Christmas shopping, anyone?

[20 August] Online retailer and auction website, Ebay, released some stats around Christmas shopping this week, and more than one quarter of us (27%) are planning to start their festive stockpiling earlier than usual.

There was a 44% increase in searches containing ‘Christmas’ or ‘Xmas’ on the website between April and May compared to the same period in 2019. A very impressive 34% of UK shoppers admit to already having bought Christmas-related items so far this year, with wrapping, cards and gifts amongst items.

Average spend of £1000 expected

With financial uncertainty still affecting many people, and the constant threat of further lockdowns, it’s unsurprising that people are planning ahead to spread the cost over several months.

Financial comparison experts, money.co.uk, undertook some research in July, which showed that families are intending to spend around 25% more than usual on Christmas presents in 2020, with an average spend of almost £1000.

The high street holds its own when it comes to Christmas shopping, with 25% saying they do most of their buying in stores, and 45% doing a mix of online and in-store shopping. 30% of UK adults do most of their shopping online. For brands, this leaves an opportunity to continue enticing audiences into stores.

Since lockdown restrictions eased, almost half of people in Belfast recalled seeing billboard advertising (46%), 42% saw an advert on the outside of buses, 39% saw adverts at bus stops and 33% remembered seeing posters at supermarkets, according to Exerion Media’s Work.Shop.Play research (Covid-19 Outdoor Tracker, July 2020).

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