The nightmare before Christmas - the pain and pleasure of Christmas shopping

6th December 2011

Christmas today is over commercialised, has lost its magic and starts too early with children demanding expensive toys and placing huge pressure on parents to spend money. 

This is the overriding finding of a survey of shoppers conducted by Bath Tourism Plus into attitudes towards Christmas shopping.

However, even in these recession stricken times most people liked being able to indulge at Christmas and half of them found Christmas shopping enjoyable. Asked what they liked about the festive season they mentioned  the lights,  the laughter,  getting together with family and friends, traditional entertainment, carol singing, Christmas Markets, mulled wine and midnight mass.

Stress in finding that surprise for loved ones

From the 300 people who conducted the survey more than half found that buying presents was stressful (55 per cent). Immediate family and husbands or wives are the hardest to buy for (44 per cent) and in laws can be tricky too; 13 per cent said they were difficult to buy for. There were no surprises in the sex of shoppers with more than three quarters (84 per cent ) being female and middle aged, 24 per cent of respondents were aged 35 to 54.  The budget for Christmas gifts varied with 13 per cent planning to spend £500 or more this year and nearly 13 per cent less than £100.  Nearly a third (30 per cent) of people said they would expect to take three or more sessions to get their shopping done, travelling 20 miles or more to go to their preferred shopping destination (31 per cent). 

Make Do and Mend

Time is not just spent on shopping with 44 per cent saying that they spend at least three hours wrapping and labelling gifts.  A surprising 23 per cent of people said that they made their own gifts and it may not all be over for the high street as 12 per cent more people said they prefer to buy presents in the shops rather than online.  It is not all pain, 70 per cent of people said they found buying gifts enjoyable.

Respondents were asked for their top tips which ranged from making plenty of coffee stops, to starting in the January sales. Other suggestions included getting well organised with your list, buying experiences rather than stuff, starting early and avoiding shopping at weekends.

Bath Christmas Capital of the West

Bath welcomes an additional 300 000 shoppers to the city during their traditional Christmas market which runs this year until 11^th December.  With 130 wooden chalets selling unusual and hand crafted gifts against the backdrop of Bath Abbey this is Christmas shopping as it used to be.  Bath is often called the “Christmas capital of the west” with its Georgian backdrop, festive lights, cosmopolitan cafes and combination of leading high street brands and independents, all within a square mile. The Bath Business Improvement District organised a Christmas Lights switch on ceremony with John Cleese  attracting 9000 people on 17^th November.

Bath is ideal to work though the list of most wanted gifts and  with extended store opening hours and the convenient park and ride service taking visitors right into the city centre. This is a popular time of year to combine some gift buying with a festive break and there is lots to see and do in Bath including the traditional panto at the Theatre Royal and a magical carpet of lights at the Holburne Museum.  For Christmas 2012 Bath has launched a new programme “Bath in a Box” packaging up experiences that are unique to the city. To plan your visit go to vistibath.co.uk.

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Notes to Editors:
For further information and images please contact Lucy Ryder at Bath Tourism Plus on 01225 477441 or email: lucy_ryder@bathtourism.co.uk, or Nicky Hancock at Hancock Communications on 01225 332299 or nicky@hancockcomm.com.

Bath Tourism Plus & Bath Christmas Market:

Working with the public and private sectors, Bath’s destination marketing organisation, Bath Tourism Plus, is responsible for marketing of Bath and the surrounding area to leisure and business travellers. Bath Tourism Plus is also responsible for the operation of Bath Christmas Market, which attracts approximately 300,000 visitors per year to Bath. For more information about Bath Christmas Market, visit: www.bathchristmasmarket.co.uk.

Bath in a Box

Wrap up Bath in a box for your loved ones this Christmas.  Plan a special break in the spa city with time to relax and unwind, enjoy a romantic dinner, explore a new gallery or visit a museum and fit in some shopping to buy a memento of magical time spent together.  See www.visitbath.co.uk for further details.