One third of Brits have already started Christmas shopping
If you haven’t already done your Christmas shopping, then you might want to get stuck in because a third of UK shoppers are already one step ahead of you this season.
A survey conducted by New York-listed technology company Rubicon Project found that 30 per cent of us have already started Christmas shopping. Among parents the number is even higher, with 45 per cent already stocking up on gifts for the family.
Some 77 percent of Brits surveyed said they plan to spend a similar amount of money or more this year than they did last year – an average of £655 per person – with Argos, Marks & Spencer and eBay cited as the top shopping destinations.
Although 64 percent of Brits prefer to purchase lots of smaller gifts rather than one large item, nearly half of those surveyed (45 per cent) still plan to buy at least one big ticket item this year, with tech ranking high on their list.
Over half of the 2,000 consumers surveyed across the US, UK and Canada are planning to buy tech or mobile devices this Christmas season. In total, UK shoppers plan to spend more than £285 on tech-related items.
“Christmas can already be seen all around the UK with massive retailers like Harrods, Liberty and Selfridges already having opened their famous Christmas floors and online grocers like Ocado proactively suggesting shoppers book their deliveries ahead of Christmas,” Rubicon Project’s UK managing director James Brown.
“Consumers in the UK appear on the rise as a significant majority of shoppers plan to spend the same or more on Christmas purchases with most budgets exceeding £725 per family,” Brown said.
The poll found that 43 per cent of Christmas shoppers in the UK expect to domost of their shopping online, while two in five will also use their smartphones. Meanwhile the majority of parents (93 per cent) said they to shop online in some capacity this Christmas.