The Christmas period is associated not only with the festive mood, Christmas lights, and time with the family. We can also attribute this period to last-minute gift searches, crowded stores, and empty wallets. So, what gifts are the most popular and how much do people tend to spend on gifts for loved ones? We’ll look at last year’s statistics on Christmas purchases in two markets: the United States and the United Kingdom.

The entire Christmas period, including Black Friday, Cyber ​​Monday, and Thanksgiving, is a prime time for retailers. Due to the pandemic, the confusion in stores, and the lack of time, more and more Americans are choosing to shop online. For this reason, the 2020 Cyber ​​Monday has become the most popular day for online shopping, costing Americans $6 billion.

Since 2008, American consumers spend more and more money every year on Christmas presents. A survey conducted in retail last year shows how strongly Americans love the tradition of giving Christmas presents. Despite the overall pandemic situation, total retail holiday sales in 2020 amounted to $789.4 billion.

Holiday sales revenue of the last decade (in billion U.S. dollars)

Last year people in the US were thinking of personally spending $852 on Christmas gifts while this year the number has increased to $886.

By analyzing what products shoppers buy the most during the Christmas period, you can raise your sales by focusing on those goods in your store. Research has shown that the most popular products during this period are accessories and clothing. Therefore, the promotion of these goods should be the main focus. It has also been found that newsletters and offers received via email help to select Christmas gifts, so email marketing should not be forgotten during this period and in general as well, as there won’t be any instant email marketing success if you don’t build the momentum yourself throughout experiencing different techniques, layouts, and other email marketing methods in the long period.

Top Christmas holiday retail categories by share of shoppers

In 2021, experts predict that online retail sales will make up 16.3% of total retail sales. It will hit 18.3% in 2023 and 19.9% by 2025.

What do people want for Christmas?

From loved ones to family, friends, and co-workers – shoppers buy Christmas gifts for everyone during the holiday season. Since there’s a lot of holiday retail sales, people purchase different holiday gifts for their loved ones.

Here are some of the statistics on what kind of holiday gifts people from the U.S. want for Christmas, according to Fortunly:

• 47.4% of women want to get jewelry for Christmas;
• 32.3% of men want gift vouchers for Christmas.

The situation is slightly different in the United Kingdom. Here in 2019, retail sales amounted to £83.1 billion. In 2020, trade fell to just £79.7 billion. Of course, all this was due to the global coronavirus pandemic and trade restrictions. Nevertheless, a sales spike is forecasted to hit this year, with sales potentially surpassing 2019 and rising to £84.7 billion.

The study found that this year the average British adult will spend £548 only on Christmas presents, which is £72 more than what was prepared to be spent in 2020 and £107 more than in 2019. Overall, the entire UK will spend about £5.6 billion on Christmas presents alone, which is 6% more if we compare it to 2020. However, it is 5% less than in 2019, so the coronavirus impact is still a thing that’s being felt.

In the UK, people purchased different things for Christmas. In 2020, they spent an average of:

• £52.15 on consumer electronics;
• £47.18 on toys;
• £28.55 on clothing/footwear;
• £27.29 on gift cards, vouchers, and other types of digital currency;
• £22.99 on cosmetics.

So, whether holiday shoppers save all year to make their Christmas season one they way

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