Shoppers “more organised than ever” this Christmas

With just over a week left to do Christmas shopping, new research has found that almost two-thirds of Brits have been so organised this year with their shopping and finances just to avoid ‘Christmas clichés’ such as panic buying and last minute store hopping.

The survey of 2,000 UK shoppers by Censuswide for Clearpay, found that shoppers are more money-conscious than ever this festive season, leading to a rise in mindful purchasing when it comes to shopping for gifts. 32.75 percent confirmed they started saving at least three months in advance, whilst one in five people said that they have changed the way they pay this year, many adopting new types of budgeting tools such as buy now, pay later services.

The poll also revealed that the 2020 Christmas will be “more budget focused” with almost a quarter (23.4 percent) saying it was the most important factor in buying presents this season, up from one in five last year. 

Almost a third of Brits have opted to buy gifts throughout the year to spread the cost and help manage finances, with the most organised of shoppers, 1 in 10 Brits doing their Christmas shopping in the January sales, 11 months before.

Shoppers have budgeted on average 458 pounds on gifts, though 20 percent expect to go up to 1,000 pounds or more, according to the survey. Of those Christmas shoppers, twice as many people now use debit cards rather than credit to pay for Christmas, with ‘buy now pay later’ now taking 15 percent of sales. 

Of those increasing their budget, one in five expect to spend up to 50 percent more this year with one in 10 doubling the amount.

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