- Trend for tardiness leads to 62% of Brits leaving Christmas shopping to the last minute
- 52% of Brits can tell if someone hasn’t put effort into buying a Christmas present
- 28% of Brits admit to regifting presents
New research released today from Studio.co.uk reveals that the UK is a nation of Christmas present procrastinators, with almost two thirds of Brits (62%) admitting to leaving their Christmas purchases to the last minute.
Shoppers aren’t making life easy for themselves with this trend for tardiness, as 60% of the 3,000 respondents said that last minute Christmas shopping makes them feel stressed and anxious.
Present procrastination can often lead to shoppers not allowing themselves time to put due care and attention into their purchases. Studio.co.uk’s research found that 52% of Brits can tell when someone hasn’t put any effort into choosing their Christmas present and almost a fifth (18%) would feel disappointed to hear that someone bought them a Christmas present last minute.
It isn’t as easy as you’d think to fool your loved ones, as half (49%) of Brits surveyed Brits believe they have been regifted a present which was bought for someone else.
Much-loved television presenter, broadcaster and actor, Joe Swash said: “In the past, I have been known to procrastinate when it comes to Christmas shopping – I can definitely relate to the 60% of Brits who said last minute Christmas shopping makes them feel stressed and anxious!
“Now I’m a bit older and have kids, I joined Studio’s ‘Team Early’ squad as part of my Christmas preparation this year. I just wished I had discovered stress free shopping sooner! Hopefully more people will follow in my footsteps.”
When asked what leads to this present procrastination, people replied with excuses such as, “I was waiting for pay day” (23%), “I had a lot on at work” (26%) and “I was busy socially” (26%). One in ten respondents was brave enough to admit they simply forgot.
A quarter of Brits admitted to having bought a last-minute present for someone that they were ashamed to give, and half (49%) affirmed they have no problem either regifting or returning a Christmas gift.
The cities with the most self-confessed Christmas present procrastinators are:
- Belfast 72%
- London 71%
- Coventry 69%
- Bristol 67%
- Birmingham 67%
- Oxford 65%
- Exeter 65%
- Liverpool 64%
- Sheffield 63%
- Newcastle 62%
Studio.co.uk championed those shoppers who got Christmas sorted in good time this year by asking them to join #TeamEarly. Studio’s customer insights uncovered a whole army of Christmas fans who were keen to get their shopping done early, so they could celebrate for longer this year.
Chris Chalmers, Marketing Director of Studio.co.uk, said: “This year we have been helping families get their Christmas shopping sorted in good time so they can enjoy the festive season without the stress and anxiety caused by hitting the shops at the last minute.
“We hope that the present procrastinators out there will see the benefits enjoyed by those who joined #TeamEarly this year, and getting their shopping done earlier in future.”