All I want for Christmas is… food, toys, clothes, books, beauty treatments, films and music and a budget not exceeding 300 euros to make them. According to a survey by Confcommercio - Imprese per l'Italia in collaboration with Format Research, these are the genres and the total expenditure on which consumer tastes will be oriented for gifts to friends and relatives at Christmas 2019.
Despite the possibility of buying already in November i gifts, taking advantage of discount campaigns such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, no he never really gets there ready and ends up clarifying his ideas only in the first half of December.
In detail of the preferences, the report shows that also this year are the foodstuffs the favorite gift of Italians, even if down compared to 2018, reaching 73,3% from 74,2% the previous year. Then follow i toys for children up to 55% compared to 51,1% in 2018, clothing to 47,1% against 46,5% in 2018, books and e-books up slightly to 45,5% against 44,8% on 2018, then i beauty treatments with 43% against 37,9% in 2018, movies, dvds and digital music at 16,6% against 15,9%, jewelery and bijoux with 14,8% versus 12,7%, computer and accessories up 13,1% compared to 10,8% on the previous year, the sporting goods to 9,7% compared to 7% the previous year, i products for animals up to 9,1% compared to 7,7% in 2018, tablets/kindles at 7,1% against 5,8%, travel to 6,6% against 5,9% in 2018, appliances an increase of 5,5% compared to 3% in 2018 e household items to 1,3% against 0,9% in 2018.
Who falls in the ranking of the most purchased gifts are wines and spirits, footwear, personal care products, tickets for concerts and shows, electronic games, subscriptions to streaming platforms, gift cards or digital gift vouchers, smartphones.
THE PERIOD TO MAKE GIFTS
Those who are already thinking about September on their Christmas gift list will direct their purchases during the week of discounts - from 22nd to 29th November - and more and more consumers are taking advantage of these promotions, always keeping an eye out for scams: well 56,6% said they wanted to take advantage of the week of discounts, up from 49,7% in 2018. In the second half of November, 26% of consumers made purchases, an increase compared to 2018 when they were 22,3 %. Most consumers, however, still prefer the first half of December for the purchase of gifts, they are 51,3%, while 16,9% will try to find the perfect gift between December 16 and 31.
THE AMOUNT YOU INTEND TO SPEND ON PURCHASES
As for the budget available for Christmas gifts, 91,6% of consumers expect to dedicate no more than 300 euros to Christmas gifts - they were 93,0% in 2018. There is also a slight decrease the average expenditure which in 2019 was equal to 169 euros against 171 euros in 2018, the 166 of 2017 and the 164 of 2016.
On the other hand, the percentage of consumers who intend to spend over 300 euros on Christmas gifts is on the rise in 2019: 8,4% against 7,0% in 2018, 6,9% in 2017 and 6,7% in 2016.
USE OF THE THIRTEENTH
Over 75% of consumers receive the thirteenth month: among these, 25,9% will use it for home and family expenses, 20,4% will put it aside, 19,5% will use it to pay taxes and bills. The share destined for the purchase of Christmas gifts is equal to 17,8%. 8% of consumers will use it for travel and holidays.
HOW CHRISTMAS GIFTS WILL BE PAID
Almost all consumers will pay for their purchases immediately without resorting to any form of payment in installments: 44% will pay for their purchases mainly in cash, 30,8% mainly by debit card and 22,2% mainly with credit card.
