Seeking the present of a bit of free publicity is Virgin Mobile, whose new research reveals the stocking filler fails that are the worst Christmas presents possible.
With the silly season upon us, Virgin Mobile has revealed that "Aussies are saying enough is enough when it comes to crap Christmas presents with novelty mugs, scented candles and stuffed toys making up some of the nation’s top five worst stocking fillers."
We're told that although 95% of us don’t mind receiving small gifts if they’re useful, the company's research uncovers that "2 out of 3 Aussies believe stocking fillers are often wasted and most would prefer to have data over mind-numbing novelty mugs (64%) or a pair of yawn-inducing socks (55%)."
And, whether it’s streaming classic Christmas movies on the go or uploading FOMO-inducing holiday pics on social media, "8.6 million of us would rather ditch the stocking filler and get data instead."
{loadposition alex08}Then there's the stat that gives the telco the opportunity to toot its own horn and do a bit of self cherry and champagne popping, stating that "with almost 8 in 10 Australians likely to increase their data use over the Christmas period, Virgin Mobile is making it easier to gift the more useful gift of data, allowing friends and family to do more of what they love online. It’s the little stocking filler that packs a big punch."
The top 5 gifts Aussies loathe come Christmas time are:
- Novelty gifts (mugs and Christmas themed gifts) 57%
- Something smelly (scented candles, beauty products and perfumes) 49%
- Stuffed toys 47%
- Trinkets 44%
- A ‘gift with purchase’ gift 44%
So, what else does the survey detail?
Well, top of the list of how people expect to increase their data this holiday season is "staying connected and up to date (69%), shopping up an online storm including Boxing Day sales (38%) and streaming or downloading their favourite music, movies and TV series (38%)."
James Gully, Virgin Mobile Australia's CEO said: “As the research shows, many Aussies are favouring data over seemingly useless gifts like candles and socks. Getting the gift of mobile data is more thoughtful than you think and allows people to do more of the stuff they really enjoy.
“With Data Gifting, it’s even easier to give the gift of data this Christmas, a time where mobile data consumption tends to spike. Sharing your data is not only a useful gift, but one that we know Aussies will enjoy and can be done at a click of a button,” added Gully.
We're then told that "the average mobile data gift made by Virgin Mobile customers is 4.5GB which equates to around 10 hours of videos, 38 hours of music or 30 hours of apps and browsing per day."
Naturally, Virgin Mobile reminds us that "Data Gifting" is part of its "FairData offering and is available to all Postpaid mobile customers at the click of a button through the MyAccount app or webpage."
More info on Data Gifting is here, while while details on "what your data gets you" at Virgin Mobile, click here.
Here's the company's video on data gifting: