More than half of all gifts purchased this year for Christmas will be technology related, according to new research.
The findings come from Purch’s 2017 Christmas Spending Survey, conducted independently by OnePoll among 2,000 18-55 year olds.
Key Results:
- More than half of the tech gifts (52%) purchased as gifts this year will be for children
- 41% of respondents said they would be shopping for technology related christmas gifts during black friday this year.
- 22% will be shopping for tech in the first two weeks of December.
- Tablets and video games will rule this year as top tech purchases during black friday with 24% and 22% of shoppers respectively.
- Only 8% will purchase cameras, and only 7% were interested in purchasing voice activated smart speakers such as the Amazon Echo or Google Home.
- A third of consumers say that Brexit price uncertainty means they are more likely to shop for bargains during Black Friday.
The average spend on technology related gifts this year is estimated at £404 - Trust in social media and TV ads is at an all-time low, possibly as a backlash to the fake news epidemic that has taken hold this year
The survey points to another bumper year for vendors of technology-related gifts. When it comes to buying presents, Black Friday will take 41% of all sales while the final two weeks leading up to Christmas eve will take a further 22% of sales. The proportion of shoppers looking to snag bargains on Black Friday is up 17% from 24% last year, driven by Brexit price uncertainty.
Tablets/ipads are set to be the most popular gift with 24% of shoppers opting to buy them as a gift, closely followed by video games (22%), Smart TV’s (20%), Laptops (19%) and Android Phones, Gaming Consoles and Fitness related tech at 15%.
For those hoping to be zipping about on a new electric bike, scooter or skateboard this Christmas, the odds are low with only 1% of consumers reporting plans to purchase mobility orientated gifts.
But what will be sitting under the Christmas tree for kids this year? Parents have their eyes on tablets (24%), videogames (22%) and gaming consoles (18%) with the average tech spend at £286.
The vast majority of shoppers (47%) will be turning to online reviews on trusted websites in order to help make their purchasing decisions. The second most popular shopping source is online supermarket websites, which were cited by 32% of respondents as being the place they went to in order to decide what to buy.
Social media platforms are not proving a popular destination for inspiration with a mere 16% of respondents reporting trust in sources on Facebook and Instagram. 16% of respondents also said they won’t be putting their trust in television ads – significant in the wake of a year full of fake news and possibly reflecting a consumer backlash with trust at an all time low in social media.
Andre Baden-Semper, VP of European Sales & Marketing at Purch said, “Despite the increase in price uncertainty post-Brexit, it seems consumers across the UK are still set to be spending significant amounts on technology-related products this Christmas with the average shopper looking to pay £404 compared to £266.58 last year. However, despite the growth in Christmas budget, consumers are increasingly looking to shop in a savvy fashion with more shoppers than ever planning on buying their gifts during Black Friday and more turning to reviews on trusted websites to help with their decisions. Purch helps more than 100 million people worldwide make better buying decisions through its technology editorial and shopper services – we’re looking forward to seeing what our audience will be buying this year and if they will buck or confirm the trends revealed in our survey.”