(Finance) – The race for Christmas presents reaches the final sprint. Between today and Sunday approximately three out of four Italians will go hunting for the last gifts to put under the tree. On average, our fellow citizens plan to spend 223 euros for gifts to put under the tree, 13% more than last year. The push, however, is also the increase in prices: net of inflation on goods, the increase in spending for 2022 is reduced to +6%. This is what emerges from the usual Confesercenti-IPSOS survey on spending on Christmas gifts conducted on a sample of consumers aged between 18 and 65 residing in Italy.
This year the Italians, also due to the calendar, are a little late with the gifts: only one in four, 25% of those interviewed, have already finished purchasing gifts. 27% expect to finish today, 20% Friday and 17% Saturday. But there is also 11% who will not be able to finish their purchases before Christmas Eve, Sunday 24th. Overall, 75% have yet to complete their purchases.
The thirteenth – The final rush is facilitated by the last thirteenths, arriving on the Italians’ accounts by Friday. This year the total amount of the extra monthly payment will be around 47.5 billion euros, 4% more than last year, around 2 billion euros. Of these, approximately 5.9 billion euros – more than 12% of the total – will be allocated to Christmas gifts, while 38% will be used for other purchases and the remaining 50% will be absorbed by mandatory expenses and savings.
What do you buy – In the top ten of purchase intentions for a last minute gift, clothing items stand out (51% of indications), followed by perfumery products (45%) and books (44%), games and toys (38 %), fashion accessories (33%), gastronomic gifts (29%), technological products and jewelry gifts (both at 24%), furniture and household products, footwear and video games (all at 20% indications). 10%, however, indicate the intention to give a trip or holiday as a gift, an increase compared to 7% last year.
Where to buy – Physical retail continues to play a central role in Christmas shopping, particularly in the final week, when shipping times put eCommerce out of play. Indications are growing for the single-brand stores of large retail chains (33%, it was 29%), but also for shops in shopping centres, which collect 52% of preferences compared to 46% for Christmas 2022. A slight decline in the supermarket/hypermarket channel, which drops to 24% of indications, and neighborhood activities (20%). But, surprisingly, there is a growth in the preference for neighborhood shops among Italians between 18 and 34 years old: the share of young people who shop here goes from 20 to 22%. 14%, however, will go to a flea market to buy at least one of the gifts to put under the tree.