EY study: More money for Christmas gifts than ever before

Higher energy prices and inflation do not appear to have a direct impact on the amount Swiss consumers spend on Christmas gifts. This is shown by a new study conducted by the audit and consulting firm EY in Switzerland. The study is based on a representative survey of more than 400 adult consumers in Switzerland, conducted at the end of November 2022. The survey period also covers Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

According to the survey, the budgets mentioned even rise to a new high: respondents intend to spend an average of 343 Swiss francs. This represents a 3 percent increase on the record figure achieved in the previous year (2021: 334 Swiss francs). What is remarkable here is that this increase is primarily attributable to the men surveyed. At 375 francs, they intend to spend significantly more on gifts than last year (2021: 351 francs). Meanwhile, women intend to spend 309 francs less than last year (2021: 320 francs).

More than 250 francs for gifts

However, these figures are only partly reflected when consumers are asked about their intentions: A majority of 62 percent want to reduce spending - 41 percent of them "slightly" and 21 percent even "significantly." The remaining 38 percent do not intend to change their consumer behavior - at least for this Christmas.

53 percent of respondents (previous year: 50 percent) are planning a budget of more than CHF 250 for Christmas shopping this year; one in five is even planning on a gift budget of more than CHF 500. Only 15 percent are planning on smaller Christmas budgets of up to 100 francs, according to the latest EY survey. A detailed look at Christmas budgets shows that 18 percent of the Swiss consumers surveyed expect to spend between 301 and 500 francs. In each case, 16 percent plan to spend between 251 and 300 francs and between 101 and 200 francs. Only 6 percent will spend less than 50 francs on Christmas gifts and 5 percent say they expect to spend over 1,000 francs.

Gift vouchers and money

The most frequently mentioned gift category this year is "gift certificates and money" with 41 percent (2021: 32 percent). They take over from last year's frontrunners, both of which have seen a very significant drop in popularity: "clothing" drops from 41 percent last year to 29 percent this year, and "cosmetics" are still mentioned by 22 percent this year (2021: 41 percent). The named top spenders for this Christmas continue to include "Toys" (38 percent), "Food and Confectionery" (34 percent), "Pressed Books" (33 percent), and "Event and Event Attendance" (19 percent) and "Jewelry" (17 percent). Consumers in Switzerland are investing by far the highest sums in "gift vouchers" this year: at an average of CHF 62, they want to spend an average of CHF 13 more on these than on "toys" and even twice as much as on "clothing".

Around 60 percent of consumers in Switzerland say that sustainability aspects play a minor role for them this year when giving gifts and celebrating Christmas (previous year: 75 percent), and for 12 percent of consumers they even say they play a major role (previous year: 24 percent). Women take sustainability aspects into account significantly more often than men: for 65 percent of women, sustainability plays a role, compared with 53 percent of men. In terms of where and how people store, online shopping is continuing its success story. While a market share of 33 percent was expected last year, this year it is 38 percent.