• The average Brit will spend £512.85 on presents this Christmas
• Three in five (60%) plan to cut costs when gifting this year
• Setting a price limit on presents is the most common way of reducing spending, with two in five (39%) saying they plan to do this

11 December, 2019, LONDON –

The UK is planning to spend £26.9 billion on Christmas gifts this year, according to new research from personal finance comparison website finder.com.

An average British adult will fork out £512.85 on gifts over the festive period. However, there will be a wide range of amounts spent – half (50%) are set to spend £250 or less.

However, three in five (60%) are planning to reduce spending on presents in a variety of ways. The most popular method is to set a price limit with family and friends, with two in five (39%) intending to do this.

Almost one in seven (15%) of Brits are giving experience gifts like picnics or massages to reduce costs, making this the second most common method. In third place is making gifts, with 13% of Brits saying they will do this to cut costs.

On average, men are planning to spend over £100 more than women on presents (£566.02 vs £463.29). It is likely that women are spending less on average because two-thirds (67%) are planning to cut costs in some way. This is significantly more than the number of men (54%) that intend to reduce their spending on gifts.

Generation X (those born 1965–1980) are planning to spend the most on festive gifts, parting with £636 on average. At the other end of the scale is generation Z (those born after 1996), who intend to spend £212.16 each.

Gen Z are also planning to be the most savvy with their money this Christmas, with over three-quarters (77%) saying that they plan to cut costs on gifting. Only around a third (30%) of the silent generation (those born 1928–1945) are planning to reduce how much they spend on presents.

To see the further breakdowns of the research including interactive visualisations of the data, visit: https://www.finder.com/uk/christmas-shopping-statistics.

Commenting on the findings, Jon Ostler, CEO (UK) at finder.com said: “It is interesting to see so many of us are thinking about how we can make our money go further or focus on experiences this Christmas. It can be a great feeling to give, or receive, a present, but it doesn’t need to break the bank! You will need to think about what your family and friends will value, but why not consider doing something really meaningful like learning to cook a new dish, making something or planning a day out somewhere. These could last longer in the memory than a product.”

Methodology
Finder.com commissioned Onepoll on 29 November to 5 December 2019 to carry out a nationally representative survey of adults aged 18+.
A total of 2,000 people were questioned throughout Great Britain, with representative quotas for gender, age and region.