The toy catalogs have been received, the lists made by the children and their parents, now it’s time for Christmas shopping. And like last year, they are happening earlier and earlier.
In 2021, the French had advanced their purchases for fear of a shortage of stock. This year, it is the galloping inflation that encourages buying earlier according to several studies.
Thus, according to Sensormatic Solution (1,000 surveyed French shoppers), 31% of consumers had already started their Christmas shopping by the end of October and 42% of them said they planned to do their Christmas shopping earlier than last year. 74% will already have started their Christmas shopping at the beginning of December.
“Lock” the cost of gifts
With inflation reaching 6.2% year-on-year in October, 68% of French shoppers will spend more time searching for deals on their gift purchases, while 43% say they choose to buy earlier to “lock in” the cost of gifts and thus avoid price increases. 67% said price was the most important factor when shopping in-store during the holiday season, up 5 points from the previous year.
Additionally, a quarter (22%) of buyers buy earlier to avoid supply chain disruptions and stock-outs, while 24% advance their orders to avoid delivery delays.
“This year, the rise in prices is encouraging customers to be more cautious in their Christmas purchases. Many of them are also anticipating their purchases compared to the figures of the previous year. It is critical that retailers take these evolving consumer patterns into account as expected spikes in store traffic may not follow those of a traditional holiday period at the end of the year,” says Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant at EMEA for Sensormatic Solution.
Prices go up but not everywhere
A study conducted by OpinionWay for Clearpay* confirms this trend toward anticipation and bargain hunting, especially among younger people.
Thus, 71% of young people between the ages of 15 and 25 buy Christmas gifts during Black Friday, which takes place at the end of November. This is to take advantage of “reduced prices”.
The Idealo comparator also points out in another study that the best time to do Christmas shopping was at the end of October, when most prices were at their lowest point.
Since then prices have started to rise and this should increase in the coming weeks. The example with electric scooters costs on average 484 euros nine weeks before Christmas, against 510 euros around December 10.
However, the price rise will not be widespread. “Many retailers and brands are already responding by freezing prices to support their customers, even as they too bear the brunt of rising raw material costs in their supply chains, purchasing costs and labor,” he explains. Andy Sumpter.
*: Sample of 525 people representative of the French population between 15 and 25 years of age. The sample was extracted using the quota method. The interviews were conducted from October 5 to 7, 2022.
Source: BFM TV
