Survey: Swiss people save on Christmas shopping
Spending on Christmas gifts reached a record high last year, averaging 343 Swiss francs per person. For 2023, this spending has declined significantly.
Consumers in Switzerland still spend an average of 282 francs on gifts - a decrease of 22%. The budget for Christmas presents fell from CHF 375 last year to CHF 304 for men and from CHF 309 to CHF 266 for women for the upcoming Christmas.
Almost 60 percent of consumers surveyed in Switzerland say that they will reduce their spending on Christmas gifts "slightly" or even "significantly" this year in view of inflation and high energy costs. Women in particular are expressing their intention to save: At 61%, the proportion of female consumers who intend to reduce their spending on Christmas gifts in light of the challenging economic conditions is significantly higher than that of men (55%).
Saving for all age groups
The reduction in Christmas spending can be seen across all generations: Respondents aged 35 and under are the least impressed. They plan to spend 13 percent less than last year. All other age categories are planning a Christmas budget that is between 19 and 23 percent lower. Inflation is also having a dampening effect on general shopping behavior - and thus beyond Christmas shopping: Only just 17 percent of consumers state that they are not reducing their general purchases despite inflation. These are the results of the annual EY Christmas survey conducted by the auditing and consulting firm EY in Switzerland. More than 600 adult consumers in Switzerland were surveyed for the study in November and December. The survey period also covers "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday".
The most common gifts under the Christmas tree
Once again this year, the most popular gifts are in well-known categories: Gift vouchers/money are still the most popular Christmas gift in Switzerland at 37 percent (previous year: 41 percent). Toys are in second place with 36% (2022: 38%), followed by food/confectionery with 34% (2022: 34%). In second place are clothing (31%), books (23%) and cosmetics (18%). Consumers in Switzerland will once again invest the highest sums by far in gift vouchers and toys this year: On average, spending on these is expected to be 48 francs (gift vouchers/money) and 46 francs (toys) respectively. Food/confectionery (CHF 34) and clothing (CHF 31) follow in third and fourth place. The biggest budget cuts compared to 2022 are expected in the smartphone/tablet/wearables (minus 61%) and travel (minus 39%) categories. However, the categories of consumer electronics, CDs/DVDs, jewelry, home furnishings, printed books and e-books will also see year-on-year declines of more than 30%. On average, women plan to spend significantly more on printed books, home furnishings and cosmetics than men this Christmas, while men will invest significantly more money in food/confectionery, consumer electronics, computers and smartphones/tablets/wearables than women in 2023.
Most of the consumers surveyed (22%) want to spend between 101 and 200 francs on gifts. 16 percent budget between 50 and 100 francs for their purchases, 15 percent reserve between 201 and 250 francs and 14 percent want to spend between 301 and 500 francs on gifts. Online retail continues to dominate with an expected market share of 41% (previous year: 38%), followed by shopping centers and specialist stores with an expected market share of 23% each.
Interest in and consideration of sustainability aspects has increased slightly compared to 2022. 63% of consumers in Switzerland say that sustainability aspects play at least a minor role for them when giving gifts and celebrating Christmas this year (previous year: 59%), while 18% of respondents say that sustainability even plays a major role (previous year: 12%).
