Brits could have an extra £2,000 to help their season be extra jolly if they simply changed their festive shopping habits and bought all their Christmas gifts online, new research reveals today.
With 25 days left until Rudolph sets off on his travels, online insurance comparison site, COMPAREtheMARKET.com, has uncovered a new breed of Christmas shopper – Savvy Seasonal Surfers who have completed all their Christmas shopping online in half a day, leaving them with FOUR times more money in their pocket (25 per cent).
This is in stark contrast to 47 per cent of high street shoppers who waste a week of December trawling city centres for the perfect gifts and are left nursing a large New Year financial hangover after overspending in excess of £2,500!
But it’s not the gifts that are the biggest drain on high street shoppers’ festive resources. Over a third (38 per cent) put their seasonal overspending down to high travel and parking costs while nearly half blow a proportion of their budget on much needed refreshments to recharge the batteries. A stressed out 45 per cent also admit to spending more than they bargained for because they grab the first gift they see, regardless of price, just to escape the packed, overheated shops. Unsurprisingly, it’s the blokes who are driving the festive online shopping trend with a quarter making all their purchases on the internet, compared to 40 per cent of women who prefer city centre browsing.
The top purchases on Santa’s superhighway are:
• CDs/DVDs (66 per cent)
• Kid’s toys and games (53 per cent)
• Perfume and cosmetics (37 per cent)
• The latest plasma or iPod (33 per cent)
• Jewellery (27 per cent)
A festive few (17 per cent) have even branched out to buy the all-important Christmas tree and the turkey online this year! Jeremy Moll, managing director of insurance price comparison site, COMPAREtheMARKET, said: “These results really highlight how much the internet can enhance our lifestyles, especially in a month when we value all the extra time and money we can get.
“I would urge the quarter of those who dread the prospect of Christmas shopping to get online. What could be more cost effective and stress free than browsing for gifts and hunting down the best bargains in the comfort of your own home, especially when you can get all your shopping done and dusted in half a day a – it’s a mans dream!”
And, when it comes to who gets the most money lavished on them for Christmas, kids unsurprisingly take top spot (52 per cent), closely followed by our partners (44 per cent) and parents (25 per cent). But spare some Christmas cheer for poor old grandma and granddad who are well and truly bottom of the festive spending league (3%).Lawrence Gold, BBC 1’s ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ financial guru added: “People don’t factor in the additional costs involved in high street shopping – parking and travel costs do add up so it’s not surprising so many of us are ending up over budget. The internet offers the perfect solution – without the stresses and distractions of the high street you can stay focused and shop for the best priced gifts, ensuring you are not seeing in the New Year with additional debt.
“These Savvy Seasonal Surfers should now use the time they’ve saved to get their finances in order for 2007. With insurance comparison sites like COMPAREtheMARKET around the whole process is quick and easy so there's really no excuse not to!"
The research also reveals a North/South divide even when it comes to festive shopping habits. Southerners have fully embraced the Savvy Seasonal Shopping trend (58 per cent) while traditional Northerners are still drawn to the bright lights of the Christmas high street (73 per cent), despite admitting it means spending more than they originally intended (85 per cent)!
COMPAREtheMARKET is a one-stop-shop offering a range of competitive quotes from over 300 big name insurance schemes in under four minutes.
Visitors only need to enter their details once, which are then automatically saved, allowing quick access to a range of quotes whenever required.
At present COMPAREtheMARKET provides car and van insurance and will launch home insurance before January 2007. For more information visit www.comparethemarket.com.
