95% of parents shopping online this Christmas – MumPanel 2016 Christmas Survey

With just 44 sleeps to go until Christmas it’s at the forefront of most parents’ minds. But exactly how early do they start planning and will they be spending more or less this year? We found out the answers to these questions and a few more in the MumPanel 2016 Christmas Survey. 

It’s been a tough year for lots of families and many have had to find ways to economise and make cutbacks, and Christmas is going to take a hit too. A quarter of families are planning to spend less on Christmas presents this year, but 14% are planning to push the boat out and spend a bit more. The average spend per child this year is around £180, with 10% spending over £300 and at the other end of the spectrum 10% spending under £50.

We’ve seen a marked shift to online shopping this year, with 95% of parents saying they will do at least some of their present buying online. And parents are picking up presents while doing the weekly shop – 63% saying they buy in supermarkets. We shouldn't forget the other places mums and dads go to buy – Christmas markets, local craft fairs, eBay, charity shops and local selling sites.

In 2012 we found 10% of parents had started food and drink shopping in September, but this year we found out mums and dads like to start present buying much earlier. Almost 14% love finding bargains in the January sales, the majority (47%) start in October and November. And there’s 1% of brave souls who leave it until the week before Christmas.

Retailers leading the way are Amazon (81%), Argos and Tesco for toys and games with Smyths following closely behind. Smiggle and The Range are new places for present shopping that parents didn't mention last year.  Part of the reason Argos continues to dominate is the good old catalogue – we heard in both the survey and in twitter parties that two-thirds of kids still love to sit and circle the presents they want. 

 

To round up we asked parents ‘What could brands do to help you more with Christmas shopping?’ and here are just a few of the themes that emerged – something for companies to think about for Christmas 2017? 

Price is a big issue…

• Have a shopping list web page, with details such as recipient, ideas, and price bracket and make suggestions for each child
• Avoid inflating prices!
• More bargains before Christmas. (Instead of items being half price 1 week later) More deals.
• Lower prices and more availability for the more sought after toys!
• More toy sales like the Sainsbury's half price toy week - that was fantastic
• Better deals, help with a guide selector by choosing age etc. & possibly telling where you can get the best deal, like a comparison site

Think beyond the price tag…

• Toys to be advertised towards particular age groups so it was easier to pick out suitable gifts
• Help with a guide selector by choosing age etc. & possibly telling where you can get the best deal, like a comparison site
• Stop being stereotypical with toys, such as a craft activity, will be in a pink box or have a girl on the box, so stops me buying it for my son who would love the activity.

Authenticity matters to parents…

• Be honest about what the toys actually do compared to what they look like they do on the advertisements. I often take my three young children into stores to show them that the sparkles were added for the advert or that the fairies don't really fly etc.
• Being more honest with descriptions on TV ads
• Stop nonsense adverts every 5 minutes showing expensive toys as not everyone can afford them but children do see the ads and get upset.
• Tell the truth on adverts, they always show young toys being played with by older children. When you buy your child these toys and they get bored after the first 10 minutes it is such a waste.

MumPanel Christmas Shopping survey 2016, 590 respondents, parents with children 0-18 years

Speak Out – when word of mouth creates the next big thing

This time last year there was one game on everyone’s lips – Pie Face. It was the Christmas sales smash of last year, with retailers struggling to keep up with demand.

But the story of its success started several months earlier, and it was all down to word of mouth.

In April 2015 a video of a grandfather and his grandson playing the game hit the web, it was soon being shared across social media, then mainstream media got hold of it. It’s hard give an exact number of views but there are various estimates of between 88-100 million. The game was actually launched by Rocket Games in 2014 but Hasbro heard about the buzz around the video, bought the rights and launched it in 20 countries in September 2015.

It’s sometimes hard to figure out what makes something a viral success but in this case it’s clear. The video is natural and very funny, so it’s easy and safe to share, with friends and your kids (and when they love it pester power kicks in) . The game itself is simple and something the whole family can play. And it was marketed at a very pocket friendly price.

And even if you weren’t on social media or hadn’t seen it in the mainstream press mums and dads were talking about it at the school gate. People were sharing where they had seen it on sale or offering to buy it for other parents.

And this week it looks like Hasbro are about to repeat last year’s success with another hilarious (but adult-focused) board game. Speak Out was launched in June this year, after a collaboration with JoeSantagato, and we heard little about it until a video appeared on Facebook on 11^th September. In 5 days it’s had 28 million views. Yes, 28 millon views.

Last night it hit my timeline and I immediately shared it, it’s funny and is similar to a game I play with my kids (taken from the game on TV programme Celebrity Juice) where you have to say words while keeping your teeth covered. Then I went to try and buy it. Amazon sold out. Argos sold out.  Every retailer sold out. And it’s changing hands for £50 on eBay (it retails at £19.99).

When I got to the school gate this morning the first thing a mum said to me was ‘have you seen that video of that new game, I wonder where you can buy it from’.

Hasbro seemed to have stumbled on an unexpected and low budget way to create cash in the till. When we’re talking to people about spreading the word we focus on letting things spread within people’s natural journeys, there’s real power in letting real people do the work for you.  And that’s especially important in a market where we’re overwhelmed with marketing and advertising messages.

There's lots of talk about using micro influencers (we prefer to call them real people) to spread a message but you have to get the content right first - and this is what's happening with Speak Out.  Maybe it's time for brands to better understand with what we connect with, what we're willing to share and why.