Christmas is usually the busiest time of year for people to spend time with friends and family, however, only 1 in 4 people surveyed say they will be going on the usual ‘nights out’ due to the costs associated with socialising. Many respondents also commented that they will not be able to afford to travel to see family this year.
Tom Eyre, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Loqbox said: “What we are seeing is that unsurprisingly, people are doing everything they can to save money and this means we are seeing a real shift in behaviour over the festive period. For many people, this will be a difficult time.
Over half of the people surveyed said they will be looking for new ways to source gifts this Christmas as Brits look to get more thrifty. 30% of us are using eBay, 19% are using Facebook Marketplace, 22% are making their own gifts, 20% are sifting charity shops for giftable treasures whereas 10% are considering regifting.
However, overall, 61% of respondents won’t be giving gifts to friends at all this year, 21% are not buying presents for the family and 14% of partners will not be getting a present this year.
The results also show that over half of people planning to host a Christmas dinner plan to make savings by buying cheaper meat, own brand beverages and skipping on Christmas crackers.
Tom Eyre continued: “With more than a million families receiving cost of living payments, it’s unsurprising to read that more people are planning to cut back on their festive traditions in a bid to save money. 35% of our surveyed members told us they are planning to use their cost of living payment to help cover the cost of Christmas. We also found it very interesting to learn that almost 60% of the people we spoke to said they would give vouchers or money to help loved ones with their living expenses due to the cost of living crisis”.
Half of people who usually send Christmas cards don’t plan to do so this year, with 75% stating they believe it will help to save money.
Tom Eyre said: “Our members may be planning to spend more wisely this Christmas, but many respondents also told us that they are cutting back on cards, gift wrap and presents due to the environmental impacts showing that social responsibility is high on many people’s Christmas considerations this year, even when financial concerns appear to be more difficult than usual”.
Note to Editors:
The Loqbox member survey was conducted in November 2022 and was completed by 1,400 people.
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