May and June are a much awaited period for school-going kids in India, as these months stand for summer vacations. This period is keenly awaited even by the parents, for it is the time, when families plan their annual vacation.

As May ends, kids and parents in many states gear up for the school re-opening date, which seems all too close! For kids, it means a return to books and summer assignments, while for parents, it is the time to plan for buying new uniforms and school essentials.

We, at GujaratGifts.com believe, this is the perfect time to help out and show your love and caring by sending some thoughtful back to school gifts to your loved ones back home in India. With that objective, we present our list of top 5 items which are sure to be appreciated and cherished this summer!

1. School Bags: Kids do get bored with carrying the same school bag for years on end. With parents, reluctant at times to get a new one, if the old one is in perfect working order, gifting a school bag is a sure-shot way to light up the little one, and help her go back to school in style. You can check out some range of school bags here: http://www.gujaratgifts.com/gifts-for-kids/school-gear/school-bags.html

2. Stationery Items: There are very few items which evoke a fascination for school going kids like the humble stationery item. Any back to school season cannot be complete without new items like pencil boxes, coloring kits, geometry boxes, and sharpeners. You can be sure that your gift of love will find its place of pride amidst things to be flaunted by the kid. See some of these at http://www.gujaratgifts.com/gifts-for-kids/school-gear/stationery-items.html

3. Water Bottles: The range of water bottles available today are a far cry from what the older generation remembers from our days in school : today, water bottles are colorful, and employ a wide range of popular characters like Spiderman, Superman, Ben 10, and cute cartoons. These are both functional and fun to carry, and make for great gifts! You can see some of them at http://www.gujaratgifts.com/gifts-for-kids/school-gear/water-bottles.html

4. Lunch Boxes: The set of stuff to buy for school is not complete without an attractive lunch box, to go with the other cool stuff. Gone are the days of steel multi-box tiffins; as plastic lunch boxes in a variety of colors and motifs rule the school! These are multi-compartment, keeping in mind the portions and quantity appropriate for school going kids. You can see our range of lunch boxes at http://www.gujaratgifts.com/gifts-for-kids/school-gear/lunch-boxes.html

5. Sports & Hobbies: School cannot be all work and no play, and what better gift than an item which is sure to exercise the non-academic talents of the young child. To that end, some great gifts are coloring kits (http://www.gujaratgifts.com/gifts-for-kids/others-en-2-3-4-5/arts-and-hobbies.html) and sports equipments (http://www.gujaratgifts.com/gifts-for-kids/others-en-2-3-4-5/sports-gifts.html). One can even give encouragement to the musical talents (discovered or undiscovered!) of the child by gifting a musical instrument (http://www.gujaratgifts.com/gifts-for-kids/others-en-2-3-4-5/musical-instruments.html)

We hope this short guide was useful for you in choosing a fabulous back to school gift for the young one back in India. If you have any suggestions, please do let us know!

Mother’s day this year is on Sunday, the 11^th of May, and online shopping for gifts is on, in full swing, with 3 days to go for the event! As we have been handling the event for almost 17 years now, we thought it might be fun to take a peek, and share interesting details of what people are buying this year for their mom and other interesting trends vis-à-vis Mother’s day.

While are still accepting Mothers’ day gifts orders for 3 days, we crunched the numbers for the sales so far, and here are our findings!

1)      Most loved gifts for mom: Unsurprisingly, the number 1 gift for mothers is Flowers. However, most people bought flower hampers in combination with cakes, chocolates, and dry fruits in that order. Most shoppers, being well versed with online gifting opted for ready-made hampers, instead of buying gifts ala-carte, thus saving a tidy sum in the process!

Galloping ahead of regulars, Personalized Gifts surprisingly had a strong surge in sales this year, indicating a growing preference to customize one’s gifts with photos, text and custom messages

Sarees, Accessories, Perfumes and Jewellery are a staple feature, and these categories did well, after the above categories. Home appliances, Kitchen appliances and silver gifts rounded-out the pecking order.

2)      Average Spends: Surprisingly, the average order value of Mother’s day gifts exceeds that of Valentine’s Day, which shows that shoppers do ensure that their mom feels as special as their spouse, on special occasions. Our breakup is as follows (rounded figures):

Upto $ 20                                22%
From $ 21 to $ 30                    37%
From $ 31 to $ 40                    28%
From $ 40 to $ 60                    8%
Above $ 60                              5%

Above $ 100 (included above)                          2%

3)      Age & Gender:  54% of shoppers were male, as compared to 46% females. The age breakup of our Mother’s day shoppers was:

18-24               27%
25-34               34%
35-44               15%
45-54               12%
55+                  12%

The age breakup does reveal the trend that even shoppers aged above 50 take care to wish their elderly parents back home on Mother’s day. This is a heartening trend and talks volumes about the Indian culture and the bonds of love across continents.

4)      Top 10 Shopper Locations:  These follow a usual trend, and our shoppers are from the major metros worldwide. The ranking order by country is:

United States
Canada
India
Australia
UK
UAE
Singapore
Bahamas (!)
South Africa
New Zealand

This data reveals the trend that Indian shoppers within India have taken to online gifting in a major way, thus putting India at the # 3 spot, and giving many other countries a run for their money. This just goes to underscore the fact that Internet users in India are warming up to the convenience and cost effectiveness of online gifting, which has been mainstream in other countries for many years.

5) Top 5 Indian States: The top locations within India contributing to sales are:

Maharashtra
Delhi
Gujarat
Karnataka
Madhya Pradesh

We hope you had fun glancing through these interesting numbers! We are still accepting orders for Mother’s day for the next 3 days, and will be sure to update these, if trends change significantly after the occasion. Wishing all patrons, and their moms, a very Happy Mother’s day 2014!

Our Mother’s day special is at: http://www.gujaratgifts.com/mothers-day-gifts-to-india.html