Christmas shoppers predicted to spend more this year

By Swindon Link - 21 November 2019

Community

A new report suggests that shoppers plan to spend an average of £6 more on Christmas this year, with an average spend of £567.

The annual Deloitte Christmas survey -  gathered from 7,190 individuals across eight European countries - found that online shopping is expected to rise an additional 4% this year, representing 44% of UK total spend this holiday season.

“Despite this, in-store purchases still take the lead, as the possibility of exchanging and returning products remains the main reason consumers make purchases in physical stores.”

In comparison, the average European festive budget is £395.

Of that predicted £567 average spend, the majority of consumers will set aside £299 for presents, £143 for food and drink, £63 on socialising and a further £62 on travelling.

Di Powell, inSwindon BID Ltd CEO said: “It’s encouraging to see that budgets are set to increase as we welcome shoppers back into our town centres. We have all faced a challenging period, with national chain store closures that have affected all town and city centres across the UK. 

“As a Business Improvement District (BID), it is our responsibility to support our BID members by marketing and promoting a thriving town centre and to encourage people to shop locally. It’s no secret that more people are shopping online, but by doing this, they’re missing the real ‘shopping experience’. It’s down to BIDs, shopping Centres, and other town centre management companies and retailers to realise this change in shopping behaviour, and understand what can be done to entice shoppers in. Shopping is down to the ‘experience’, and that’s a core focus for inSwindon BID. 

“We promote a safe and welcoming town centre, with a mix of national and independent retailers and thriving cultural scene. Visitors can shop and save by taking advantage of the great offers and discounts in many of the town centre stores through our Loyalty Club. In support of this, we have a busy events schedule throughout the year, including our successful Summer Festival with Urban Beach and Festival of Christmas. This variety in our town centre offering is what differentiates us and creates that new ‘experience’ shoppers are looking for. 

“It’s by continuing to raise the profile of Swindon Town Centre that we see further investment placed into the town centre. We hope the research from Deloitte is accurate and we look forward to seeing a successful Christmas period for all our town centre businesses.”

To read the full report click here

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