall “Venus vs. Mars Valentine’s Challenge” was held on Saturday, Feb. 3. The total, combined sample was 137 women and 50 men.

About Woodfield
Located in Schaumburg, Ill., Woodfield is the Chicago area’s largest mall with nearly 300 stores and restaurants, including dozens that can’t be found anywhere else in the Midwest. Merchants range from the hottest new retail concepts to major department stores JCPenney, Lord & Taylor, Macy’s, Nordstrom and Sears. Woodfield Gift Cards are available in any denomination between $20 and $300, and redeemable like cash throughout the mall. For additional information, log on to www.shopwoodfield.com or call 847-330-1537.

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