2023-12-04 13:58:00
Retailers are looking forward to the start of the Christmas business with optimism: “Per capita spending on Christmas presents will be an average of 360 euros this year, 9 percent lower than last year. At least the cold temperatures and the onset of winter with snowfall across the country were now an initial important impulse to buy,” says trade association managing director Rainer Will. “Retailers report solid sales, but there is still room for improvement.”
The consequences of inflation and the poor economic situation are clearly noticeable in the budgets for Christmas spending. According to the latest HV Consumer Check, only 2.5% of the 1,009 respondents want to spend more on Christmas than last year. An overwhelming majority of 47 percent want to spend less than in previous years.
Upper Austrians invest most of their money in gifts
A good 92 percent of Austrians plan to buy Christmas presents this year. On average, they expect to spend 360 euros – that’s 35 euros or 9 percent less than the year before. The Upper Austrians are the most willing to give gifts (401 euros), followed by the Tyroleans (394 euros) and Salzburgers (372 euros). The bottom performers are Lower Austria (344 euros) and – far behind – Carinthia (295 euros).
The traditionally most popular gift, the voucher, has increased in popularity once more this year, and monetary gifts are also booming once more this year. The complete gift ranking according to the trade association:
- Vouchers: 41%
- Toys: 30%
- Sweets: 28%
- Cash: 27%
- Time together or perfume/body care/cosmetics: 26% each
- Clothing: 25%
- Books: 24%
- Homemade: 18%
- Personalized gifts (e.g. photo gift, engraved item): 17%
- Alcoholic drinks or wellness/beauty: 16% each
At the time of the survey (November 21st to December 1st), 17 percent had already bought all of their Christmas presents, and another 46 percent had bought at least some of them. A good third of consumers (35 percent), however, do all their Christmas shopping in December.
The most popular place for Christmas shopping is the shopping center. Here, 47 percent of those surveyed want to buy at least some of their Christmas presents. Almost as many (46 percent) also buy from foreign online shops or e-commerce platforms. 31 percent also shop for gifts on shopping streets, 23 percent also use Austrian online shops and platforms.
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