As many as 44 per cent of UK consumers plan to self-Santa this Christmas.
PriceGrabber.co.uk, a part of Experian, has just released the results of a Christmas shopping survey of 1,004 respondents conducted betweenOctober 8 and November 18.
Survey data explores consumer gift purchasing patterns this Christmas, especially the trend of consumers acting as “Self-Santas” by purchasing gifts for themselves.
According to PriceGrabber.co.uk survey data, some UK shoppers plan to spend more on gifts for themselves than on presents for family and friends: 18 per cent of all UK consumers plan to spend more than £50 on gifts for each family member or friend this Christmas; 24 per cent of consumers are set to spend more than £50 on gifts and treats for themselves in the run up to Christmas.
Many consumers, especially men, plan to self-Santa this Christmas:
44 per cent of consumers plan to self-Santa this Christmas. Men are most likely to self-Santa, with 48 per cent planning to shower themselves with gifts and treats this Christmas, compared with 42 per cent of women who plan to self-Santa this Christmas.
The most popular reason to self-Santa is to take advantage of sales/discounts. Of those consumers planning to self-Santa: 60 per cent indicate they self-Santa to take advantage of sales/discounts; 21 per cent reveal they self-Santa as a result of impulse purchasing; 17 per cent reveal they self-Santa to ensure they get all the gifts they want this Christmas; eight per cent plan to self-Santa so they can avoid asking friends and family for gifts.
People in the North East and men are the most generous: With 22 per cent shelling out £51 or more per gift for family and friends; people in the Midlands were the least generous, with only 16 per cent planning to spend £51 or more on gifts for family and friends.
Men are more generous when it comes to buying presents for family and friends than women. 19 per cent of men spend more than £50 on each gift for family and friends; whereas only 16 per cent of women stump up this much for presents.
“Retailers offer some of the best discounts of the year during Christmas. So it comes as no surprise that after a few hours of shopping, many consumers end up with a few gifts for themselves,” stated Justin Segmond, business director at PriceGrabber.co.uk. “Taking advantage of the special pricing during Christmas can help shoppers save money in the long run, especially with the upcoming January VAT increase.”