Britons shopping for Christmas 2011 in January sales

Jan. 11, 2011 - PRLog -- Christmas may be over for another year, but new research conducted by the UK’s leading discount website has revealed that Britons are taking advantage of the discounts available in the January sales to cut the cost of this year’s festive season.
www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk polled a sample of 1,821 people around the UK, each aged 18 and over, to discover more about their Christmas buying habits. More than 1 in 10, 11%, said they had bought Christmas supplies for this year in the January sales, such as discounted cards, decorations and gifts.
Furthermore, a fifth of respondents, 21%, are planning to purchase items in this year’s January sales for next Christmas, but haven’t yet done so. MyVoucherCodes.co.uk asked those who either had or were planning to buy items in the January sales for Christmas, why this was the case.
12% stated they ‘wanted to be organised’ whilst 23% realised the potential savings that can be made and were ‘taking advantage of the discounts’. Of those who had already made a purchase in the January sales for Christmas, a third (31%) hadn’t planned on doing so until they saw the item.
Other findings from the study included 1% of the respondents claiming they wanted to get most of their 2011 Christmas shopping done in the January sales this month. 13% said they planned on shopping for gifts as early as September 2011 and when asked why, the majority (56%) said it was in order to spread the cost over a few months.
A quarter, 24%, of respondents to the study said they had items left over for Christmas 2010, such as wrapping paper, cards and gifts, that they would reuse for the festive season this year. On a similar note, 6% said they would re-wrap an unwanted gift they had received last Christmas for this year.
Farhad Farhadi, personal finance expert at http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, commented on the findings;
“Whilst a lot of people think the January sales are a chance to get a few clothing bargains and the like, there’s nothing wrong with buying for next Christmas. Supermarkets and other retailers discount Christmas products such as cards and decorations as soon as December 25th has passed, and sometimes even before; so it’s a good chance to get in there early and save a few pennies on next Christmas.
“I must admit, the 1% of respondents who wanted to get all their shopping done by the end of January for next Christmas are very organised indeed, but I guess it is appealing to many to know that they won’t have to head out into the crowded shops in November and December!”
LINK http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk
ENDS
For more information, contact Shannon Haigh at 10 Yetis PR Agency on 01452 348211 or e-mail shannon@10yetis.co.uk
Editor’s Notes

Mark Pearson, chairman of MyVoucherCodes is a regular media contributor regarding online shopping and the credit crunch. At 30, his personal worth is more than £30 million. Mark was previously a trainee chef working for Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, London.
Mark appeared as a ‘Secret Millionaire’ in the series on Channel 4, in which he donated £115,00 of his own money to worthy causes.
MyVoucherCodes has had sales exceeding £481m in the last year
Consumer savings on online shopping via MyVoucherCodes.co.uk up from £28m in 2008 to £52m in 2009.
MyVoucherCodes is the UK’s most popular discount site.