• Research by Think Forward Initiative and ING has found that 46% of European consumers surveyed will spend less on Christmas gifts
• 76% of respondents said that they will spend holidays with close family
• 33% of consumers intend on saving their travel budget this year

Research conducted by Think Forward Initiative and ING has found that 46% of European consumers will spend less on Christmas gifts in 2020. Over 5,000 respondents from Germany, Romania, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands were surveyed on their attitudes towards Christmas and New Year in times of COVID 19.

The study also shows that 76% of Europeans on average said that they will spend holidays with close family. However when surveyed between 26 October and 4 November 2020 , those in Germany and the Netherlands said they would be less likely to spend most of this year’s Christmas and New Year celebrations with closest family, polling in at 64% and 69% respectively.

Maria Ferreira, member of the TFI Research Hub and also senior economist at ING says: “2020 has drastically altered consumer habits and our study suggests that the Christmas period will be no different. Whilst some attitudes and habits may slightly differ across the countries that we surveyed,  it is clear that many European consumers are acutely aware of their budgets this Christmas and this will impact their spending behaviour over the holidays.”

The key headline stats from the individual countries surveyed are as follows:

Germany

Of those who do not expect to travel during the upcoming Christmas and New Year period, 30% will save their unspent travel budget whilst 25% will use it for travel plans next year. The main gift that German respondents intend on giving this Christmas is money and gift cards (both 30%) followed by apparel (18%) and books (16%).

Romania

61% of Romanian respondents have said that they will limit their spending this Christmas and New Year, so that they don’t go into debt. At the same time, 57% will have limited budget for Christmas/New Year, so are bargain hunting for sales & discounts.

Spain

The top gift that survey respondents in Spain intend on gifting this Christmas was apparel, with 42%.  Money (24%), gift cards (19%) and cosmetic and personal care products (18%) followed respectively. 62% of Spaniards plan on paying for the upcoming Christmas and New Year’s celebrations, holidays, and gifts with their current income, with 25% paying with credit cards and 20% with general savings.

Poland

Of the gifts that respondents will buy this Christmas period, 40% intend on buying cosmetic and personal care products, compared to 20% intending on giving books or gift cards. 57% of those surveyed in Poland say that they will make a budget or have tighter control on expenses for Christmas and New Year.

Netherlands

Compared to last year, nearly a third of respondents (32%)  in the Netherlands intend on spending less money on Christmas and New Year celebrations in 2021. Even before the December lockdown was announced, we expected an alteration in shopping habits, as during the survey 46% of respondents say that they will do more online shopping than in store this year.