Last minute shopping, causes Brits to overspend
Last minute Christmas shopping could cost consumers almost double that of people who plan ahead for the holiday season, suggests a new report.
According to a study by one of the UK’s most popular credit card providers, consumers who leave their shopping up until the last week before Christmas Eve are almost 4 times more likely to accumulate unplanned debts as a result.
The study showed that individuals, who do decide to leave their shopping until the week before, are likely to spend an astounding 50% more than they had predetermined. On the other side of the coin, consumers who are thorough in the Christmas planning, on average spend almost 20% less than they intended.
Commenting on the findings, one expert stated that consumers have little excuse for not been able to plan for the Holiday season. From a money management perspective, it is absolutely paramount for Brits to plan as much as possible, in the run up to Christmas. It is incredibly easy to overspend, if you leave your shopping to the last minute for a number of reasons, predominately however, many consumers often find that specific gifts that they had considered to purchase will be out of stock, often meaning that more expensive alternatives are acquired through acts of “buying frustration”.
In related news, analysts predict that British consumers will add an additional 10 billion pounds to the countries “Debt Mountain” over the Christmas period.
