Christmas spending, metaverse, own-label: 5 interesting stats to start your week

Half of consumers plan to spend less this ChristmasHalf of UK consumers plan to spend less this Christmas, as inflation drives up prices and the cost of living crisis beds in.
Gifts will be one area where those looking to save will cut back. Of those consumers looking to spend less, one in three say they will cut their gift budgets by at least £25 per head.
Some 5% of the more than 1,000 UK consumers surveyed say they have already bought all their presents, with 7% indicating they will leave shopping to the last minute.
Almost half (47%) of consumers are worried about Christmas this year, an uptick of 15% from 2021. With so many consumers concerned about the cost of Christmas, brands need to be careful about the tone they strike with their festive ads, the research suggests. Only 18% of consumers agree they are strongly looking forward to Christmas ads this year, a decline of 5% from 2021.
“Brands must be sensitive to this emotional context and the reality of people’s financial positions, particularly in their advertising campaigns,” says Kantar head of creative excellence Lynne Deason.
“There’s been a clear shift in public sentiment around Christmas ads and brands will need to balance celebration and excess in their content in 2022.  That doesn’t mean, however, that they should fall into the trap of gloomy, downbeat ‘sadvertising’.  People still want to be uplifted, in fact even more so when times are tough.”

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