• The average spend by each person is also set to fall to £476
• 49% of respondents said they would reduce the amount they spend on presents this year
• Over a third of Brits don’t plan on doing any gift shopping in-store

3, December, 2020, LONDON –

Christmas gift spend across the UK is set to fall by 10% to £24.2 billion this year, according to annual research from the shopping comparison site, finder.com.

The average Brit is set to spend £476 each on gifts this year, which is down by £37 from last year’s average of £513.

With many suffering financial difficulties as a result of the pandemic, half of Brits (49%) said they are planning to spend less on presents this year. Only 6% said they will spend more and 45% are planning to spend the same.

Once again, there is a wide range of amounts being spent, with 47% planning to spend under £250 and 2% planning to celebrate Christmas but not spend any money on presents.

Finder.com’s new report, Seasonal squeeze: How winter spending is set to change, also looked into the reasons why so many people are planning to spend less. The most common reason was that people can’t afford to spend as much due to the impacts of the pandemic – a fifth (20%) of those who plan to reduce expenditure said this.

A further 15% of Brits are unsure if they will be seeing friends or extended relatives over the festive period so are not buying presents as a result, while 14% don’t see the point in buying as many presents as usual when we face lockdowns and restrictions on our movement.

Across the UK, over a third of the public (35%) don’t intend to buy any Christmas gifts in-store this December and 16% cited this as a reason for their reduced overall spend.

For the second year in a row, gen X are set to be the most generous generation when it comes to buying gifts. Their average spend will be £576, compared to £207 for gen Z, who will once again spend the least on presents.

Younger people are also the most likely to spend less on gifts, with two-thirds of gen Z (67%) and 61% of millennials saying they will do so. Financial concerns appear to be the main driver, with 38% of gen Z citing financial concerns along with a fifth of millennials (21%).

The full paper, Seasonal squeeze: How winter spending is set to change, includes expert commentary from industry leaders and can be viewed and linked to here.

Commenting on the findings, Liz Edwards, editor-in-chief for shopping comparison site finder.com, said:

“This decrease in spend reflects the financial divide that we are seeing across the UK. A lot of people have faced redundancy or fewer job opportunities this year, so while we’re all looking forward to the festive period, not everyone will be able to splash out on expensive gifts. If you’re looking to have a special Christmas without breaking the bank, here are some simple tips to help:

Agree a price limit on gifts with family and friends
“This was the most popular Christmas money-saving hack last year, according to our research. It’s even more important this year and is likely to come as a relief to others when you suggest it.

Give an experience as a present
“A Christmas gift doesn’t need to be an item that you buy for someone. Why not think of something that would brighten someone’s day that doesn’t involve large sums of money? It could be as simple as breakfast in bed, planning a nice walk or making something.

Christmas entertainment
“If you want to broaden your TV show horizons this Christmas, make use of one-month free trials from the likes of Amazon Prime and hayu. Put the date in your diary before the trial ends to review or cancel it so you don’t default into a subscription you may not want.”

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Methodology
Finder commissioned Onepoll on 25 to 27 November 2020 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

An additional question on how many Brits intend to shop in-store for Christmas was commissioned with Savanta, w/e 20 November to a nationally representative survey of adults aged 18+. A total of 2,141 people were questioned throughout Great Britain, with representative quotas for gender, age and region.