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

Forget Christmas, let’s book a holiday!

It’s only two months until Christmas and in every shop the shelves are packed with Christmas goodies. We asked our MumPanel what they’ll be spending their money on this Christmas and there were some surprising results. 

We wanted to know if mums are feeling the financial pinch this year – 30% said they would be spending less, 58% about the same, 12% more.  And even though today we’ve heard we’re finally out of recession mums are always canny shoppers – whether that’s because money is tighter because of redundancy or maternity leave or they just want to have enough left to pay for a holiday next year.  A strong message from the survey was that mums value family time most, spending almost takes a back seat with many prepared to spend a little less or a little more wisely at Christmas. 

So we know mums like to plan ahead (they are already thinking about next year’s summer holiday and cutting back on Xmas spending so they can afford a family break) and 10% of our mums had already bought food and drink by September. For many mums present shopping starts in January, allowing them to stagger the cost over the year. Our mums also showed us they are resourceful – hunting down deals, and using charity shops and ebay so they can still afford the gifts their children want. And lots of mums find out about these deals from other mums – money saving word of mouth. That’s worth remembering when you are planning how to communicate with mums in 2013. 

We asked mums what they would be buying for their children this year and we expected the list to be full of gadgets and technology. But that isn’t the case – we found kids really want a mix of heritage and traditional toys (bikes, Lego, jigsaws) that wouldn’t be out of place on a Christmas wish list from the 1970s.  We are seeing more tech led presents creeping in (especially for older children – the mums who are spending more this year tend to have older kids who want more expensive, gadget type gifts) but it does show that children still love playing and getting out and about. 

MumPanel Christmas Shopping survey 2012, over 350 respondents, mums with children 0-16 years