Majority of households have less to spend during Christmas this year as financial worries mount
According to the consumer sentiment survey, there was a slight reduction in economic worries among consumers but 'household finances remain a pressure point'.
More than half of Irish consumers say they have less money to spend during Christmas this year, with many planning to cut back on entertainment and presents as worries over household finances increase further, the latest Credit Union consumer sentiment survey has found.
This comes as food costs continue to rise and energy providers increase their prices going into the festive period, putting pressure on households.
According to the survey, there was a slight reduction in economic worries among consumers, but “household finances remain a pressure point”.
The consumer sentiment index this month recorded a reading of 61.0, up modestly from 59.9 in October. However, it is some distance below the 74.1 level of November 2024, and even further below the near 30-year survey average of 83.7.
Consumer sentiment over their current personal finance situation showed a reading of 66.4, down from 67.1 in October, 72.3 in September, and down from 84.0 in November last year.
The analysis of the survey was written by economist Austin Hughes.
Mr Hughes said consumer sentiment improved slightly in November “as reduced nervousness” about the economic outlook as well as a “seasonal uptick in spending plans” outweighed continuing concerns around household finances.
However, Irish consumers are “still generally negative” about the economic outlook.
The report said a “rough estimate” of key Christmas costs suggests “Christmas inflation” will be higher this year than last, largely due to an acceleration in food prices.
Headline inflation is running at 2.9%, with “elevated food price inflation and a renewed rise in energy costs were unwelcome reminders of the nature and scale of pressures on many families’ finances”.
While there is “weakness in those areas related to household finances” November saw a “clear improvement in spending plans to the strongest level in eight months”.
“Our sense is that this uplift is largely seasonal in nature and reflects the imminent arrival of Black Friday price discounting as well as a marked upswing in Christmas-related advertising of late,” Mr Hughes said.
“We should also note that the improvement in spending plans between October and November is not inconsistent with the somewhat downbeat tone of responses to the special questions on Christmas spending.”
According to the survey, 52% of Irish consumers said they have less money to spend on Christmas in 2025 than they had a year ago.
“This is up, albeit modestly, on the 47% of consumers who said their Christmas spending power had fallen in 2024,” Mr Hughes said.
“A clear sense that cost-of-living pressures remain broadly based is suggested by the fact that the number of consumers who say they have less money to spend on Christmas 2025 is nearly six times as many as the number with more money to spend,” he added.
It also found 53% of Irish consumers said they would cut back on entertainment spending this Christmas, with 50% saying they would cut back on spending on Christmas presents.
In terms of how consumers are going to pay for their Christmas spending, 42% of households said they would fund through their own income, 37% said it would be through their savings, and 9% said they would be seeking to borrow money.
“The proportion of consumers funding their Christmas spend from income tends to be higher among those aged 35 to 44, and this group also rely less on savings. Along with those aged from 45 to 65, these groups are also more inclined to borrow for Christmas than other age groups. These results suggest financial circumstances vary widely within specific age brackets.
This survey was conducted on 1,000 adults by Core Research.
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