Irish set to be Europe’s big spenders at Christmas time
The annual Deloitte consumer survey predicts Irish revellers will spend on average €965.80 on gifts, food, and drink this season — nearly twice that of our European cousins.
The report says we will spend:
* €499.60 on gifts;
* €288.30 on food and drink;
* €177.90 on socialising.
The average spend across Europe on gifts, food, drink, and socialising is €590.90, the survey found.
However, while topping the list, Irish consumers said they intend to reduce spending on gifts by 2.2%, and on food and drink by 1.3% this year.
Deloitte partner Richard Howard said the Irish were looking forward to celebrating the season and that was good news for the economy.
“Consumers are slowly becoming less pessimistic, and this is positive to observe, given the importance that consumer sentiment and spending is to the overall economy.
“It’s clear that Irish consumers’ desire to celebrate the festivities remains extremely strong.
“However, the measured approach to spending this festive season remains and saving and budgeting remain a key focus for Irish consumers. In fact, while over half of Irish consumers indicated that, similar to last year they will prepare a budget, a further 27% plan to budget more this year,” he said.
One trend highlighted by the survey is that Irish householders are moving away from credit to fund their spending.
#love #dublin #proud #irish #christmas #lights #grafton #street #shopping #beautiful http://t.co/i5tk5pzL
— SVKC (@dannystans_) November 2, 2012
More than half said they planned on reducing their exposure to loans from family, specialised consumer credit loans, and credit from retailers this year.
And if you are looking for a few hints on what to buy a loved one this year, books (46%), cash (37%), clothes/shoes (35%), cosmetics/perfumes (35%) and gift vouchers (33%) make up the top five wishlist for adults this year.
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