A new survey today suggested that even Christmas won"t offer retailers any slack in an increasingly fraught trading environment.
The survey, published by social networking site MakeFriendsOnline, suggested that 50% of consumers will be spending less this Christmas than last, despite the cut in VAT and massive high street discounting. 87% of the 10,000 respondents said that their spending this year will not exceed last year"s.
However, the survey also provides some potentially valuable advice for retailers. Of particular interest is the correlation between thrift and age; the only viable age group for retailers to target if they are hoping to expand their sales is the 18-30 market, 30% of whom are planning to spend more this Christmas than last. Conversely, only 14% of 30-somethings and 8% of over-60s are planning to spend more.
Many respondents suggested that they had agreed to exchange token gifts with family, perhaps agreeing on an upper price limit. As such, retailers may be well advised to go for increased sales volume and reduced margins during the last-minute pre-Christmas rush.
