In a recent survey by ipoints.co.uk 3,058 UK adults found that the difficult economic climate has definitely impacted national pockets. However, it is not dampening the Christmas spirit as the majority (52%) of Britons plan to spend as much as last year on Christmas presents this year.
Bargain-hunting is well and truly entrenched in the national consciousness, with 79 per cent of Christmas shoppers planning to take the time to find the best deal on their Christmas presents this year. 11 per cent of us save up for Christmas for at least three months before the day while a highly organised 17 per cent will have been setting money aside for over six months.
Research also revealed that it’s very much the thought that counts for Britons, with one in two ‘grinches’ (56%) saying that they had been disappointed with their gifts last year. Out of those who had received a dud, 69 per cent said that their worst present was disappointing because not much thought had been put into it, followed by 20 per cent saying that the gift-giver had been a scrooge and given a cheap present.
Some of more unusual disappointing presents from last year ranged from ladies underwear (given to a man) to a golf ball monogrammer. The UKs top three dodgy presents from last year were: socks, 15%; Toiletries, 12%; Clothes, 11%.
Guy Keeling, MD of ipoints.co.uk commented: “It’s great to see that shoppers are sticking to tradition and plan to enjoy themselves this festive season, particularly as there has never been a better time for shoppers to hunt down a bargain. Despite the media furore about deep-discounting in the run up to Christmas, it’s shocking to find that two fifths of people would delay traditional Christmas Day festivities in order to bag a bargain.”
With so many Brits planning to seek out a bargain this Christmas, shoppers can feel reassured that most recipients won’t be disappointed as just 3 per cent claim that they would be upset if they discovered a present they liked had been bought at a discount price. In fact, a very diligent 35 per cent claim that if they bought a friend or family member’s present at a discount price, they would spend the money they saved to buy them an extra present.
With retailers and brands discounting and starting to offer great deals there is clearly an opportunity to scoop up a bargain, particularly online.
Posted under Personal Finance News
This post is a Blogger on December 16, 2009
