Christmas in United Kingdom (UK) 2020 - Consumer Dynamics and Spending Habits

Summary

Christmas in United Kingdom (UK) 2020 - Consumer Dynamics and Spending Habits report forms part of the publisher's Retail Occasions series, and offers a comprehensive insight into the consumer dynamics and spending habits of consumers for Christmas. The report analyses the market, the major players, the main trends, and consumer attitudes.

The festive period proved a challenge for many retailers due to COVID-19. However, grocers and online pureplays, such as Tesco and Amazon, greatly benefitted from the pandemic, with consumers navigating to these domains to do their Christmas shopping. Christmas gifting penetration grew and consumers attitude to gift buying changed this year due to the pandemic.

Scope

• Overall Christmas penetration fell by 4.2ppts, with the 2020 Christmas occasion market forecast to have decreased versus 2019. The decline in Christmas shopper penetration can partly be attributed to the impact of COVID-19 which had an influence on how consumers felt financially and their overall Christmas spending.
• A strogn online proposition from retailers such as Tesco and Amazon, propelled these retailers to the top. Tesco performed well within the seasonal food and drink category increasing its lead on its competitors and grew an additional 3.5ppts versus last year; while Amazon soared ahead of competitors, rising 9.8ppts in comparison to 2019, in the gifting category.
• Sustainability continues to shape Christmas purchases and is leading to changes in consumer behaviours. A majority of consumers who purchased Christmas crackers believe that retailers should stop including plastic toys in crackers. Retailers need to place more emphasis on sustainability to attract environmentally conscious consumers and improve image amongst consumers in an extremely competitive landscape.
• Overall penetration for gifting grew 2.4ppts on last year and shoppers brought forward their holiday spend this year, with a significant proportion of consumers buying Christmas gifts before November. This highlights that despite the Christmas holidays being different this year, Christmas traditions and practices remained significant.

Reasons to Buy

• Understand how consumers attitudes and shopping behaviours changed as a result of the pandemic.
• Understand what drives consumers to use a retailer for their purchases, such as convenience, value for money and delivery options in order to maximise sales potential.
• Use our in-depth analysis of the leading retailers for Christmas in order to understand how to appeal shoppers and increase market share.