Food and wine products (75.2%), books (55%) and toys (54.4%) are confirmed as the most popular types of gifts for next Christmas, but smartphones are recording the greatest growth compared to 2020 (+10 %); due to the uncertainty resulting from the resumption of infections, more than one gift in 3 this year was purchased in advance in November (up from 23.3% last year) and, among those who had planned to leave for the Christmas holidays (17% of Italians) almost half canceled the trip. These, in summary, are the main results of a survey on Christmas 2021 consumption carried out by Confcommercio-Imprese for Italy.
As for the spending budget allocated for purchases, the number of consumers who will spend a total amount of less than 300 euros is increasing; of the thirteenth, however, only 16% will be used for gifts, while almost three quarters will be used for household expenses, savings, taxes and bills; finally, among the purchasing channels, 1 consumer out of 2 prefers traditional shops for the gift “hunt”. 74% of Italians will give gifts (in line with last year and against 86.9% of pre-Covid Christmas). The remaining 26% will not make purchases preferring to save, avoid meetings for the exchange of gifts, or due to the deterioration of their economic conditions. In any case, among those who have decided to put something under the tree, food products are confirmed in first place among gifts (75.2%) followed by books (55%) and toys (54.4%), categories all up compared to last year; clothing also did well (42%), albeit slightly down compared to 2020, and gift cards (41%). Smartphones (+ 10%) are among the fastest growing products compared to last Christmas.
Separate chapter for travel and holidays. The resurgence of infections is, in fact, affecting the behavior of Italians so much that, among those who had planned to leave for the Christmas holidays (17% of the total), almost one in two interviewees decided to give up their departure. One in two respondents will go to buy Christmas gifts in the first half of December (53.2%). However, compared to last year, the share of those who will go in November has increased considerably (34.3% compared to 23.3%). With reference to the budget allocated for gifts, the number of consumers who decided to spend less than 300 euros increased (they are 97% of the sample compared to 94.2% last year) and the share of those who will spend over 300 euros.
Internet, after the boom of last year, this year slows down, however, confirming itself as the main purchasing channel for Christmas gifts (69%). Organized distribution (56.7%), neighborhood shops (42.5%), outlets and fair trade outlets follow. Among those who receive the thirteenth (74% of consumers), almost a third will put it aside to save, 29% will use it to meet expenses for the home and family, 16% will use it to buy gifts of Christmas while for 14% it will be used to pay taxes and bills.