Dec 14, 2010

Gift-wrapping falls out of favor to gift bags and greener timesBy Eve MitchellMiamiHerald.com

Walnut Creek, Calif. — Anthony Bryndza left the gift-wrapping department at the Macy’s at Union Square in San Francisco with a package wrapped in a heavy silver paper, trimmed with bright green ribbon and a decorative bell.

“If I tried to do it myself, it would look like I did it myself. It’s a beautiful job,” said the 68-year-old San Francisco resident.

Bryndza paid $11 for the holiday present to be wrapped, which will be given to a needy recipient through a community gift-giving program. “It’s just to make it as nice as possible for the guy who is getting it,” he said.

There are some shoppers like Bryndza, who believe a professional wrapping is just as important as the present itself. But that’s not the case for most consumers at a time of changing tastes and the growing popularity of gift cards and gift bags.

In March, Macy’s shut down its gift-wrapping service at most stores nationwide, except for its Union Square store and four other locations. JCPenney shut down its gift-wrapping service several years ago.

“Three years ago, we began to shift away from gift-wrap departments based on reduced customer demand for gift-wrapping services. In part, this may be part of a societal environmental sensitivity for using less paper. In part, customers are preferring less formal wrapping options (i.e., gift bags),” Macy’s spokeswoman Laura Smith said in an e-mail. She added that Macy’s will continue to provide gift-wrapping at stores where demand continues for the service.

Upon request, many department stores – including Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Nordstrom, JCPenney and Sears, along with specialty retailers such as Victoria’s Secret – provide customers with a free gift box for merchandise purchased inside a store. But that’s not quite the same as a present all wrapped up with pretty paper, ribbons and bows.

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