Our festive shopping survey shows that almost half those surveyed have spent less money on gifts this year than in the past.
We asked shoppers eight questions about their spending habits this Christmas with nearly 1,500 people taking part. Of those taking part 47% said that they had spent less money on presents this year than previously.
Only 11% said they had spent more and the rest believed that their spending was about the same.
It was a similar case with food and drink with 48% believing that they had cut back their spending in this area this year and 47% believing it to be about the same.
When it came to where shoppers were taking their custom this year 46% said they had done most of their shopping online, compared to 34% who had hit the high street and 20% who had visited out of town shopping centres.
More than half of those surveyed said they had only visited a town centre once or twice this December.
Traders across Suffolk had been hoping that the number of shoppers would pick up this weekend to give retailers a final festive boost with our region’s towns showing mixed results over the festive period so far.
READ MORE: Town centres hoping for big weekend as shoppers finally hit high streets
However, the majority of those surveyed, 58%, said they had not done any last minute shopping this weekend at all. Finally shoppers were asked if they believed their shopping habits would change in the run up to Christmas 2019.
62% of those surveyed said that their habits probably wouldn’t change in the next year with a further 22% believing that they may buy more online next Christmas rather than hitting the shops.
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