Fewer Christmas gifts, but online shopping preferred

In addition to postponed vacations and canceled birthday parties, Christmas will now be a different one this year. The Federal Council wants to ban family celebrations with more than ten people - and suggests that we celebrate in the forest instead of in the living room.

This dampened joy is now also having an impact on gift-giving, as Digitec Galaxus writes in a press release: According to the GfK survey, every fourth inhabitant of German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland wants to buy fewer gifts this Christmas than last year because of the pandemic. On the other hand, just three percent want to buy more presents this year. After all, two-thirds are not influenced by the virus when buying presents.

In general, however, the pandemic is boosting consumption: According to figures from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Swiss retailers have recorded around five percent more sales since June compared to the previous year. The money that would otherwise be invested in vacations, concerts or restaurant visits is flowing into things that make private life more pleasant: a cozy sofa, for example, a new game console or a coffee machine for the home office.

According to Digitec Galaxus, the obvious conclusion is that there will be no presents for the children of cousins, for example, as celebrations in a larger circle will not be possible anyway. For people severely affected by the pandemic, the focus is on saving money anyway - and not on what goes under the Christmas tree. What is quite possible, however, is that the Swiss will find more time for handicrafts, baking or other do-it-yourself activities, and will therefore buy fewer gifts. That's what the sales figures at Galaxus suggest: More than five times as many craft items have already been posted there this year than in the whole of 2019.

Online boom continues

According to the survey, one in seven doesn't want to buy any Christmas presents this year, but only give homemade gifts. But if they do buy presents, they prefer to do so online: 32 percent said they would buy Lego sets, games or perfumes for their loved ones primarily on the Internet. In contrast, 30 percent plan to do their Christmas shopping primarily in stores. 24 percent are undecided.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, Digitec Galaxus expects at least 50 percent more orders than at the same time last year. For the record time, the online retailer has doubled the staff in the warehouses compared to the end of 2019.

The survey also shows when the hot time for Christmas presents starts: 44 percent said they take care of it in December, 7 percent of them even shortly before Christmas. In contrast, 22 percent already bought their first gifts in November, and 24 percent earlier.

One in three buys gifts on bargain days

This year, the discount days Black Friday and Cyber Monday have beaten all records, which is also reflected in the parcel volumes of the Post Office (Werbewoche.ch reported). One reason for this is probably that many Swiss also used the opportunity to buy gifts: A good third of those surveyed said they were going on a gift hunt before Black Friday. Half of those surveyed, on the other hand, had no plans to do so.