Christmas Research Uncovers UK’s Secret Shopping Habits
04 December 2015
Christmas Eve last minute panic buyers make up the second biggest type of shopping groups, according to new research.
The results of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks’ festive survey revealed that 14% of the UK population will wait until December 24 to make a last minute dash around the shops.
London has the biggest proportion of panic buyers (20%) closely followed by Yorkshire (19%) while the South West has the lowest number of last minute shoppers with just 9% of people confessing to taking a Christmas Eve ‘that will do’ approach.
However the findings also revealed that we are an organised nation at heart. More than a third of us (34%) start our festive shopping well in advance and unsurprisingly women are more focused on planning ahead than men with 40% describing themselves as organised in comparison to just 25% of men.
But the lure of a bargain still has huge appeal it seems and 11% of Brits welcomed the ‘Black Friday’ shopping phenomenon with open arms to keep the cost of Christmas down. Others prefer to use the internet to shop from the comfort of their own home with 8% confessing to being online aficionados. But shopping of any kind doesn’t hold interest for some 10% of us - one in ten have decided not to spend anything on Christmas this year.
Types of Christmas Shopper:
| Type of shopper | Percentage of those surveyed |
|---|---|
| Organised shopper | 34% |
| Panic buyer | 14% |
| Sales Shopper | 11% |
| Don’t spend money on Christmas | 10% |
| Online aficionado | 8% |
| Leave it your partner | 5% |
| Over-spender | 4% |
| Family Secret Santa shopper | 1% |
| None of the above | 13% |
The North East is setting the best example when it comes to Christmas shopping with 41% hitting the shops in a calm and organised way, compared to just 28% in Wales.
Regional Breakdown of Types of Christmas Shopper:
| Region | Organised shopper | Panic buyer |
|---|---|---|
| North East | 41% | 16% |
| North West | 39% | 11% |
| South West | 38% | 9% |
| Midlands | 36% | 13% |
| UK average | 34% | 14% |
| Scotland | 32% | 16% |
| East | 31% | 10% |
| London | 31% | 20% |
| Yorkshire | 30% | 19% |
| South East | 29% | 15% |
| Wales | 28% | 15% |
Steve Fletcher, Director, Retail Banking, said: “At Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks we can help spread the cost of Christmas with our Gold MasterCard* which offers 0% interest on purchases for 26 months from the opening* of the account and can help to spread the cost of Christmas.”
You can find impartial information and guidance on money matters on the “Money advice service” website.
Clydesdale Bank is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), Find out more.