The research, led by Jeff Galak (Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business) and co-authors Elanor Williams (Indiana University Kelley School of Business) and Tepper School Ph.D. student Julian Givi, suggests that gift givers tend to focus on the moment of exchange when selecting a gift,
whereas gift recipients are more focused on the long - term utility or practical attributes of the gift.
Thus, when choosing
gift cards, givers may focus on
recipients» stable traits and choose
gift cards that are tailored to those characteristics,
whereas recipients focus on their variable wants and needs and prefer
gifts with greater versatility.