Cancel Christmas? You must be crackers!

Consumer Market Research

You thought Christmas was starting earlier every year, right? Well this looks like being one year when it can’t come soon enough.

 

After the multitude of miseries brought about by Coronavirus, Christmas is proving to be more important than ever to over half of UK adults this time around. A survey by Kinetic Worldwide research shows that we’re already hitting the stores in anticipation.

 

28% of us have begun the Christmas shopping rush, 58% have expressed an intention not to hold back on what we spend, and 16% of us are planning to spend more than we would usually.

 

Shopping online lacks the jingle.

 

This is despite an increase in online shopping, though a spike in lockdown online spending may prove to be short-lived, as Kinetic’s survey indicated that just 31% of us will spend more online compared to the pre-pandemic norm. By contrast, 56% of adults go out of their way to shop in-store wherever possible, while 63% of 18-34-year-olds report missing the outdoor shopping experience.

 

Stocking up for the festivities.

 

None of us need reminding that Christmas presents us with a great incentive to go a bit mad, sure. But this time the worsening pandemic has given everyone the perfect excuse to embrace the festivities extra early. 25% of us are expected to mount our seasonal raid on the shops before we even get Halloween out of the way.

 

Lockdown notwithstanding, shoppers in Greater Manchester and parts of Lancashire aren’t deterred; footfall has dropped just 1-2% since the ’rule of six’ was imposed. And though we’d naturally expect to see a surge in online shopping thanks to the virus, 37% of us plan to do our Christmas shopping in store the traditional way.

 

Christmas is more real in-store.

 

So it would appear that even the perils of a pandemic won’t stop the die-hards. Covid-19 hotspots in Wales saw footfall increase by 1-2%, while In areas such as Caerphilly, Glamorgan, footfall rebounded 5% week-on-week despite the imposition of even stricter restrictions.

 

Nor were 80% of in-store shoppers put off by the minor inconvenience of having to wear a face mask, and only 21% were reducing the time they spent on the high street as a result.

 

So this year’s Christmas message is clear.

 

Despite limits on social gatherings, the numbers of family we can see – if any – and the watered-down spirit of our traditional Christmas parties, all the signs say we’re determined not to let Covid put the humbug on our Christmas!