A new survey found that 60 per cent of UK shoppers are spending the same amount on their Christmas shopping as last year and 20 per cent say they will spend even more, but the same amount of people say they will spend less than they did last year.
Most tend to be in a generous state of mind with 82 per cent saying it is better to give, compared with only 18 per cent who say it is better to recieve. 52 per cent intend to spend between £80 and £400 and 23 per cent between £400 and £800.
Only 25 per cent of respondents are Christmas shopping on the high street, down 29 per cent last year.
The move online is gathering strength – 75 per cent of respondents expect to shop online this season, up from 71 per cent who said they shopped online last year.
US shoppers are also moving online. Only 39 per cent will do the majority of their holiday shopping in retail premises compared with 43 per cent past year. However, 62 per cent of US consumers are shopping online this year compared with 58 per cent in 2015.
When it comes to price checking, UK consumers seem to be fairly clever in that 69 per cent claim they check online and high street prices before buying, 18 per cent do so occasionally and 13 per cent say they rarely price check.
When consumers choose to research their potential buys, 42 per cent are far more likely to turn to other shoppers’ online recommendations than 20 per cent who would look at product reviews. Furthermore, shoppers are twice as likely to be alerted to new products by TV and word-of-mouth than by social media.
This Christmas, 45 per cent of UK respondents are shopping on a computer, 2 per cent more than last year, and 30 per cent on a smartphone or tablet, 2 per cent less than last year. US consumers are far less likely to use a phone or tablet to shop, 10 per cent less than UK shoppers last year and 12 per cent this year. The preference for shopping on computers is also broadly similar to this find.
Ian McVey, UK Director, Qualtrics: “Upbeat Brits continue to defy concerns about our future post Brexit. They are increasingly at home on line where they can look at each others’ social reviews and compare prices. Retailers are using sophisticated analysis to make online shopping a personalised, pain free and relevant experience.”
