Irish consumers seem set to temper their Christmas spending this year as the number who believe too much is spent over the festive season hits almost 80 per cent, according to a survey published on Tuesday.
The latest poll from the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) might give retailers pause for thought. It suggests consumers will spend an average of €563 this Christmas, compared with €600 last year.
All told, 44 per cent of those polled said their monthly income would be enough to cover the cost of Christmas, up from 36 per cent in 2014, but 45 per cent said they would have to borrow money, down from last year’s 51 per cent.
The ILCU puts the average amount likely to be borrowed by Irish consumers who go into the red at €388, down from €417 last year.
Financial hangover
It also found that it would take consumers an average of just over eight weeks to get over the financial hangover left by Christmas, although under 5 per cent of consumers said they would still be paying off the cost when Christmas 2016 comes around.
Parents of young children estimated that gifts would cost €167 per child, down from €180. According to the poll, 79 per cent of consumers think Irish people spend too much on Christmas, up from 71 per cent in 2014, while 68 per cent said there was nothing better than a proper Irish Christmas.
A similar number said this Christmas would be enjoyable despite financial worries, up from 62 per cent last year. One in four said they would worry about their finances and how they were going to cope over Christmas. This is down from 30 per cent last year.
Food shopping
The poll also looked at where Irish consumers were likely to buy their Christmas dinners. Most food shopping will be done in the big supermarkets, with 31 per cent of all Christmas food shopping likely to take place in Tesco.
Aldi was second, with an anticipated market share of 19 per cent, followed by Dunnes Stores at 16 per cent of consumers. Supervalu was on 15 per cent while Lidl was on 10 per cent.
Consumers continue to show mixed sentiment towards perceived value. All told, 36 per cent said they did not believe good value was available when it came to Christmas shopping and only 13 per cent of adult consumers said there was good value to be found.
More than two-thirds said they would shop online for Christmas presents this year, with better value said to be the main reason for the migration to the web. Amazon is still likely to be the most popular destination for Christmas shopping online.
