Deloitte has estimated that spending on Christmas gifts in the UK this year will hit a 12 year high of £17bn, a 22 per cent rise on last year.
According to Deloitte's survey, 1,000 adults said they would prefer to receive DVDs, music CDs, clothes and gift vouchers . It seems that such gifts are becoming increasingly popular and top most people’s shopping lists in Britain. The average spending per person on presents this Christmas is expected to rise by 22 per cent to £378, the report said.
At the same time, Deloitte expects consumers will rein in their outgoings in other areas such as going to the pub, eating in restaurants and Christmas breaks, with average outlay on socialising falling by 16 per cent on last year to an average of £121 per person.
Tarlok Teji Deloitte's head of UK retail said, "Gift retailers can look forward to a bumper year, but the big pullback in spend on socialising may not bode well for the leisure industry, which is expected to be hardest hit."
Fiona Moriarty, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said the figures were welcome news, "You cannot underestimate the importance of the last three months of the year. For some retailers, [this] can generate 60 per cent of their income. It's been a mixed year for our members, so a lot will be looking at the figures for this period."
She added, "The shift in spending away from breaks and meals towards gifts shows there is a great deal of competition for people's incomes. Ms Moriarty added that she believed the rise in interest rates would see consumers being more careful over how they spend their money over the coming year."
Anne Warren, a lecturer in consumerism at Glasgow Caledonian University, said that the figures also revealed an increased reliance on credit .
She said, "Many young people will bump up the amount of credit they have during Christmas in a way that they would not do at any other time of the year so they can buy what they want.
"Also, it is a fact that Christmas is coming ever earlier. This year advertisers started before Halloween, which is a record. Retailers are looking at people spending three month’s salary rather than just November and December, which increases the amount of money they [retailers] have."
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