Figures reveal fashion takes first place on Christmas wish lists

New consumer research has revealed that clothes, shoes and accessories are at the top of UK shopper's wish lists this festive season, appearing on one in three (34%). This is up slightly from 30% the year prior. 

Skincare, beauty and make-up were also in high demand, following close behind at 23%, rising from 15% in 2022.

Not only did the new consumer research, conducted by Barclays, reveal spending habits prior to Chirstmas, bst also the expected consumer trends during the post-Christmas sale season.

Overall, festive sales shoppers intend to spend an average of £253 this year – 10% more than in 2022 and the highest amount since before the pandemic – as they take advantage of early discounts and use reselling sites to find bargains.

Barclays, which sees nearly half of the UK’s credit and debit card transactions, expects sales shoppers across the UK to spend nearly £4.7 billion. This means, consumers are spending  £253 per head, which is £67 more than in 2019 and the highest figure for four years.

Boxing Day Sales

Boxing Day remains the most popular day to start festive sales shopping, with more than a quarter (27%) beginning their search yesterday. However, thanks to retailers launching early sales, some bargain hunters said they were intending to begin on Christmas Eve (23%) and even Christmas Day (17%).

With 77% of retailers closed on Boxing Day, the majority of shoppers take to e-commerce though many consumers will spend more in-store (15%).

Karen Johnson, Head of Retail at Barclays, commented: "Retailers will be encouraged by a strong end to the year’s ‘golden quarter’. While Boxing Day remains the most popular day to start bargain-hunting, retailers are no longer putting all their eggs in one basket and are instead spreading out their discounts to boost ongoing demand – very similar to what we saw with early Back Friday deals in November.

"The earlier start means that some retailers will be in the fortunate position of having sold out of sales stock by early January, so we may see Spring products on shelves sooner than expected."

Second-hand Santa

To help budgets stretch further and to partake in environmentally conscious practices, 30% of shoppers are browsing second-hand sites to look for a festive bargain. 37% are searching for items described as ‘new with tags’ in the hope of finding unwanted Christmas presents at discount prices.

On the other hand, 16% will be listing their unwanted presents on resale sites. The majority (30%) of items listed will be unwanted clothes, shoes and accessories while 14% listed are beauty products.

The most commonly cited reasons for selling unwanted Christmas presents are to make some money quickly following an expensive Christmas (58%), to capitalise on gifts (38%), or out of boredom (28%).

Johnson added: "This year’s finding also indicate a transformative shift in consumer priorities as shoppers look to treat themselves after Christmas. The emphasis on second-hand buying and selling reflects both a savvy approach to spending as well as a broader societal awareness of the need for more mindful consumption."