Early, online and extra special this festive period

British parents are buying Christmas presents early and spending as much or more than previous years in a bid to make Christmas 2020 extra special, according to our new research study.

We surveyed 1,000 UK parents of 0-16-year-olds asking them how they planned to shop this Christmas. Of those spending more, the top reason for doing so is to make Christmas extra special (77%) and parents are planning ahead to make this ‘extra special’ Christmas a reality and avoid disappointment on the big day. Almost half of parents (44.2%) had either started, or planned to start Christmas shopping earlier this year, in an attempt to alleviate worries around delivery and busy shops (following lockdown restrictions).

The financial pressures brought on by Covid-19 are reflected in that almost half (43%) of UK parents wanting to spread the cost due to financial pressure. Online is unsurprisingly taking the majority of spend with 65% planning to shop mostly or entirely online. This is a change of habits for most too – 65% said this equated to shopping more online than in 2019. Not only that but we have seen the power of social media to drive purchases with the majority of parents having bought items advertised to them on social media, whilst just over a quarter (26%) having never done so.

Far from being a one-off these habits look set to become permanent, accelerating the shift to online shopping. More than half of parents surveyed (51%) plan to keep their online buying habits and purchase just as much online next Christmas.

Download the full report below