A survey by insight platform provider Qualtrics has underlined the strength of UK consumer confidence post-Brexit vote.
60% of respondents said they are spending the same amount on their Christmas shopping as last year and 20% say they will spend even more. Only 20% say they will spend less than they did last year. 52% intend to spend between £80 and £400 and 23% between £400 and £800.
The survey also revealed that only 25% of respondents are Christmas shopping on the high street, down from 29% last year. The move online is gathering strength – 75% of respondents expect to shop online this season, up from 71% who said they shopped online last year.
UK consumers are increasingly savvy when it comes to price checking too – 69% claim they check online and high street prices before buying, 18% do so occasionally and only 13% say they rarely price check.
This Christmas, 45% of UK respondents are shopping on a computer (2% more than last year), and 30% on a smartphone or tablet (2% less than last year).
Qualtrics UK director Ian McVey commented: “Upbeat Brits continue to defy concerns about our future post Brexit. They are increasingly at home online where they can look at each other’s social reviews and compare prices. Retailers are using sophisticated analysis to make online shopping a personalised, pain free and relevant experience.”
The survey also revealed that UK Christmas shoppers are far more likely to turn to other shoppers’ online recommendations (42%) than product reviews (20%). They are twice as likely to be alerted to new products by TV and word-of-mouth than by social media.
30% of respondents said they wanted to receive electronics and mobiles. When asked which they would choose if they could receive only one tech toy this Christmas, the majority wanted the iPhone 7 (28%). Only 5% wanted an Apple Watch and 19% wanted an Xbox.
