Christmas Spending Statistics 2020

The coronavirus-induced recession has changed our money habits and not even Christmas is immune. Finder polled 1,510 South African adults to reveal a whopping 56% plan to spend less this Christmas. Just how much less? Read on to find out.

Christmas spending statistics

Nearly 6 in 10 South African adults plan to spend 33% less on average this Christmas. That equates to R2,153 less for things like gifts, food and travel, with a total forecast spend of R4,432 based on last year’s average per person spend of R6,585.

However, some people are cutting costs more than others. If you’re still hoping for a gift or a luxurious meal, then you might be out of luck if your gift giver or host is one of the 16% who plan to reduce their total spend by more than half. The good news is that 15% only plan to reduce costs by 5%, so Christmas might not look so different after all.

How much South Africans plan to reduce their Christmas spend by:

Who’s spending less?

Those aged 35-44 and 45-54 are most likely to say they’re cutting costs this Christmas (60%), followed by people 55-64 years old (58%) and those over 65 (57%). On the other end of the spectrum, people aged 18-24 are the least likely to be cutting costs (54%), followed closely by those aged 25-34 (55%). More women say they’re reducing their Christmas spend than men – 57% compared to 55%, a difference of two 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 close to R26bn. South Africa is set to be hit particularly hard, given that South Africans are most likely to look at cutting costs compared to other countries. Filipinos are next most likely to cut Christmas costs (52%), followed by Hong Kongese and Indians (47%). The least likely to be cutting costs are Australians (37%), followed by Americans (40%) and Brits (41%).

• 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
  United States, Nationally Representative, 2,001
  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
  Philippines, Convenience Sampling, 2,018