Being the type of company who like to interact with our customers (OK, our analyst/bloggers are a wee bit nosey!!) we thought we'd do a little experiment based on peoples spending habits to see if there is any correlation between the amount of money they spend on gifts for the ones they love and the duration they stay with their nearest and dearest. 

Valentine’s Day presented itself as the perfect opportunity to run such a survey as surely as a nation, this is when we are at our most generous and offer our protestations of love to our nearest and dearest in the form of a goody of one type or another.

On this premise, We somewhat ingeniously entitled this the:

"Does how much you spend on your other half determine how long you'll be with them? Survey".

Catchy.

From the outset we have to say the survey has revealed some interesting and slightly alarming results!

Out of the 168 respondents, the data shows that people who spend the lowest amount on gifts for each other stay together longer. Eeeek!

I know that this is sure to strike a note of terror into every chocolate loving; handbag toting; jewellery wearing; designer-label clad woman the World across, but the facts speak for themselves! In a nutshell, people who spend less stay together longer. (Men all over the country are rubbing their hands together with glee!)

Don't believe us? Here's  a couple of the obligatory, all important (although slightly dull looking) pie charts:

The survey showed that in the group of people spending £10 or less on their Valentine, a whopping 67% of them have been together for more than 11yrs! In the group spending £30 or less, only a third of them have been together for more than 11 yrs; and for those of us who weighed in for a prezzy between £30 and £50 on their Valentines, only a paltry 20% have been together for more than 11 years.

More alarmingly - especially for those who like the finer things in life - of  those who spent £50 or more for their "gift of luuurrrve" only a measly 15% of them have been together with their loved one for more than 11yrs and a whopping 31% of them will be moving on to pastures new relationship wise in less than 3 years. Gulp!

By now I'm sure that every red blooded woman will be sitting down in a cold sweat and men everywhere will be cheering! Unless of course they want to split up with their 'other half' as it could end up costing em!

Sylvia Edwards - content Editor for Prezzybox.com commented "Although the results were slightly surprising, the news isn’t all bad though as the survey also shows that generally speaking, men tend to spend more than women on gifts for their loved ones". Ah but, hang on a minute, from the survey’s point of view, that means the relationship will not necessarily last! Drat! Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place!

I guess the way to look at this is in a positive way and ask whether the duration of the relationship is more important than expensive gifts. A friend of mine used to test the strength of her feelings for a man by asking herself whether she would rather spend an hour with said beau or an hour perusing the racks in Marks and Spencer, and the one time M & S lost, she married the man! She was more interested in spending the rest of her life with this man than in wondering how much he would spend on presents for her on St. Valentines Day and they are still together now. Who said romance was dead?

Most women would I think agree that a single rose says so much more than a whole bunch of roses and even a cheap bouquet of flowers bought hastily from a service station for no reason at all can mean the world if it says “I love you”.

I think most men would simply utter one word. "Hallelujah".

Maybe we should all take heart from the immortal words of two of our best loved, intelligent and enduring songwriters, namely, Lennon and McCartney when they sang….

“I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love”. It seems they got it right.

As Valentine’s Day is fast approaching we thought we'd do an Infographic to celebrate the Day of Love. Sweet!

We haven't however cobbled together your standard "The top 10 gifts for your missus are..." type of infographic, or "The corniest chat up lines of all time" blah blah blah.

Nosiree...

 We've taken the Valentine’s Day occasion and tilted it on its head a wee bit with our Sex Heroes Top Trumps "Champions of the Bedroom". Ingenious? Yep - we think so!

 Who are the World’s Greatest Lovers? Since they were 16 and legal, how many women have they had to sleep with to live up to their infamous reputation? What is their porn moustache rating? Do they have a sex tape?

All such answers are displayed in a series of Casanova-esq Top Trumps.

Now, collating this information was evidently a lot of fun but was also a lot of hard work. It was also extremely eye opening and the words "blimey", "jammy git" and "how mannnyyyyy!!!" were common utterances coming from my office during my the 'findings'.

I also had to clear my history/temporary files on a regular basis, as for part of the "research" (ahem!) I had to do extensive searches for terms such as "Celebrity Sex Tape" and the like. It was hard!

So who is the numero uno? The modern day Don Juan?

Well, coming in at number one is porn star John Holmes who allegedly bedded a remarkable 14,000 ladies, which was a gargantuan 9.62 chicks a week from the age of 16. He did however have the advantage of it being his full time profession.

Close second is Wilt Chamberlain who outstripped Holmes by a healthy 6000 but did so over a much longer time span.

And in the bronze medal position is the canny old suave-ster himself Warren Beatty who amassed just shy of 13,000 partners before he retired into marriage.

Between them the 10 have slept with an astonishing 61,196 lucky ladies averaging a not too shabby 6,119 per swordsman.

* All information is taken from the Internet and to the best of our knowledge is correct. However, we have to say that all of this info is "alleged" and the only people who can prove this one way or another is the 'swordsmen' themselves. Please don't sue us!

Embed our infographic!

</p> <p><a href='http://blog.prezzybox.com/files/2011/02/top-trumps-3.gif'><img style='width: 400px;' src='http://blog.prezzybox.com/files/2011/02/top-trumps-3.gif' alt='sex heroes info graphic' /></a></p><br /><br /> <p><span>Infographic by <a href='http://www.prezzybox.com/'>PrezzyBox</a></p>

Ho Ho Ho, Christmas – a time for all things festive, giving and receiving and all things jolly!

Now, after what seems like a lifetime away (was it really only 26 days ago) our marketing bods and analytics geeks have dug out some pretty cool ‘Yule’ stats and pieced them together in this natty Infographic. Enjoy…

Click to view the Infographic Full Size

Spend Spend Spend

Us Brits are a generous bunch spending enough to purchase over 6 Space Shuttles which come in at a whopping $1.7B each! Men are more generous, spending £24.57 per gift whilst women spread the love a lot further spending on average £212.99 for 9.5 gifts, compared to a poultry male average of £171.99. Humbug!

Talking of poultry, we consumed a ginormous 10 million turkeys last Christmas and polish off a not so insignificant 200,000 tonnes of choccy! Burp! It would appear that this veritable festive treat wasn’t consumed on the busiest Christmas shopping day of the year (6th December) as £831,000 was spent per minute online during that particular lunchtime.

Waste!

Aside the estimated 1 billion Christmas cards we throw away each year, it is estimated that over 51 square miles of wrapping paper ends up in bins which is enough to wrap the Empire State Building a whopping 523 times or, should it take your fancy almost 6 million elephants. Pass the sellotape.

Top Tech for 2010

Unsurprisingly the top selling goody for 2010 was the Ipad which sold a splendid 14 million Worldwide.  Not bad you think. However, had this princely sum been spent on 1997’s top selling toy, the Tamagotchi, it would have landed you just shy of 518 million of the little blighters. Cowabunga!

Other biggies for 2010 were Amazons Kindle selling 8 million units (or as I prefer to say 118 million Rubik’s Cubes) the Windows 7 Phone (15 million Care Bears) and the Apple TV (6.5 million Apple Trees). Blimey!

Not surprisingly, manufacturers of the Kindle, Amazon were the biggest winners online this Christmas netting over 7% of total online sales. Curry’s, Debenhams and Play were also ‘up there’ sharing 5% of the e-commerce market between them.

Snow Joke

The pesky snowfall increased in December 2010 by a monumental 45%. Don’t get me wrong we love a bit of the white stuff here at Prezzybox, but the week before Christmas…. erm… preferably not please big man in the sky.

The chaps at Royal Mail and the couriers did their hardest, but unfortunately over a quarter of all online sales were delivered late because of the snow. Grrrrr!

Disclaimer: Prezzybox disclaims any inaccuracies in the content contained in this blog post/release. Our analyst (me!) spent days and days toiling over the content and to the best of my knowledge it is all correct. If it’s not then you have my humbug apologies!

Embed our infographic!
<br /> <p><a href="http://blog.prezzybox.com/2011/01/21/crazy-christmas-2010/"><img style="width: 400px;" src="http://blog.prezzybox.com/files/2011/01/Prezzybox-Christmas-InfoGraphic2010.gif" alt="crazy Christmas 2010 info graphic" /></a></p><br /> <p><span>Infographic by <a href="http://www.prezzybox.com/">PrezzyBox</a></p><br />

Here at Prezzybox HQ, we're pretty proud of our little website, which over the last 10 years has grown exponentially and actually isn't that little any more. 

We may have grown, but our ethos has remained the same we want to offer our customers a fantastic range of gifts for all the family, backed up by an enthusiastic and helpful customer services team.

So, we think we're great, but it is nice when other people affirm this, which is why we're over the moon to have won the IMRG e-Commerce ISIS Small Retailer of the Year award.  These awards are decided by a panel of distinguished judges and are unique in the UK bringing the whole industry together to celebrate its' success.

Prezzybox MD Zak with the ISIS Small Retailer of the Year award

We were also shortlisted for Re-design/Re-launch  of the year, but narrowly missed out to Marks & Spencers, which is something we're more than happy to take on the chin.

That's all for now,

Amanda xx.

In the last couple of weeks Prezzybox has welcomed two new faces:  Debbie who is our new web designer and has really hit the ground running, producing banners for our affiliates and newsletters, as well as photographing some of our exciting new products and  Laura who has joined our award winning customer services team in preparation for helping our customers with any queries relating to their Christmas gifts.

We also learnt this week that Debbie from Customer services will be leaving us for pastures new and we are therefore on the search for a new customer services bod.

That's all for now,

Amanda.

Why not take a December theatre break in London this winter?  Booking a London theatre break gives you the opportunity to enjoy London at its' festive best before or after you've taken in a West End show.  There's no better way to get in the party spirit than a visit to one of the city's big musicals.

London theatre breaks usually include tickets to the West End show of your choice and an overnight hotel stay, giving you plenty of time to explore the capital.  Best of all, you'll make a considerable saving on the cost of your hotel room and theatre tickets.

To help you plan your December theatre break, here are a few of the best events going on in London this year.

The great Christmas Pudding Race 2010

London's wackiest race has been held in Covent Garden every December since 1980.  Teams representing schools, companies, or organisations race around a 150-metre course balancing a traditional Christmas pudding on a paper plate, dodging foamy jets, flour bombs, and obstacles along the way.

To make things even more interesting, all contestants must run the course in full fancy dress.  Of course all this silliness is for a good cause, the race raises money for Cancer Research UK.

4th December 2010.

Christmas Spectacular at the O2

This year's Christmas Spectacular at the O2 is brought to you in association with the Daily Mail.  The evening of light displays, special effects, indoor fireworks, Christmas carols, and Christmas number ones would make a great night out for all the family.  Better still, live music will be provided by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with appearances from Rhydian Roberts and Ruthie Henshall.

Wynne Evans, Alison Jiear, The Royal Choral Society and Capital Voices will also be making apperances.  For a real bargin, try booking  tickets for the Christmas Spectacular at the O2 as part of a hotel and theatre break with Show and Stay.

23rd December 2010

Ice Skating at the Natural History Museum

There are plentyof places to ice skate in London in winter, but who wouldn't want to strap their skates on knowing that there are dinosaurs right behind them?  The main rink at the Natural History Museum is 1,000 square metres with a separate junior and baby rink with ice marshal on hand to keep an eye on things.

There is also a viewing platform and cafe bar so parents and non-skaters can watch their loved ones on the rink while enjoying a hot coffee.

5th November 2010-17th January 2011, 08:45-22:00

Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park

The biggest and best Winter fair in London, Winter Wonderland is a must visit for anyone who has embraced the Christmas spirit.  It's a one stop shop for all your Christmas needs; pick up gifts at the German Christmas Market, grab a bite to eat and a soothing hot chocolate at one of the many food stalls, and let your inner child run wild at the festive fun fair.

This year's Winter Wonderland will also feature a special circus inside a heated big top, making it an unmissable Christmas event for couples, families and friends.

Santa's Grotto at Harrods

This Christmas take the kids to visit posh Santa at his famous grotto at the world famous Harrods department store.  Kids can come face-to-face with jolly old St. Nick, give him their Christmas lists, and they'll even get a special present to remember their meeting by.

After the kids have spent some time with Santa, be sure to explore Harrods thoroughly.  Their incredible range of luxury Chrismas gifts and hampers make very special festive treats for friends or loved ones.

I hope you're all well,

We are pleased to announce we have been announced as a finalist in The Greatest Gift Retailer Awards 2010 for the Best Mail Order Retailer and/or Online Gift Retailer. We are really excited about this and will let you know how we get on after the awards ceremony in May.

Here at Prezzybox we are loving Sky One's Pineapple Dance Studios, we have launched a new set of experiences for you to join in a dance class and experience the life of a dancer, click here to see the different experiences available. If you haven't seen this fantastic show here is a taste of what goes on at the dance studio.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Nikki x

I hope you're all well and enjoying the sunshine!!

Prezzybox Buying and Marketing dept have been busy at The Gadget Show Live this week hunting down new gifts and gadgets for you! We saw plenty of gifts for dad, mum and the rest of the family. Just as a quick reminder that fathers day is just around the corner on 20th June, so no excuse for forgetting or leaving it until the last minute. Prezzybox buyers are working hard to track down the best new fathers day gifts so keep an eye on www.Prezzybuzz.com for all the new products.

 LG were launching their new 3D TV's to the public they were amazing, really looking forward to that technology coming in to our homes. New scooters, skate boards and digital cameras were all being launched to the UK for the first time so look out for them on the site soon!

Today is the big wedding day for our customer services  Becky, we hope she has an amazing day and the sun stays shining!

As it's Friday, here is a very funny clip from Soccer Saturday when Chris Kamara missed a sending off.

Have a great weekend,

Nikki xx

It’s Tidy Friday in the office today, so while everyone’s doing a bit of spring cleaning, I thought I’d come and tell you about our very exciting new products available at Prezzybox now!

Firstly, We’ve got the coolest cake moulds since the Giant Cupcake Tin!

The Teacupcakes are silicone cupcake moulds shaped like teacups! They’re so adorable, I just know you’re going to love them. Check them out here.

The Cakewich is a fantastic idea. An extra deep mould shaped like a big hunk of bread! Bake your cake, slice it in the middle and you’ve got a cake that looks like a sandwich! Awesome! Check that one out here.

We’ve also got some brand new balloons on the site! You can see all of them as well as the new cake moulds and all our other brand new goodies here

As it’s Friday, I’ve got a video for you. This week it’s the power of the iPod and iPhone coming together to create a lady gaga song, it’s pretty fantastic!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Kat x

Wow, we’ve been a busy bunch this month. Mostly, we’ve been getting ready for Valentine’s Day which is just around the corner!

Whether you love it or hate it, it’s nearly time to shower our partners with love, cards and gifts.

We’ve got some fabulous Valentine’s Day gifts this year to help make it easier for you to find the perfect present!

We’ve even got the Valentine’s Day Cards sorted so you can get the Valentine’s Day presents and cards in the same place. Simples!

So take a gander at our favourite romantic gifts and you’ll be spoilt for choice. I’ve even selected a couple of my favourite brand spanking new gifts to inspire you...

Saying ‘I Love You’ is great. Saying it every day is better, and this 'I Love You' Personalised Calendar lets you say ‘I Love You’ every day of the year. Personalised with your true love’s name, they’ll have no doubt about how you feel.

If you want to sweep your loved one off their feet but don’t want to break the bank, this 2 for 1 Champneys relax day is ideal. Relax and unwind with your partner for less.

For naughtier couples, there’s the brand spanking new ‘Naughty Couples Petit Bonbons Set’. Featuring soft fabric handcuffs, vibrating massager and striptease CD! Very naughty indeed!

But if you’d prefer to show your lover how much you care, tell them that they’re priceless with the ‘You’re Priceless’ necklet. Coming in both Male and Female varieties, this sterling silver price tag is work around the wrist, ankle or neck and already has a loyal following of celebrity wearers. Join them and tell your partner that they mean the world to you.

These are just a couple of the fabulous new romantic gifts available now at Prezzybox. Make sure you check out the rest to find the perfect Valentine’s gift.

Have fun browsing...

Kat x