When do Britons do their Christmas shopping?
Overall, two thirds (67%) of those buying Christmas presents say they have typically begun their shopping by the end of November, including 10% who begin in October and 14% who have made a start even earlier than this. This level of early bird behaviour is much more common among women, 35% of whom have started their gift gathering in October or earlier, compared to just 12% of men.
The 29% of gift buyers who wait until December itself to begin the process includes 6% who wait until the second half of December to get it started. Men are more likely to leave the Christmas shopping until later in the season, with 9% of men waiting this long before starting, compared to 1% of women.
When it comes to having got the present buying all wrapped up (so to speak), one in six gift buyers (17%) say they’ve typically bought all the presents they intend to give by the end of November, with a further 16% doing so in the first week of December.
The median shopper, though, completes their shopping in the second week of December, but 42% only finish up after 15 December, including 9% who finish on the 22nd or 23rd and 6% who leave it right up until Christmas Eve to conclude their present purchasing.
A third of Britons (33%) do their Christmas shopping mostly or entirely online, relative to 22% who do it mostly or entirely in person. A further third (32%) say their seasonal shopping is about equally done in person and online.
Who do Britons give presents to?
One of the central parts of Christmas is the exchanging of gifts, which has its origins in the nativity story itself. Of course, unlike the three wise men, most of us today will be giving gifts to multiple people, which raises the question of which people in your life should receive presents?
Unsurprisingly, effectively all parents (98%) give their children Christmas presents, as do nearly all grandparents (97%) with their grandchildren. The generosity is largely returned, with 92% of British adults whose parents are in their life giving them a gift, though it’s just 77% of adults with grandparents who give them a present.
Nine in ten of those in a relationship (92%) give their partner a present. However, there is a small gender imbalance, with 95% of men in a relationship giving their partner a gift, relative to 89% of women.
Seven in ten Britons with a sibling (69%) typically give them a Christmas present, while only 38% of those with an extended family usually help fill the stockings of their uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews or nieces.
Whether or not Britons include the in-laws in their Christmas shopping is a seemingly even exchange. Nearly six in ten parents-in-law (57%) give gifts to their children-in-law, with 63% of the latter returning the favour.
Some recipients are less common, but one in six Britons (18%) give a gift to at least one of their closest colleagues, beyond activities like Secret Santa, while 12% of the public give a present to a neighbour.
Whether to exchange gifts with friends is one of the big Christmas gender divides. Six in ten women (61%) typically give their closest friends a Christmas present, with this roughly even across all age groups (59-63%). But just a third of men (33%) do the same, with this more common among younger men: 43% of 18-34 year old men do so, compared to 28-32% of those in older age groups.
Do Britons prefer their Christmas presents to be a surprise?
Writing your Christmas list to Santa is one of the highlights of the holiday for children, and many continue the practice of publicising their present preferences into adulthood…
A third of adults (32%) say they would still prefer people to ask them what presents they would like for Christmas before purchasing any, though this is less than the 44% who would rather people surprised them with gifts they thought they would like. One in seven Britons (15%), though, would rather not receive anything at all.
Younger adults are seemingly more intent on dictating what they receive, with 37% of under-50 age groups saying they’d prefer people to ask them what presents they wanted, compared to 28% of 50-64 year olds and 22% of over 65s.
Older Britons are the most likely to prefer not to receive any presents at all, with 27% of over 65s saying this was their preference, compared to just 6% of 18-34 year olds.
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Photo: Getty
