Christmas spending statistics 2020

The coronavirus-induced recession has changed our money habits and not even Christmas is immune. Finder polled 1,201 Singaporean adults to reveal a whopping 43% plan to spend less this Christmas. Just how much less? Read on to find out.

Spending less on Christmas

Two-fifths (43%) of Singaporean adults plan to spend 28% less on average this Christmas. That equates to S$131 less for things like gifts, food and travel, with a total forecast spend of S$329 based on previous year’s average per person spend of S$460.

However, some people are cutting costs more than others. If you’re still hoping for a gift or luxurious meal then you might be out of luck if your gift giver or host is one of the 8% who plans to reduce their total spend by over 50%. The good news is that 12% plan to reduce costs by just 5%, so Christmas might not look so different after all.

How much Singaporeans plan to reduce their Christmas spend by:

Who’s spending less?

People over the age of 65 are by far and away the most likely group to be cutting their Christmas spend in 2020, with 61% saying they’re reducing their spend, followed by 45- to 54-year-olds (49%). Those aged 35 to 44 and 55 to 64 tied at 46%. On the other end of the spectrum 18- to 24-year-olds are the least likely to be cutting costs (40%), followed closely by 25- to 34-year-olds (42%). More women say they’re reducing their Christmas spend than men; 46% compared to 42%, a difference of 4 percentage points.

Impact on retailers

Reduced consumer spending this Christmas will weigh on the economy with our estimates suggesting retailers and service providers could lose nearly S$110 million.

Compared to 10 other countries Singapore ranks in the middle for the number of people reducing Christmas spend. South Africa is set to be hit particularly hard with 56% of South Africans looking to cut costs. Filipinos are next most likely to cut Christmas costs (52%), followed by Hong Kongese and Indians (47%). 37% of Australians plan to cut costs, with 40% of Americans and 41% of Brits saying the same.

• Methodology

  Finder polled 15,451 adults across 10 countries. All countries bar Australia were polled in September via a Google Survey. The sample sizes are as follows:

  • Australia, nationally representative, 1,066
  • The United States, nationally representative, 2,001
  • The United Kingdom, nationally representative, 1,501
  • Canada, nationally representative, 1,202
  • Ireland, convenience sampling, 1,207
  • India, convenience sampling, 2,515
  • New Zealand, convenience sampling, 1,216
  • South Africa, convenience sampling, 1,510
  • Hong Kong, convenience sampling, 1,215
  • The Philippines, convenience sampling, 2,018