Christmas 2018 – What You Need to Know

Photo-by-freestocks-on-Unsplash

When did you start receiving Christmas emails this year? Or notice Christmas carols in the shops? It seems like it starts earlier and earlier every year. A common complaint when we see or hear things relating to Christmas in October is ‘Can we at least get through Halloween and Bonfire Night!’. 

Since shoppers spent an estimated £821 million on Christmas in 2017[1], it’s no surprise that brands try their hand at getting a piece of the pie as early on as possible. 

We decided to investigate what the Christmas experience is like for shoppers to see if there’s any value in these increasingly early communications. Here we’ll share some of the key highlights of what we learnt.

Mid-November kicks off that Christmassy feeling 

98% of those surveyed will be celebrating Christmas this year. And for the most part, it’s exciting with 59% identifying more as Buddy the Elf than The Grinch.

Be that as it may, despite retailers’ best efforts to bring on the Christmassy feeling with decorations and Christmas carols, the Christmassy feeling only hits the majority of people after mid-November.

Given that 50% of survey participants will only start their Christmas shopping in November (17% start in October, while interestingly 30% start before October), October is an appropriate point in the year to start getting on their Christmas radars[2]. However, given the lack of ‘Christmassy’ feeling until later, retailers should be wary of going in too heavily until November as they stand a chance of annoying, rather than inspiring.

However, it’s not an exciting time of year for everyone

36% of participants are ambivalent or not excited about Christmas at all this year. For some, being an adult and maybe not having children around has meant it’s lost its allure. For others the stress and expense of buying gifts makes it more stressful than enjoyable. 

However, for many it’s a very lonely day and a difficult time of year. People shared that it was spent alone and therefore no different to any other day, that they suffer from depression, that they’ve recently lost someone close to them which will make Christmas this year difficult or their children have moved away and they see no point in celebrating.

Gift giving is a strategic affair

Gift giving can be considered by many as an unnecessary expense as well as a very stressful event, what with trying to manage budgets and find ‘good’ gifts. To manage this, most people plan their gifts in advance.

But it’s still not easy. Some of the most searched questions on Google when it comes to Christmas gifts are:

- What Christmas gifts for…

- What Christmas gifts are trending

Shoppers will seek inspiration just about anywhere, but the most popular sources of inspiration are in-store, in online stores and through online searches. 

Retailers investing in Christmas displays, promotions and communications will benefit from driving feet in store, whether that’s online or the physical store as shoppers are actively going there to seek inspiration.

Furthermore, helping to reduce stress with interesting, unique and novel gift ideas categorised by budget and gift receiver will go a long way to making shoppers’ lives easier (and ultimately building relationships with shoppers).

Christmas is a time of big spending

According to our survey, participants plan to spend on average around £150 per person. Children will get the lion’s share of Christmas spend, with participants anticipating on average over £250 per child.

With a lot of gifts to buy and an expectation to spend a lot of money, it’s no wonder that many Google searches at this time of year start with ‘can’t afford Christmas…’

With this in mind, sales feature prominently in Christmas shopping plans with only 17% anticipating paying full price for all their gifts. 31% plan to buy all of their Christmas gifts in the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, while the remainder will seek out sales but are willing to pay full price if they need to. 

Clothing and apparel will be the most gifted items this year, followed by toys, cosmetics and fragrances, gift cards, food and liquor, books and money.

The high street is not dead

Despite naysayers claiming otherwise, as we’ve already seen many people still get their inspiration in-store, and 81% claim some of their gift shopping will be done in a physical shop (80% will also do some of their shopping online). Reasons for shopping in-store include:

· being able to see and feel items (especially clothes)

· stores are considered more inspiring than online

· for the Christmassy environment

· to find bargains

· for stocking fillers

· when you can’t find items online

· habit

Ease drives online shopping

The king of online shopping, Amazon, has taught shoppers about how easy and convenient shopping online can be, however online lacks the inspiration and Christmassy feel that can be found in the shops. Needless to say, it’s now an engrained part of the Christmas journey and in addition to ease and convenience, reasons given for shopping online include:

· wider range of products

· a more peaceful, less crowded environment

· to access reviews

· to comparison shop and find the best prices

· to find unusual gifts

· to shop at any time

Especially at Christmastime when comparison shopping and deal seeking is rife, online only retailers should develop strategies to develop ongoing relationships that transcend the transactional and functional relationships that the online environment so naturally engenders.

Mobile and app shopping is still small

15% will do some of their shopping on their mobiles while 13% will do some using apps. Reasons cited are similar to those for online shopping, with added convenience as they are already logged in and they can do it wherever they are.

As one participant claimed: “I sometimes think of things whilst on the phone.”

Christmas entertaining is an integral part of the festive season

63% of people will be hosting a Christmas event of some sort this year, of which 50% will begin planning a month or more in advance. Hosts will take on a lot of the responsibility, with 80% of participants claiming that they’ll cater and organise the entire event on their own. And despite this responsibility, they won’t be skimping – 81% of hosts will still be doing the full Christmas roast with all the trimmings! Retailers better be stocking up on pigs in blankets and turkeys!

Despite the ease and convenience that online shopping offers, only 16% will buy all of their Christmas food online. 62% will do all the shopping in-store while 21% will do a mix of online and in-store. In-store is the preference as it gives shoppers control over quality but they also find it more festive. Interestingly, despite the convenience of online, when it comes to food shopping, many also feel that they can’t organise themselves in advance and that it’s easier to pick everything when they’re there in the store.

Despite the fun, it might not end up splashed all over social media

In spite of how much fun and planning goes into Christmas, it won’t necessarily end up behind glossy filters on social media. Only 29% plan to share their festive shenanigans, while 55% are certain that they won’t be sharing anything online. Sharing behaviour increases to 54% among younger participants (those aged up to 34 years old), dropping to 25% among those aged 35-49 and down further to 8% among those over 50.

Among those who will be sharing their activities, Facebook is still the go-to platform, followed by Instagram; however among those aged up to 34, the group most likely to share activities on social media, Snapchat is more popular than Instagram.

We hope you enjoyed this snapshot of Christmas attitudes and behaviours in the UK in the lead-up to Christmas.

If you’ve got any questions about the methodology or the findings, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via hello@embark-insight.com as we’d be happy to share more.

The Nuts and Bolts 

We surveyed n=200 participants across the UK, with a mix of ages, gender and lifestages. The research was conducted online at the beginning of November.

[1]According to a survey conducted in 2017 by Statistica

[2]The Oxford Street Christmas lights were switched on 6 November. The beginning of November also marks the start of all the Christmas ads, while Selfridges was one of the first stores to unveil their Christmas display in October.