"Wedding gift angst" a dread, stomach-wrenching anxiety that grips people when they set out in search of a wedding gift - plagues nearly half the American population, a new survey by American Express shows.
The light-hearted survey, conducted just in time for the summer wedding months, involved interviews with 1,000 men and women over age 18.Among the findings:
Almost half - 48 percent - of the respondents find shopping for a wedding gift difficult, but men are much more likely to feel this way than women - 57 percent versus 39 percent.
Although women tend to compare shopping for a wedding gift to pleasurable things - 35 percent say the experience is "like being a kid in a candy store" - men conjure up more painful notions. Twenty-two percent of male respondents likened the experience to "doing your taxes," and 21 percent compared it to "going to the dentist."
The chief anxiety for 57 percent of the shoppers is trying to find a gift that will appeal to both the bride and groom.
Other anxiety-provoking shopping dilemmas include "sending an inappropriate gift" (54 percent); "not finding a gift within your budget" (48 percent); "fear of the gift looking cheap" (45 percent); "pressure of buying a gift that must be significant and symbolic" (41 percent); and "fear of giving the same gift that another guest might give" (38 percent).
Lesser concerns include "giving a gift that makes a flattering statement about themselves" (28 percent) and "giving a gift that will fail to impress the newlyweds' parents and relatives" (13 percent).
The answer, for many shoppers, is to avoid shopping altogether and just give money. That's what 23 percent of the respondents said they usually do.
Another 26 percent run down to the bridal registry and buy something that the bride has either asked for or registered for.
Nearly half, however - 46 percent - decline to take the easy way out, and instead opt for a personal wedding gift they think the bride will appreciate, regardless of whether she's asked for it.
Westerners are particularly prone to this. Fifty-six percent of western shoppers prefer the "personal wedding gift" route. In contrast, northeasterners are most likely to send money - 43 percent usually do that.
Meanwhile, if you're considering the ever-popular small-appliance route, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers recently surveyed brides-to-be and discovered that 74 percent of them want blenders and electric frypans. In fact, two-thirds of those surveyed say if they don't get those items for presents, they'll buy them after the wedding.
Also on the future brides' wish lists: automatic-drip coffeemakers, electric can openers, hand-held mixers, toasters, irons, woks, compact food processors, chopper/mixers, and deep fryers.
Industry experts say first marriages generate $7.8 billion worth of retail sales each year, $1.5 billion of which is spent on appliances.