British shoppers to increase Christmas spending

PA
Updated

British consumers are expected to put Brexit uncertainty aside this Christmas and increase their spending over last year, a survey suggests.

British families will spend an average £821.25 on gifts, food and drink and decorations, up 1.3% on last year and 54% more than the European average of £532 (Euros 612.90), according to figures from VoucherCodes and the Centre for Retail Research (CRR).

Adults will spend an average £244 each on gifts, up 1.3% on last year and 51.5% more than the European average of £160.82 (185.28 euro).

Christmas shoppers on Oxford Street in London.
Christmas shoppers on Oxford Street in London.

Online Christmas spending is expected to be 11.8% up on last year, and is now the main driver of retail growth, CRR said.

However, these gains are expected to be increasingly at the expense of the high street, with sales in physical shops expected to drop by 2.5% in the UK.

Paul Lewis, senior director of marketing at VoucherCodes, said: "Despite ongoing economic uncertainty with Brexit and rising inflation, it seems Brits are still happy to splash their cash to make the most of the festive season, with spend across all major categories seeing a year-on-year rise."

Opinium surveyed 2,005 UK adults online between October 12-17.

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