United Kingdom (UK) Consumer Spending Intentions for Christmas 2021 report forms part of the Retail Occasions Series, and offers a comprehensive overview of the Christmas retail occasion ahead of the event, analysing consumers' intentions for spending.
More consumers are shopping earlier for Christmas this year, with worries over supply chain issues driving this trend as many are concerned they will not be able to get what they want closer to the day. Consumers also plan to spend more on seasonal food & drink compared to 2020, as many hope to celebrate together with family and loved ones. So far, consumers have spent the most money at Amazon and grocers, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer, driven by early investment in longer shelf life food & drink items.
More consumers are shopping earlier for Christmas this year, with worries over supply chain issues driving this trend as many are concerned they will not be able to get what they want closer to the day. Consumers also plan to spend more on seasonal food & drink compared to 2020, as many hope to celebrate together with family and loved ones. So far, consumers have spent the most money at Amazon and grocers, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer, driven by early investment in longer shelf life food & drink items.
Key Highlights
- Almost two-thirds of consumers have started their Christmas shopping this year, with two-fifths of consumer stating that they are worried that will not be able to get what they want closer to the time due to supply chain issues.
- Gifting and greeting cards spend is down on last year while consumers opt to spend more on seasonal food & drink spend as many plan to celebrate Christmas without COVID-19 restrictions on social gatherings.
- Amazon leads the way as the retailer consumers have spent the most money with so far for the festive occasion.
Reasons to Buy
- Understand how consumers attitudes and shopping behaviours have changed due to the pandemic in 2021 versus 2020 to adapt festive ranges instore and online.
- Understand why consumers are delaying or bringing forward their spend this year to entice shoppers to spend.
- Use our in-depth analysis of the leading retailers for Christmas to understand how to appeal shoppers and increase market share.
Table of Contents
- CHRISTMAS
- Buying dynamics
- Channel usage
- Christmas spending
- Retailer selection
- Christmas statements
- Decorating
- Shopping for gifts
- Methodology
- Technical details: consumer survey work
List of Figures
- Proportion of consumers that have already started their Christmas shopping, 2020 & 2021
- Reasons consumers have bought forward or are planning to bring forward Christmas spending this year, 2021
- Proportion of consumers who stated ‘I am worried that I will not be able to get what I want closer to the time due to supply chain issues’ as a reason for bringing forward their Christmas spending this year, 2021
- Reasons consumers have delayed or are planning to delay their Christmas spending this year, 2021
- Proportion of consumers who stated ‘financial worries’ as a reason for delaying Christmas spending this year, 2021
- Proportion of consumers who stated ‘I am unsure if Christmas will go ahead as normal due to COVID-19’ as a reason for delaying Christmas spending this year, 2021
- Categories consumers intend to purchase or have already purchased for Christmas this year, 2021
- Instore channel usage for purchasing Christmas items, overall and by age, 2021
- Online channel usage for purchasing Christmas items, overall and by age, 2021
- How consumers intend to split their spend on different Christmas categories, 2020 & 2021
- Intended average spend on each category by consumers, 2020 & 2021
- How consumers intend to split their spend on different Christmas categories by gender & age, 2021
- Proportion of total seasonal food & drink spend that will be online, 2021
- Proportion of total seasonal food & drink spend that will be online, by age, 2021
- Proportion of total gifting & greeting cards spend that will be online, 2021
- Proportion of total gifting & greeting cards spend that will be online, by age, 2021
- Proportion of total going out & leisure activities spend that will be online, 2021
- Proportion of total going out & leisure activities spend that will be online, by age, 2021
- Proportion of total decorating the home spend that will be online, 2021
- Proportion of total decorating the home spend that will be online, by age, 2021
- Proportion of consumers that stated they intend to not spend any money on each category for Christmas 2020 & 2021
- Proportion of consumers that stated they do not intend to spend any money going out & leisure activities, by age, 2020 & 2021
- How much of consumers’ Christmas budgets that has been spent so far this year, compared to the same point last year, 2020 & 2021
- Which retailers consumers have spent the most money with so far this year, 2021
- Agreement and disagreement with statements about Christmas, 2021
- Consumers’ agreement with the statement ‘I plan to spend more on decorating my home for Christmas compared to last year’, by age, 2020 & 2021
- Has your opinion on shopping for Christmas gifts changed this year compared to years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic?, 2021
Companies Mentioned (Partial List)
A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:
- Amazon
- Aldi
- Amazon Fresh
- Argos
- ASDA
- John Lewis & Partners
- Marks & Spencer
- Morrisons
- Sainsbury's
- Tesco
