Christmas shoppers ditch credit for savings

Saturday, 13 December 2008 12:01

Consumers are paying for Christmas with savings rather than credit this year, a survey has shown.

A study from Halifax has found one in five have changed their Christmas shopping habits this year.

According to the survey, 71 per cent of consumers will pay for Christmas with cash, over a third (35 per cent) will use a credit card, one in ten (14 per cent) a store card and only five per cent will use a loan.

Of those who admitted to changing their Christmas shopping habits, over half (56 per cent) will be taking advantage of pre-Christmas sales and a third (36 per cent) will be cutting back on the number of presents they buy.

Mike Regnier, Halifax head of banking, said: "It's encouraging to see that more consumers are becoming prudent with their finances this year by choosing to use their savings, monthly income and cash to pay for their Christmas purchases, rather than opting for costly store cards which could see them paying out more in the long run."

Women appear to be more organised with their Christmas finances than men.

Of those who use their savings to pay for Christmas, one in three (30 per cent) women admitted to specifically saving for Christmas earlier this year compared to only 15 per cent of men.

Only one in four (26 per cent) men have prepared a Christmas gift list, but almost half (48 per cent) of the women surveyed have.

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