Christmas-Shopping-Trends

In Campaigns, Digital Marketing, Digital News, e-Commerce by Steve Harvey-Franklin

 

Finger-tip tech and retro chic — how we’re shopping in 2017

Christmas is about sharing and caring — but it’s also when our shopping habits come into sharper focus than Santa’s Satnav specs.

While we tighten our belts for the rest of the year, the festive season’s set to light up our credit cards like molten plastic — so let’s take a look at exactly what we’ve been buying in 2017.

Online vs high street

In some parts of the UK, Black Friday used to be the last working day before Christmas.

It involved millions of pent-up workers stampeding into pubs at lunchtime, only to be scraped off kebab shop floors by 5pm.

But this fine tradition’s been usurped by the American version of Black Friday — where hordes of desperate shoppers trample each other to bag cut-price TVs.

It’s become a warm-up for Christmas in the retail trade and Brits spent £1.4 billion this year, up 11.7% on 2016.

The figures weren’t so cheery on the high street and in shopping centres— with 3.6% less footfall due to the convenience and choice of clicking online.

The same pattern will likely repeat itself on the lead up to Christmas —when the streets are cold enough to freeze the bauble off an elf’s bendy hat, shopping from home’s all the more attractive.

Christmas Day

If you’re planning to spend Christmas evening camped outside your favourite shop to be first in the queue for a Boxing Day sales bonanza, don’t risk frostbite — the same bargains are probably available online on Christmas Day.

In 2016 we stopped tucking into our turkeys and unglued our eyes from Her Maj’s moving message for long enough to spend a whopping £800 million online on the 25th December — proving that when it comes to spending, no holiday is sacrosanct.

So if you didn’t get the dinosaur costume you requested again this year don’t worry — a crafty post-dinner Crimbo click can ensure it wings its way to your door in two clicks of a T-Rex’s claws.

Gifts for adults

If you’re struggling to think of a present for the middle-aged man or woman in your life, splashing out on a kitsch record player and a few classic discs might make their day.

Vinyl sales hit a 25-year high in 2017 and swathes of classic albums have been re-released to meet the demand.

Another smash-hit present for Generation Xers this year has been the Nintendo Switch.

The console featuring classic characters like Mario has flown off warehouse shelves for months — but if you find one hidden in the depths of the web, the childish Cheshire grin on your other half’s face come Crimbo morning will be worth it.

Gifts for adults

If you’re struggling to think of a present for the middle-aged man or woman in your life, splashing out on a kitsch record player and a few classic discs might make their day.

Vinyl sales hit a 25-year high in 2017 and swathes of classic albums have been re-released to meet the demand.

Another smash-hit present for Generation Xers this year has been the Nintendo Switch.

The console featuring classic characters like Mario has flown off warehouse shelves for months — but if you find one hidden in the depths of the web, the childish Cheshire grin on your other half’s face come Crimbo morning will be worth it.

Gifts for children

Elf on the Shelf is another US import that’s still selling well this year — and if the little chap’s inane smile doesn’t drive you mad, you might enjoy hiding him around household nooks and crannies to the delight of your kids.

But the Hatchimals that harvested big Christmas bucks in fierce fashion last year are still number one on many a request list.

And if you’ve got plans to get filthy rich in 2018 you could do worse than invest in psychedelic furry toys that peck their way out of colourful eggs — the owners of Hatchimals Ronnen Harary and Anton Rabie each have £1.4 billion stuffed into their Christmas stockings this year.

We hope that whatever you’ve bought for your nearest and dearest warms their cockles this Christmas — and you’ve got a whole year to prepare for next year’s festive frenzy.

Gifts for children

Elf on the Shelf is another US import that’s still selling well this year — and if the little chap’s inane smile doesn’t drive you mad, you might enjoy hiding him around household nooks and crannies to the delight of your kids.

But the Hatchimals that harvested big Christmas bucks in fierce fashion last year are still number one on many a request list.

And if you’ve got plans to get filthy rich in 2018 you could do worse than invest in psychedelic furry toys that peck their way out of colourful eggs — the owners of Hatchimals Ronnen Harary and Anton Rabie each have £1.4 billion stuffed into their Christmas stockings this year.

We hope that whatever you’ve bought for your nearest and dearest warms their cockles this Christmas — and you’ve got a whole year to prepare for next year’s festive frenzy.

So what do our Christmas spending habits tell us about marketing?

  • Shoppers increasingly prefer the convenience and choice of online retail — if your firm isn’t geared up for ecommerce you’re missing out.
  • The festive shopping season has extended further than ever — savvy retailers can hit sales hotspots straight through from Black Friday to Boxing Day and beyond.
  • Retro gifts are still popular — for kids from six to 60.

 

For more Christmas content & the chance to win some prizes take a look at our 2017 Advent Calendar.

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