The majority of Britons are set to become financially stretched this festive season and may find themselves in debt as a result.
Data from price comparison website Kelkoo discovered that 56 per cent of women and 43 per cent of men say poor financial planning at Christmas has left them high and dry at Christmas .
This means some 23 million people could be pushed into the red over the holiday season.
Kelkoo's data shows Christmas overspending is worst among students and school leavers, with 67 per cent doing so.
"Debt related enquiries always increase after Christmas," said Frances Walker of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service.
"Our advice to people is to budget and plan carefully and pay off credit cards within two months of Christmas, but for those who do run into financial difficulties, help is at hand and we can offer advice to help out however bad it seem," she added.
"Shoppers continue to shop on the high street for certain purchases, but they are using the internet to cut down on time spent on the crowded high streets by spending more time researching their purchases online before hitting the shops," said Bill Rowley, Kelkoo’s head of shopping .
"With shoppers allocating a greater portion of their Christmas shopping time to online shopping, we hope that more people will benefit from the tools that online shopping search and comparison sites offer to help stave off post-Christmas debt ," he added.
According to figures from the British Retail Consortium, Christmas shoppers will spend an average of £400 on presents alone this year.
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