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OVER ONE MILLION MEN ARE EXPECTED TO DO THEIR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING ON CHRISTMAS EVE

22 December 2006

Research from National Savings and Investments (NS&I) shows that one in 20 (5%) admits to starting their Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve. In contrast less than 0.5% of women confess to the same eleventh-hour madness. And these last minute lads may have their work cut out for them as on average they claim to normally buy gifts for 10 people.

Just under half (49%) of men say they normally spend more on Christmas presents than they budgeted for, with men spending on average £44 per person - £10 more than women, who limit themselves to an average of £35 per person. Worryingly, almost one in five (18%) men confesses that they mainly tend to pay for their presents with a credit card.

The last minute rush will come as welcome news for many retailers after reports than seasonal spending is down on previous years **.

John Prout, sales director at NS&I comments: “Shopping centres and high streets are set to be swarming with men speed-shopping this Christmas Eve. While some undoubtedly love the excitement of a last minute dash, others are likely to overspend trying to find the perfect gift with just hours to go. What is worse is many will be loading up their credit cards to finance the spree. A bit of simple planning can help avoid this stress and make for a better start to the New Year.

“In the meantime if you are struggling to locate a male friend or relative on 24th December – try the local shops!”

Ends

Notes to Editors:

* Over one million men say they usually start their Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve. There are an estimated 22.9 million men in GB aged 16+ (ONS population estimates 2005). Of these, approximately 20 million say they celebrate Christmas (88%) and over one million (5%) say they usually start Christmas present shopping on Christmas Eve.

** See:

Research carried out by TNS Telephone Omnibus between 24th November to 3rd December 2006 among a nationally representative GB sample of 1,111 adults aged 16+.

1     Do you celebrate Christmas?

	Men	Women
Yes	88%	94%
No (close)	12%	6%

Q2 – Q6 based on those who do celebrate Christmas (sample size: 1013)

 2. When do you usually tend to start your Christmas present shopping?  

	Men	Women
Before October	8%	13%
From October to November	30%	44%
At the start of December	25%	24%
Two weeks before Christmas	16%	10%
A few days before Christmas	11%	4%
Christmas Eve	5%	*
Straight after Christmas (for the next year)	3%	5%
Don’t know	3%	1%

NOTE: * means less than 0.5%

3. Approximately how many people, if any, do you usually buy presents for?

	Men	Women
0	2%	1%
1-2	3%	1%
3-5	17%	9%
6-10	38%	32%
11-15	17%	23%
Over 15	22%	35%

 

4. On average, how much money do you spend on each person?

	Men	Women
Nothing	1%	*
Less than £5	1%	1%
£5 – £10	12%	16%
£11 – £20	26%	30%
£21 - £50	43%	37%
£51 - £100	8%	7%
£101 - £250	3%	3%
£251 - £500	2%	1%
Over £500	1%	*
Don’t know	4%	4%

NOTE: * means less than 0.5%

5. Thinking about a typical Christmas, do you normally spend more on Christmas presents than you budgeted for?

	Men	Women
Yes	49%	52%
No	39%	43%
Don’t normally budget	11%	4%
Don’t know	1%	1%

 

6. How do you mainly tend to pay for your Christmas presents?

	Men	Women
General savings	26%	27%
Separate Christmas savings	4%	11%
Salary/ current account	44%	43%
Credit card	18%	12%
Bank overdraft	*	1%
Loan	*	1%
Borrow from a friend, family member or partner	1%	1%
None of the above	6%	4%
Don’t know	1%	*

NOTE: * means less than 0.5%

 

Media team
NS&I has a number of spokespeople available for interviews and our experienced radio team is available via our ISDN line: 020 7602 4522.

The numbers below are for media use only. Customers wishing to contact NS&I can find details here.

Gareth Headon		020 7348 9494
		gareth.headon@nsandi.com
Gill Stephens		020 7348 9449
		gill.stephens@nsandi.com
Iman Asante		020 7348 9301
		iman.asante@nsandi.com
Monica Del-Villar		020 7348 9654
		monica.del-villar@nsandi.com
ISDN for interviews		020 7602 4522
Out of hours		All numbers above diverted to staffed mobile phones

 

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