Christmas consumption trends in the UK and the US in 2019: big shopping spree, high per capita consumption, and a wide variety of purchases

Christmas is by far the biggest shopping holiday in many other countries including the United States and the United Kingdom.

According to MuchNeeded, American consumers spent more than $1 trillion on this day , and British consumers spent more than £ 2 billion . The products they bought included Christmas decorations, gifts, cards, and party planning.

Therefore, for sellers whose target audience is the UK or the US, understanding consumer shopping behavior before the Christmas peak season will help them better develop marketing plans.

• The proportion of men and women shopping at Christmas is similar, but men are expected to spend slightly more . In the United States, men will spend an average of more than $725, while women will spend more than $609. In the United Kingdom, men will spend an average of more than £410, while women will spend more than £373.

• Generation X has the highest spending power , with an average spending of $782 per person in the United States and £425 in the United Kingdom;

• Millennials ranked second in spending power , with the average spending per person in the US at $609 and in the UK at £416.
• The lowest spenders are the baby boomers, who spend $576 per person in the US and £350 per person in the UK.

• Consumers will spend more than $5 million on their pets during Christmas ;

• Consumers spend seven times more on their family members than on their co-workers.

• 61% of adults buy clothing and accessories;

• 30% of consumers will buy electronic products;

• 20% of consumers will give cash as a gift;

• 56% of consumers will buy greeting cards;

• 44% of consumers will purchase streaming media products such as games, videos, books or music;

• 42% of consumers will buy toys;
• 31% of consumers will buy food or candy;
• 25% of consumers will purchase personal care and health and beauty products;
• 21% of consumers will buy jewelry as Christmas gifts;

• 20% of consumers will purchase furniture and home improvement products;

• 17% of consumers will purchase sports and leisure products.

• Consumers most often use debit cards for payment, with more than 68% of consumers in the United States and more than 80% of consumers in the United Kingdom using debit cards;
• In addition, it is also common to use credit cards to pay for things during Christmas . More than 55% of American consumers use credit cards to pay for things, while more than 38% of British consumers use credit cards to pay for things.
• In the US, more than 5% of consumers borrow money from family or friends to pay for their purchases, while 8.9% of consumers in the UK do so.
• 5.4% of US consumers will use payday loans (small loans) for Christmas shopping, while 12.6% of UK consumers rely on this method;

• 5.5% of consumers will take out a personal loan to buy Christmas supplies, while 9.1% of consumers in the UK will do so.

• Every Christmas, consumers spend an average of $200 on Christmas decorations ;
• Consumers spend at least $50 per person on flowers, cards and gift boxes ;
• The average British consumer spends £32 on Christmas decorations and £225 on food and drink;
• It is expected that 400 million Christmas trees will be sold this Christmas, generating more than $2.2 billion.

• During the Christmas shopping period, consumers spend an average of at least $100 on themselves ;

• Strategies that sellers use to attract consumers to their stores include: using beautiful product images and announcing that they are about to sell out ;

• The busier shopping day than Black Friday is the Saturday before Christmas ;

• Sellers lose more than $3 billion to return fraud each year , with the highest rate of losses due to returns during Christmas.

• Single consumers make impulse purchases 45% more often than married consumers.

• 46 % of consumers will shop online for Christmas;

• 12% of UK consumers put off making purchases until the last minute;

• Adults in the UK prefer chocolate as a gift, while teenagers prefer books or cash ;

• Sales between December 15 and 24 will account for 40% of Christmas season sales;

• Christmas sales may account for 30% of annual sales;

• 21% of consumers will use mobile devices to make purchases.

• UPS delivered 630 million packages during the peak season;

• 45% of consumers said they would buy Christmas products at convenience stores;

• The US Environmental Protection Agency reports that waste increases by 25% during the Christmas season.