Britons to do most gift shopping online, clothing near top of priority list

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Dec 2, 2016

More than half of consumers in the UK (52%) will buy most of their Christmas presents online this year, according to a new survey. And they are planning to spend £388 each on average on presents over the festive season - significantly more than their counterparts in other European countries.

Commissioned by Paysafe's online pre-paid payment provider paysafecard, the survey also reveals that some age groups are willing to spend more than £500 on gifts and clothing is among the most popular gift options.

Consumers aged 30-39 are particularly likely to make most of their festive purchases online (57.4%) and are the biggest spenders, with £505 going on presents on average. The same age group usually spends £214 on their entire online shopping bill each month, while the average value across all age groups is £169.

And despite current economic uncertainty, British consumers are planning to spend more money on Christmas presents than those in other European countries such as Germany and Switzerland, one of the richest nations in the world

The findings also reveal that men and women in Britain are planning to spend roughly the same amount as each other on presents for friends, family and colleagues (£399 and £377 respectively).

In other European countries such as Germany and Austria, the gap is much bigger. In Germany, men will spend about 45% more than women (£250 compared to £172). In Austria, the average amount spent on presents will total £320 (men) and £258 (women).

In real terms, British men are planning to spend £149 more on Christmas presents than men in Germany, while British women are going to spend more than twice as much as German women (£377 compared to £172). Even in Switzerland, one of the 10 richest countries in the world, men and women will spend less on Christmas presents than their British counterparts.