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Christmas Countdown Survey: A third of shoppers yet to start their Christmas shopping

A third of shoppers are still yet to start their Christmas shopping with just 16 shopping days left until the big day. Research from Retail Economics revealed that just over a quarter of consumers intend to spend more this Christmas than last year which is outweighed by a third who said they are likely to spend less.

Chart 1
Source: Retail Economics

Almost three quarters of shoppers suggested they will complete some of their remaining shopping online with 12 per cent saying they will do all of it online. Over 60 per cent of those shopping online suggested that they will use click-and-collect for some of their online shopping.

Chart 2
Source: Retail Economics

The Retail Economics Christmas Panic Index showed that 42 per cent of shoppers remained completely relaxed about completing their Christmas shopping on time. Just 5 per cent suggested that they were ‘panic stricken’ although this is likely to rise in the final days before Christmas.

At the moment, 40 per cent of shoppers still have presents to buy for their partners.

Richard Lim, Chief Executive, Retail Economics said: "Shoppers remain calm about completing their Christmas shopping on time despite a third who have yet to buy any presents with just over two weeks remaining before the big day.

"The winners this Christmas will be the retailers providing a seamless omnichannel proposition with three quarters of consumers intending to do some of their remaining shopping online. A staggering 60 per cent said that they will use click-and-collect to complete some of their online orders. The retailers that can execute click-and-collect conveniently for their customers not only benefit from their loyalty but also drive shoppers back into their stores which inevitably leads to more impulse buying."

This is the first of three ‘Christmas Countdown Surveys’ Retail Economics will be releasing in the run-up to Christmas. The next Christmas Countdown Survey will be released on 15 December followed by the final release on 22 December where we will be comparing against previous weeks to track changes in shoppers’ responses.

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