As cost-of-living pressures continue, three-quarters (75%) of Australian shoppers say they’re planning to spend less this Christmas, up from 40% last year, new research from PayPal reveals.
However, Australians remain positive about the holidays with one-quarter of Australians (24%) saying Christmas is the best time of the year, 50% looking forward to Christmas and only 15% saying they’re not looking forward to the festive season this year.
The top strategy Australians are using to keep Christmas costs in check is to shop online during the sales periods (38%) and half of Australians (49%) believe you can still have a great holiday season if you spend wisely, leverage the online sales and shop sensibly.
This year, most gifts will be purchased digitally with four-in-five Australians (81%) buying gifts online and 62% of Australians saying they will buy at least half their gifts online. Almost half (47%) say the worst thing about Christmas is the overcrowded stores. Other reasons Australians shop the sales online is to have a faster and easier shopping experience (42%) and get better deals and prices (40%).
More than one-third of Australians (36%) say that they like the festive season but are relieved when it’s over. PayPal’s research shows that Australians use a number of tactics to manage the madness of the holiday period. Two-in-five (42%) say they don’t compare their Christmas to other people’s, and 35% say they set a budget and stick to it.
One-quarter of Australians (23%) rotate who hosts the Christmas meal each year and one-in-five (22%) prioritise the events they’ll attend rather than go to everything they’re invited to.