The annual European shopping season has finally arrived, usually from November to January every year. Due to the Black Friday and Christmas discounts, European people plan to increase their purchases in this sales season, which is also the so-called “golden season” of retail enterprises. However, according to European media reports, consumers will change their shopping habits due to persistent inflation. According to the survey, more families will increase their purchases of preferential and second-hand products this year.
According to a research result of KPMG, although it has slowed down compared with last year, the consumer price index will once again become the protagonist in these three months. According to the survey, this year, the per capita disposable expenditure budget excluding basic expenses is 727 euros, which is more than last year. The problem is that rising prices will lead to fewer goods purchased by consumers.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (INE), Spaniards have promised that they will spend more in the coming weeks due to the increase in savings. Specifically, it is 44% higher than last year, and young people are the group that increases spending the most. 35% of Spaniards promised that their spending would be similar to that of last year, while 21% said they would reduce their spending on non-basic purchases.
The economy is uncertain, but why do four out of ten Spaniards increase their spending? Respondents’ answer is that although the price has increased obviously, they also admit that they want to enjoy more. Half of them replied that the desire for leisure will promote their consumption habits.
Therefore, consumers are most concerned about the problem of high prices. According to a survey conducted by KPMG, as many as 65% people are sure that they will seek products with higher discounts, and this year will be the year of promotion, or at least this is the expectation of consumers. In fact, half of the respondents said that they knew what products they wanted and were determined to buy them only “when they found a discount”.
In this context, Black Friday is positioned as the first choice for Spanish people to purchase during the period of high transaction. Three quarters of people will buy it on the promotion day, while 51% will buy it before Christmas, and another 57% will wait for the promotion in January.
The persistence of inflation will also lead consumers to buy second-hand products more frequently. KPMG’s research shows that this kind of purchase possibility “appears” for environmental reasons, and half of the buyers will choose this way from November to January.
Apart from basic necessities, what do Spaniards plan to spend their money on? Seven out of ten people will buy clothes, shoes and accessories, and 60% will use them to pay the bills of restaurants and bars, while leisure activities (including travel) will rebound strongly in the last few days of this year and early next year. In addition, according to the survey, 20% of Spaniards will be in debt to pay for Christmas.
According to French media reports, persistent inflation will also have an impact on the Christmas shopping plan of the French people. According to a survey report, the overall budget of the French for Christmas spending has decreased by 369 euros this year, about 10%. In addition, 28% of French people plan to buy Christmas gifts by installment, among which young people under 35 account for 43%.
In fact, this trend has become the norm since the new crown epidemic, and most French people said that they would limit more unnecessary expenditures.
However, installment payment may not be the best solution. Although it can be divided into three or four payments to reduce the pressure of excessive expenditure at one time, it still needs to bear a certain amount of handling fees.
From this, we can easily see that, due to the persistent geographical conflict and inflation, this Christmas shopping season, although the purchase volume may increase compared with previous years, European people will be more inclined to goods with higher discounts. In addition, second-hand or installment products will be more popular. Therefore, shopping platforms with higher discounts and second-hand products are likely to be the final winners in this year’s shopping season.
Post time: Nov-24-2023