UK Christmas Gift Buying Market Report 2021

Providing the most comprehensive and up-to-date information and analysis of the UK Christmas Gift market, including the behaviours, preferences and habits of the consumer.

It probably isn’t surprising that there was an increase in online shopping during Christmas of 2020. Lockdowns either side of Christmas massively limited people’s ability to shop at retail outlets, forcing many into buying christmas gifts online. Overall, there was a 77% drop in in-store shopping, with online Christmas gift shopping rising by 85%.

This spike in online gift shopping was circumstantial in many ways, with most non-essential shops remaining closed due to lockdown restrictions. To continue trading, many previously offline businesses moved online to continue trading, as well as click-and-collect orders. With 63% of shoppers missing in-store gift shopping, there is a longing for a ‘normal Christmas’ by many across the UK. While grocery footfall predicted to rise as non-essential shops reopen throughout 2021, continued restrictions may see a prolonged trend in online shopping. This could mean that the change in the way people shop for Christmas gifts online could last into the longer term.

There has been a polarisation in finances, with lower income households losing money while higher income households reportedly being better off than a year ago. While retail sales fell to 0.3%, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people buying during Black Friday sales, 69% of which were Christmas gifts.

Quickly understand

• The impact of COVID-19 on Christmas shopping habits and the macroeconomic picture in the lead-up to Christmas 2020.
• Black Friday and online performance.
• Retail sales performance by major category and by leading retailers who have reported results.
• Key trends and innovations during Christmas 2020.
• Who gifts were given to during Christmas 2020 and how they were given.
• What gifts were purchased and how much on average was spent on gifts.
• When gifts were purchased and in which month the most was spent.

Covered in this report

Food Brands: Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Hotel Chocolat, Lidl, Booths, Aldi, Central England Co-Op, Morrisons, M&S Food

Non-Food Brands: B&M, Boohoo, ASOS, Seasalt, JD Sports, Next, Sosander, Joules, N Brown, Matalan, M&S, Superdry, Primark, Burberry, Kingfisher (B&Q, Screwfix), ProCook, Topps Tiles, Dunelm, Dixons Carphones, Selfridges, Westfield, Carnaby Street, John Lewis & Partners, The Hut Group, Feelunique, Pets at Home, Gear4Music, Halfords, Studio Retail, Very, Poundland

Gift / product types: DIY, furniture, health and beauty, food and drink, jewellery, household appliances, textiles, audio, video, music, video games and consoles, gift cards, clothing, footwear, toys and games, cash, floor coverings, electronics, books, experiences, charitable donations

Expert analysis from a specialist in the field

Written by Nick Carroll, a leading analyst in the Retail sector, his extensive knowledge delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight current trends and add expert context to the numbers.

Christmas 2020 was unlike any other, with the covid-19 pandemic causing dramatic online growth and store closures and concern around visiting stores meaning significant declines of in-store footfall. These two trends conspired to see online, for the first time, take a majority of non-food spending in q4, a dramatic statistic that serves to highlight the underlying difficulties facing physical retail at present. We must, however, remember a good deal of this online purchasing was forced upon consumers, and that a majority of consumers missed the usual physical shopping experience – hopefully providing a platform for store sales to bounce back strongly in 2021.

Nick Carroll
Associate Director of Retail Research