Survey from money transfer service Azimo finds 54% of consumers said they would rather receive cash than a present they did not want

After opening up a Christmas present from Aunty Margaret and finding a garishly green scarf, many would continue looking through the wrapping paper, clinging to the hope that the receipt would be included. So it comes as no surprise that money transfer service Azimo has found that UK shoppers spent an estimated £2.7bn* on unwanted Christmas gifts in the last year.

Whilst an average consumer spends £358.42 on family and friends every Christmas, more than one-in-ten (14%) of all Christmas gifts were classed as not wanted. Over half (54%) of consumers said they would rather receive cash than a present they did not want, with 28% saying they had previously returned/wanted to return some of the less exciting gifts they’ve received.[1]

Consumers are paying the price for delivery too: the survey found that UK consumers spend approximately £750million sending gifts via post/courier, with over a third (36%) admitting they would spend more money on gifts if they didn’t have to pay large delivery fees.

Marta Krupinska, co-Founder and General Manager at Azimo, said: “Christmas is a time for giving and we all love the feeling of handing over gifts to our loved ones. But with so many families and friends living in different parts of the world, we need a better alternative. At Azimo we see an increasing trend in sending money as gifts, with our customers saying they’d rather their friends and family back home picked their own present. Sending your loved ones the gift of money puts them more in control, saves you money and ultimately makes everyone happy at this special time of year.”

Elsewhere, the survey showed that consumers spend over twice as much money on their partner as they do for their mum or dad (£97.76 vs. £47.30), with men spending on average £15.88 more on their partners than women.

[1] Survey of 1,000 people conducted online by Census wide on behalf of Azimo, November 2016