When do you do your Christmas shopping?
Christmas shopping is bound to get you in the festive spirit, yet so many people leave it till last minute ensuring a rush of panic and stress. But shopping early could not only save your sanity, but some pennies too.
With less than 40 days until Christmas, research by secretsales.com reveals that those who complete their festive gift shopping before 1st December save an average of £84 on their total gift spend. This means that by shopping in the next three week period, the UK could wipe £4.2 billion off the nation’s gift receipt.
Following the old adage - the early bird catches the worm, one in ten shoppers begin their Christmas shopping in the January sales and nearly half of shoppers bought this year’s Christmas presents in 2013 mid-season and summer sales. However, a surprising 40 per cent of shoppers admit they have never considered doing this to help bag an early Christmas bargain.
Despite many consumers planning ahead, last minute panic is still a feature of Christmas shopping, with almost half of Brits dashing to the shops on Christmas Eve, spending on average £63 more than they had anticipated. In fact, one in ten admit to splashing as much as an additional £120 on last minute gifts. Woman are more guilty of last minute shopping splurges than men, with nearly half making an eleventh hour dash to the shops in search of presents.
Helen Kaye, Head of Editorial at SecretSales.com says “The research shows it really does pay to get your Christmas shopping wrapped up early, with those who do saving £84 on average. Making lists will help you stick to your budget and avoid that last minute rush to the high street.”