It's that time of year again when we all flock to the shops to purchase gifts for our friends and family, however, how many of us consider the impact all this Christmas shopping has on businesses on the high street and online, and indeed the impact it has on our savings.
Around the Christmas period, many businesses see an increase in their sales. Sales figures at Christmas time show that trading over this time increased between 3.6 and 5.2%, leading to revenues of about $760 billion. In 2019, Tesco saw a rise in sales of 3.1%, Sainsburys, Asda and Morrisons each saw a rise of 2% and Aldi and Lidl saw a sharp increase of 16.8% leading up to the christmas period.
We also see an increase in their costs. Major supermarkets see an increase in how much they spend on advertising over Christmas in order to entice customers. The major supermarket chain, John Lewis and Partners, who often win the nation's heart with their Christmas advert and received the position of number one advert for 2019 with their Edgar advert last year, admitted to spending about £7 million to make. However, it's not surprising considering how much time and expertise goes into it.
Online shopping sees a sharp increase in sales over the Christmas period too. In 2019, Amazon saw an increase of 21% from the previous year over the Christmas period with an estimated earning of £66 billion over this time. In the UK, we see an increase of £25.5 billion in 2019 due to Christmas shopping which is a major surge of 10.1%. With an escalation of online spending, many physical retailers are losing out over this period, and many businesses struggle with the increase in demand due to shoppers impulse purchasing gifts and Christmas items.
How much do us shoppers spend? In the UK, we spend on average at least £77 billion in the weeks leading up to Christmas. A survey conducted in 2018 shows that UK customers spend around £567 over the festive period, which is 42% more than the European average. This year, there is expected to be a decrease in how much we are spending due to the pandemic. We are predicted to spend around £24.2 billion this year on gifts, which is a sharp decrease of 68.6%. There are many reasons why this is including: loss of jobs, decrease in salaries, decrease in disposable income and due to the fact that a lot of us will be doing less shopping due to the impact of lockdowns and coronavirus fears.
What do you think? Do we spend too much over the Christmas period? Are you surprised by how much us Brits spend?
Just remember, next time you see a Christmas advert, don't forget how much was spent in order to produce it and to entice custom.
By Annabel Haggar
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