Women Spending More Time but Less Cash This Christmas

The survey, carried out by Clothes Show Live, observed that our painstaking research, endless window shopping and online browsing means women are very likely to find the most competitive prices for products while men, despite buying less, are almost certainly to shell out an average of 2 pounds more per gift resulting from a lack of forward-thinking. But what is the true cost of Christmas?

With The british economic crisis still heavy upon us, the retail sector has taken an enormous blow, yet in spite of the financial despair, shoppers seem to view Xmas as an indulgent period and a time to show resilience in the face of our current climate. Many stores make up to 60% of their annual earnings between November and December making Xmas the main event in retail's calendar. The Confederation of British Industry expects to see month on month retail sales up 45% in December, a prediction backed by Datamonitor, an independent business information website that foresees Xmas spending approaching its highest level since 2007; good news for the high street which has most surely suffered at the hands of the recession.

E-commerce however has shown to be recession-proof with official figures reporting that online shopping rose in 2009 by 24.9% to 408.3bn UKP and Xmas is certain to boost these figures. Officials expect 8bn UKP to be spent online in December, with crazy Christmas buyers believed to spend over half a billion alone on Monday 6th December in what is being dubbed as 'Mega Monday'.

With unemployment still rife and the threat of job cutbacks still pending, you would think that as a country we might rein in our Xmas costs yet surveys have suggested otherwise. The business advisory firm Deloitte found that of 2,000 consumers surveyed, 71% intended to spend the same or even more on christmas presents and 76% planned on doing the same with food and drink. Ian Geddes, UK Head of Retail at Deloitte, said: "Each year consumers tell us they will do whatever they can to enjoy Christmas and this year will be no different."

So, although our finances may not have changed, officials suggest that our spending patterns have instead been revised. An average shopper will spend in the region of 500 pounds on gifts which last year left the average consumer 400 pounds in Christmas debt. This year the chances of financial hangovers are slimmer with people predicted to be savvier with their money and choosing to dip into savings and not just maxing out credit cards.

But let us remember the hidden costs of festivity. Xmas is unquestionably the time for family and friends and trips up and down the land, or even just to the next town, will soon start burning a hole in your pocket; train tickets can be pricey and a tank of petrol is hardly cheap. Advanced ticket bookings offered by websites such as trainline.com have reduced the financial burden of the cross-country trek while website petrolprices.com allows users to discover the lowest priced gasoline in their region.

With VAT set to go up from 17.5% to 20% on January 4th 2011 and National Insurance on the rise, many of us fear that their economic circumstances will worsen in the new year. With this luxurious approach to The holiday season it seems that consumers are hell bent on savoring what could very well be our last taste of disposable income.

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