Published by Gbaf News
Posted on December 10, 2017
5 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
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With the average weekly retail spend during December totalling £1billion[1] in 2016, Christmas is big business for the UK. Brits are each planning to splash £335 on gifts for friends and family, and £140 on food and drink this Christmas, new research by Ebuyer has revealed.
The survey of 2,000 UK adults, conducted by the UK’s largest independent tech retailer, looked into how much Brits are planning to spend this holiday season, and how much time we dedicate to getting into the festive spirit.
Cardiff residents were revealed as the most generous, with 18% spending over £500 on gifts for their loved ones, followed by Sheffield (16%) and Liverpool (12%). Norwich residents hoping for an expensive gift from a loved one shouldn’t get their hopes up, as the research revealed that one in 20 (5%) are planning to spend less than a tenner on gifts this year.
An average of £140 will be spent on food and drink over the festive period, with 10% of the nation spending between £200 and £300. Interestingly, 45-54 yearolds are most likely to have a cupboard packed with festive treats, as one in 25 in that age bracket is planning to spend up to £500.
But which items do Brits think are a vital part of a traditional Christmas dinner? Surprisingly, three in 10 Brits don’t think turkey is an essential part of the main event, with 14% opting for duck instead. The marmite of the festive dinner table, Brussels sprouts, is only an essential for 41% of the population, and over two thirds (69%) of the nation would sacrifice pigs in blankets for other traditional Christmas dinner items.
The research also revealed that adults will spend 19 hours solely dedicated to Christmas activities during December – one in 20 (5%) of Southampton residents spend over 60 hours getting in the festive spirit.
Over one in 10 (11%) of Manchester homeowners plan to spend up to 35 hours in December dedicated to festive activities, followed by Newcastle (8%) and Norwich (7%) – the equivalent of a full working week.
The biggest grinches are in Bristol, where one in five (18%) don’t spend any time during December on festive activities. The top five cities for people who will be spending no time on festive activities are:
Andy Roberts, Director of Ecommerce at Ebuyer said: “Although Christmas is a time for spending time with family and friends, it can add up to a costly bill for the big day. By shopping around for the best deals, particularly for the latest tech and electrical items, you can save significant amounts of money and still treat loved ones to what they really want in their stocking this year.”
To view Ebuyer’s Christmas deals, visit: https://www.ebuyer.com/christmas
With the average weekly retail spend during December totalling £1billion[1] in 2016, Christmas is big business for the UK. Brits are each planning to splash £335 on gifts for friends and family, and £140 on food and drink this Christmas, new research by Ebuyer has revealed.
The survey of 2,000 UK adults, conducted by the UK’s largest independent tech retailer, looked into how much Brits are planning to spend this holiday season, and how much time we dedicate to getting into the festive spirit.
Cardiff residents were revealed as the most generous, with 18% spending over £500 on gifts for their loved ones, followed by Sheffield (16%) and Liverpool (12%). Norwich residents hoping for an expensive gift from a loved one shouldn’t get their hopes up, as the research revealed that one in 20 (5%) are planning to spend less than a tenner on gifts this year.
An average of £140 will be spent on food and drink over the festive period, with 10% of the nation spending between £200 and £300. Interestingly, 45-54 yearolds are most likely to have a cupboard packed with festive treats, as one in 25 in that age bracket is planning to spend up to £500.
But which items do Brits think are a vital part of a traditional Christmas dinner? Surprisingly, three in 10 Brits don’t think turkey is an essential part of the main event, with 14% opting for duck instead. The marmite of the festive dinner table, Brussels sprouts, is only an essential for 41% of the population, and over two thirds (69%) of the nation would sacrifice pigs in blankets for other traditional Christmas dinner items.
The research also revealed that adults will spend 19 hours solely dedicated to Christmas activities during December – one in 20 (5%) of Southampton residents spend over 60 hours getting in the festive spirit.
Over one in 10 (11%) of Manchester homeowners plan to spend up to 35 hours in December dedicated to festive activities, followed by Newcastle (8%) and Norwich (7%) – the equivalent of a full working week.
The biggest grinches are in Bristol, where one in five (18%) don’t spend any time during December on festive activities. The top five cities for people who will be spending no time on festive activities are:
Andy Roberts, Director of Ecommerce at Ebuyer said: “Although Christmas is a time for spending time with family and friends, it can add up to a costly bill for the big day. By shopping around for the best deals, particularly for the latest tech and electrical items, you can save significant amounts of money and still treat loved ones to what they really want in their stocking this year.”
To view Ebuyer’s Christmas deals, visit: https://www.ebuyer.com/christmas
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