Leave Your Emotions at the Door: Capturing the Consumer Mood This Festive Period

 

We’ve had a successful Christmas advert season which saw brands carefully navigate the mood of the nation with a level of prowess I’m not used to seeing from our industry. But as Christmas draws closer and the cost of living crisis deepens it’s become even tougher for brands to remain agile and understand how to harness the surprising consumer appetite for spending this festive period.  

Earlier this year we conducted research as part of our ‘Cash Strapped Christmas’ series where we surveyed 1000 consumers from up and down the UK to understand how they’re feeling about Christmas 2022, how they’re prioritising their spending and whether they’ll be doing anything differently this year.

We found that the outlook was looking more positive for brands than we first thought. Overall consumers were looking for ‘Hopeful Pragmatism’ from brands, with 60% of consumers stating they would be spending more this year compared to last year with consumer’s overall budgeting around £475 each for the festive period, with men spending on average 4% more than their female counterparts. This equates to an average increase of 10% on their spending last year. With 18-24 year olds the most likely to be spending more this festive period and 45-54 year olds being the most likely to be tightening their belts this Christmas. The same can not be said for consumers in the North East who on average will be spending the most out of any region in the UK this year.

How can brands continue to harness the overall surprise consumer appetite for spending into the new year?

 

Consumers are more pragmatic than ever this year, we’ve had two years of disruption making us all much more resilient and adaptable as a result. That meant when it comes to Christmas, consumers wanted practical advice and help from brands that enabled them to have the Christmas of their dreams this year. This hopeful pragmatic theme came through strongly with the Christmas campaign offering this year, with many brands deciding to partner with charities and organisations to make real change for consumers beyond empty emotional storytelling. This theme is set to continue into the new year with many consumers with deepening financial worries, they will be looking to brands to continue their empathic support to keep spending stimulated.      

We also predicted that consumers would be strategizing their spending this year, which not only meant getting started on Christmas gifts for others early, it meant redistributing the budget to afford little luxuries for themselves. According to recent ONS data, although online shopping spending is falling, it’s remained consistently above pre-pandemic levels since October 2020. With so much uncertainty in the near future, consumers are splashing out on everything from takeaways to Ubers to cosmetics and skincare to live in the present. For brands this means continuing the gifting messaging into 2023 with a bigger focus on gifts for me, myself and I.  

Consumers have also been thinking about how they can streamline their spending for the greatest return. From rethinking their silly season, instead prioritising fewer but better quality experiences during the run up to the big day. In addition to rethinking how they shop. We reported that 20% of Brits were planning on having a more sustainable Christmas this year by purchasing sustainable gifts from second hand shops, Facebook marketplace and rental services. According to a study by the British Heart Foundation, on average a child loses interest in a toy within 36 days. A fifth of parents said their child lost interest after 11 hours of play. Meanwhile, a whopping 80% of toys end up in landfill. What part can brands play? The answer isn’t a quick fix, the tides are changing and successful brands will be those who can flex to new consumer needs by innovating their offering to support rental and subscription models which not only will give kids fresh toys without the waste but also save parents vital pennies as they head into the new year.