UK festive spending set to get a boost
Britons will spend between 2 and 3 percent more on Christmas gifts compared with last year, as low unemployment makes them confident about their finances, according to market research company Mintel.
People will spend an average of about 355 pounds on presents, Mintel said yesterday in an e-mailed research report. One in three will "splash out" even though they face higher interest rates and a slowing housing market, Mintel said.
Unemployment fell to the lowest in more than two and a half years in October, as quicker economic growth spurred companies to hire workers, figures showed last week. Many homeowners have fixed-rate mortgages that will last another year and a half, meaning they aren't immediately affected by higher borrowing costs, Mintel said in the report.
"Low unemployment means people feel secure about their jobs and their monthly pay checks," said Richard Perks, director of retail research at Mintel. "This, combined with the fact that the impact of rising interest rates on predominantly fixed rate mortgages will take another year and a half or so to work through, means British consumers are not yet ready to tighten the purse strings."
More than half of households now have broadband Internet access, and 38 percent of adults will buy some gifts online this Christmas, the report shows. One in 10 people will use the Internet to buy most of their Christmas presents, Mintel said.
Bloomberg News
(China Daily 11/23/2007 page16)
