50% of Christmas shopping will be influenced by Social Networks and the average Christmas shopping expenditure will amount to 218 euros.
In the frantic search for deals and discounts, Christmas shopping has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years as it has become intrinsically linked to the Black Friday phenomenon.
This trend, which has gained exponential momentum, reflects the growing influence of Black Friday as a crucial event that marks the official start of the holiday shopping season. Consumers, looking to get the best prices and get a head start on the holiday season, have embraced this connection between Black Friday and holiday shopping as an essential strategy to maximize their savings and secure gifts.
In this context, Elogia, VIKO’s specialized Full Digital Commerce agency, launches its recent study “Christmas Consumer Habits 2023” with the aim of delving into consumer behaviors during these dates. The study highlights that 87% of people who will buy Christmas gifts on marketplaces will do so on Amazon; and that the average total expenditure will be 218€.
The previous study by Tandem Up, the agency specializing in marketplaces also from VIKO, already advanced that Black Friday was a key date for many looking to bring forward Christmas shopping and take advantage of discounts. In fact, in this recent study by Elogia, 35% of Internet users say so, especially those under 45 years of age. It is also observed that, compared to last year, the desire to increase Christmas shopping has decreased, except for young people aged 18 to 24 years, who significantly increase their intention to consume, from 35% in 2022 to almost half (47%) of the sample of this age who say they want to spend more at this time.
The average Christmas shopping expenditure will amount to 218€.
Elogia reveals that, very much in line with the previous year, shoppers will spend an average of €218, with no apparent differences between women and men. However, slightly lower spending is found among younger shoppers, who say they will spend an average of €190. On the other hand, consumers aged 35 and over expect to spend more than €200, and this figure rises as the age of the Internet user increases, reaching an average of €246 in the 54-year-old target group.
This Christmas, 46% of users say they will spend more money on Christmas shopping than on Black Friday, especially the most senior. While 31% consider that spending will be similar and 23% stated that they plan to spend more on Black Friday (significantly more women and young people).
In terms of channel preference, online and offline, there are no major differences, although online spending will be higher (54%), especially for those under 45 years old, compared to those made in the physical channel (46%). During the process of searching for information, users declare that they go to look for this information and buy in the same channel (42%). On the other hand, there are also profiles that will look for information online (26%), but will formalize the purchase in the physical store, especially those under 35 years of age (32%). On the other hand, the most senior (30%) will go to physical stores to get information and make the purchase also in the store. Finally, only 12% will get information in the physical store, but will buy online.
For users who report seeking information online, Amazon, eBay, Aliexpress and the like (46%), Internet search engines (41%) and the websites of the brands/products they are interested in (39%) are the main sources they turn to.
Fashion and Technology will be the most popular gift categories
Once again this year, Fashion (56%) and Technology (41%) stand out as the most purchased categories. Fashion, above all, stands out among women (66%) and those under 35 (64%), while Technology stands out among men (49%). It is followed by Footwear (35%), Beauty (31%), Home (27%) and Sports (25%).
Focusing on Fashion, more than half of the respondents declare that they will buy this category in physical stores or department stores (67%) and on marketplaces (61%), mainly on Amazon. For this category, advertising is so decisive in the purchase decision that 50% of users believe that their purchases will be influenced by advertising during these dates, especially those under 35 years of age (68%), with Social Networks being the main influencer (58%).
With regard to average fashion spending, this year it is slightly down on the previous year, from an average of €144 in 2022 to €124 this Christmas. Men (€134 on average) and those over 54 years old (€138 on average) are the ones who plan to spend more on their Christmas shopping.
Marketplaces and department stores as the favorite options
Unlike what happens during Black Friday, where marketplaces are the preferred option for most shoppers, Christmas shopping is split between physical stores and department stores (64%) and marketplaces (60%). Likewise, 36% also buy Christmas gifts on the websites of major brands and 9% do so through social networks. In both cases, younger shoppers stand out in particular.
Amazon stands out as the most visited marketplace for Christmas shopping, in fact, 87% plan to buy some of the gifts here. It is followed by other marketplaces such as El Corte Inglés (44%), Aliexpress (31%), Carrefour (26%) and Zalando (22%).
