Recently we announced the latest in our OMD UK Future of Britain research series: The Future of Christmas.
One of our key findings from this mammoth piece of work was a sequence of popular myths on the subject of the festive period that our data disproved.
Today we look at myth #10: Christmas is all about the right product at the right time.
I don’t know about you, but every Christmas I try to plan ahead and budget how much I have for presents for different people. It seems like a well organised process where I start searching for the best offers and most creative presents, but then, all the Christmas parties take over your life until you realise you’re too late and still need to complete your shopping! By then, the checklist on budget and deals goes down the drain and it is all about finding THE PRESENT!
According to our research, I am not the only one. Even if consumers start shopping around for the best deals early on, as Christmas creeps closer they become less discerning and more pragmatic about deals and financials.
*Source – OMD UK Future of Christmas 2014
We experienced this last year – according to The Mail Online shoppers took to the streets in their thousands, spending almost as much in the four days from December 20th as they did in the whole of October!
We simply get carried away and interestingly British shoppers are the number one spenders in Europe when it comes to Christmas. Brits are also the most likely to get into debt doing it (Source: This is Money), maybe worth trying to finalise that shopping a bit earlier next year?
So what?
While initially people plan and budget for their Christmas shopping, the closer Christmas gets the less they worry about offers and finances. Right price (and sometimes even eight product!) get thrown out of the window.
For many companies, the Christmas period is crucial as it allows them to drive a substantial amount of sales and profits for the year. Brands should remember that there is still as much need to capture and inspire the last minute cohort as the early shopper.
The brands who help consumers with these moments of stress will get an ally for life!
Next time, Myth 11: Christmas lists are only for kids
