Since last November 23, the day of Black Friday, it has officially begun the season of Christmas gifts. Like every year, the "last gift" race will involve millions of people, but just as many have already decided to move in time.
The questions are always the same. Number one: “What to give this year?”. Number two (consequent): "how much to spend and for whom?" According to the latest edition of the Compass Observatory, the research conducted by the consumer credit company of the Mediobanca Group, the average budget amounts to 330 euros, even if 43% of the interviewees will not go beyond 250 euros. On the other hand, 21% have already decided to spend more than 500 euros.
But who will these Christmas presents go to? About half of the budget, and therefore 178 euros, will be used for the person considered most important. If men are more sentimental and prefer to spoil their partner (56%), women, on the other hand, prefer to have an eye on their children (41%).
But let's get to the heart of the matter: "What to give to our loved ones?" According to the Compass Observatory, at the top of the ranking are articles by clothing, footwear and accessories (for 40%). In second place, however, books and magazines, which will be given as gifts by almost one in three Italians (31%). Wooden Medal, with 28%; for children's games.
In the ranking of gifts, there will also be i hi-tech products: among them, the favorite is always the smartphone (53%), followed by IT products (14%) and large household appliances for washing (12%).
On the other hand, reversing the perspective of the study, 40% of the interviewees answered that they wanted to find clothing, footwear and accessories under the tree. They grow compared to 2017 travel and airline tickets, in second place of the most coveted gifts. “36% of Italians – explains the study – see Christmas as the right opportunity to give themselves a few days of escape from the daily routine”. Third place among the most coveted gifts are IT products, desired by 28% of the interviewees.
Travel, tickets for concerts and events and IT and multimedia products (video games, films, music, etc.) are also among the items that will be purchased mainly online. About one in three Italians (30%) said they will buy gifts only on e-shopping sites. However, the majority continues to prefer purchasing in-store, motivated above all by the possibility of seeing and trying out the product (31%) and by having it immediately available without further waiting (21%).
