No presence of presents

LIMITED OPTIONS

However, when it comes to gifting men, you need a bit of an imagination too. While many don’t find it difficult to buy something for girls, somehow, when it comes to men, they are clueless.

Most find it impossible to decide on the right thing to buy. Metrolife asks people about this peculiar problem and why it remains a herculean task to buy gifts for men. While the shops seem to be filled with things a woman would want, nothing seems to really target the men.

Says Mohammad Zakria, who runs his own customised clothing store in Jayanagar, “For a guy, the choice of gifts is pretty limited. So when it comes to buying gifts, girls resort to items like a wrist watch, a tie or something in that league.”

Women agree but also say there is a limit to the number of times one can purchase the most popular gift items like ties, wallets and watches. “Gifting ideas for men pale up in comparison to women. And there aren’t many options,” says Krithika. “Majority of men aren’t really metrosexual so you can’t buy them beauty products which all women drool over. Choices are limited to wallets and perfumes and maybe gadgets which all look the same,” she adds. 

Some men believe otherwise. With various gadgets and gizmos hitting the market, they wonder why is it so difficult to scout for the perfect gift item for them. “We like anything to do with gadgets and games. I think it is just a myth that finding gifts for men is difficult. In reality, it is easy to buy gifts for them,” says Samir Paul, an IT professional.

Even Aditya Venkatesan feels that a guy has varied interests, one of them being sports like cricket and football. He asserts, “There is no dearth of cricketing accessories and motor racing items. Even football clubs’ merchandise are easily available nowadays,” says this Manchester United fanatic, who thinks women should not face a problem buying gifts at all.  

But more than just the lack of items, it is also about finding the items within the right budget. “Gadgets aren’t the cheapest items available and neither are X-box and Playstation, which seem to be on the wishlist of every man,” says Nivedita Kushalappa, a media student.

What many complain is that the usual options of perfumes, flowers and chocolates, do not work best with men. So how do you add that special touch? Even with every resource available sometimes, it becomes difficult to find the right thing to give as a present.

A possible reason could be the fact that it is the men who have been doing the purchasing in the past few years. “Over time, it is men who have been buying gifts for the women. So the market is more developed for products for women than men,” says Mohammad.

“This is one area where marketers can successfully market their products,” he adds. Either ways, looks like it would be best to just ask men what they want or let your imagination go wild to find something that would really surprise them.