From watching the lights turn on in your local town centre to tucking into a roast dinner, there’s nothing quite like Christmas in the UK. We’ve surveyed Brits to find out how much they’re spending on Christmas shopping this year and how many are using credit cards. You can find the latest Christmas spending statistics below.
Christmas statistics: UK highlights
Brits are expected to spend an average of £602 each on Christmas gifts in 2023, an increase of 40% from an average spend of £429 in 2022.
The UK plans to spend a total of £27.6 billion on Christmas gifts in 2023, up 37% from £20.1 billion in 2022.
45.8 million adults in the UK (86%) plan to buy Christmas gifts in 2023, a decrease from 89% of adults in 2022.
Almost 23 million Brits (43%) plan to use credit cards to cover their Christmas spending this year, with a total spend of over £14 billion on credit cards.
Christmas credit card spending is expected to reach £627 on average per cardholder in 2023, almost a quarter (23%) of the average UK monthly salary (£2,730).
Generation Z is planning to fork out the most on Christmas gifts, with an average spend of £828 each.
What is the average spend on Christmas presents in the UK?
The average person in the UK will be spending £602 on Christmas presents in 2023, according to recent Finder research. This is an increase of 40% from a planned spend of £429 per person in 2022.
In 2022, the average spend per person had dropped from £548 to £429 amidst the cost of living crisis. However, it seems that Brits are planning to loosen their purse strings for this year’s celebrations and spend more on Christmas gifts for their loved ones.
The UK plans to spend £27.6 billion on Christmas gifts in 2023, up from a planned spend of £20.1 billion in 2022, an increase of £7.5 billion (37%). Projected spending on Christmas gifts has not been this high since 2019 and has risen significantly compared to a year ago.
86% of UK adults are planning to buy Christmas gifts in 2023, around 45.8 million people. This is a decrease of 3 percentage points from the 89% of adults planning to buy Christmas gifts in 2022 and the lowest percentage since 2020.
How much do Brits spend on credit cards at Christmas?
Recent Finder research found that almost 23 million Brits (43%) plan to use credit cards to cover their Christmas spending in 2023, with a total spend of over £14 billion on credit cards. For those using their credit cards, the average spend is £627, which is almost a quarter (23%) of the average monthly salary in the UK (£2,730).
Gen Z has the highest percentage of members planning to put Christmas spending on their credit cards, with 3 in 5 (61%) doing so. Meanwhile, just 29% of baby boomers are planning to use their credit cards for festive spending.
Generation Z is planning to go all out with gifts this Christmas, with an average spend of £828 each. At the other end of the spectrum, baby boomers are trying to save on gift-giving this Christmas, with an average spend of just £390 each.
While each generation has at least 8 out of 10 members planning to buy Christmas gifts, the silent generation has the lowest number, with just 80% spending on presents.
Christmas spending by region: key statistics
People in Scotland are planning to spend the most of all UK regions in 2023, with an estimated average of £924 per person. This is 53% higher than the national average of £602. They are followed by London residents, who are planning to spend around £841 per person.
Meanwhile, residents in Wales are hoping to be a bit more restrained with their gift-giving, with an average planned spend of £422 per person, 30% lower than the national average.
Northern Ireland has the highest number of people indulging in gift buying this year, with 91% of residents hoping to spend at least some money on presents. This is 12 percentage points higher than the North West, where just 79% of residents state they will spend money on Christmas gifts in 2023.
89% of women are planning to buy Christmas gifts in 2023, which is only a very slight decrease from the 90% planning to spend in 2022. Meanwhile, just 83% of men are planning to buy Christmas gifts, a 6 percentage point decrease from 89% in 2022.
While more women are planning to spend this Christmas, their average spend on gifts is estimated to be lower than men at £503. This is over £200 less than the estimated spend of men, where the average is an impressive £716.
Year
Men - average spend on gifts
Women - average spend on gifts
2023
£716
£503
2022
£492
£370
2021
£635
£472
Methodology
Finder commissioned Censuswide to carry out a nationally representative survey of adults aged 18+. A total of 2,000 people were questioned throughout Great Britain between 30 October and 1 November 2023, with representative quotas for gender, age and region.
The average monthly salary in the UK was calculated using ONS wage figures.
Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact –
Matt Mckenna
UK Head of Communications T: +44 20 8191 8806
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Liz Edwards has been a consumer writer and editor for more than 20 years. She led award-winning teams at the campaigning publisher Which?, and has covered a range of consumer rights and personal finance topics including pensions, credit, banking and insurance. Liz has appeared frequently in national media such as The Sun, Metro, HuffPost and The Independent. She loves to cut through waffle to give consumers the real lowdown. And she loves puns. See full bio
Liz's expertise
Liz has written 109 Finder guides across topics including:
Sophie Barber is a content marketing manager for Finder in the UK after previously working as a content manager at a digital marketing agency. She has over 5 years experience in writing and publishing clear, concise and informative online articles for a variety of websites. See full bio
Sophie's expertise
Sophie has written 75 Finder guides across topics including:
Publishing original personal finance research
Creating data-led statistics pages to highlight industry trends
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