A stated gift budget can conceal trade-offs with other activities and expenses. Understanding the surrounding resource flow can improve the design question without assuming how much people should spend.
IDEO.org's Resource Flow method visualises how resources move through people's lives. IDEO.org Design Kit — Resource Flow.
Respect the research boundary
For a cultural-gift study, discuss only information relevant to the agreed research purpose. Participants should not have to disclose sensitive financial details to explain an ordinary product choice.
Look for the practical constraint
A purchase may depend on timing, transport or another competing need rather than price alone. Record the explanation without converting a small qualitative exercise into a pricing formula or market-size estimate. Use it to identify what further evidence the concept requires.
Source reviewed 25 October 2026. Interpretation and original diagrams: PLUSHIP / Qunhe. Examples are illustrative.
Related reading
Map the Gift Journey Beyond the Moment of Purchase
An Insight Statement Should Explain a Pattern in the Research