Reports
28 November 2016

Special report: Presents of mind – Christmas 2016

Feeling festive at Christmas typically packs a punch to the wallet; across Europe 10% of people even went into debt during the season in 2015. In the 2016 survey, ING asked 13,576 people across Europe, the USA and Australia about their Christmas budgets and finances - confirming that many feel the holiday has become too focused on money.

Executive summary

ING’s third annual survey of Christmas spending suggests most people continue to manage the financial consequences of Christmas well and, furthermore, most people do appreciate the presents they receive.

However our research also confirms that a minority continue to report less than satisfying experiences.

Eighty-two percent of people in Europe say they received gifts last Christmas. Of these, about one in seven (15%) were given something they didn’t appreciate, didn’t like or couldn’t use. The shares are only slightly different in the USA and Australia.

Nearly eight in ten (78%) in Europe indicate they appreciated the gifts they received last year. Of the 15% in 2016 who admit to receiving unwanted presents, more than half kept them anyway.

The next most common responses to receiving unwanted gifts were to give them to someone else (25%) or to sell them (14%). And one in ten (11%) actually tried to return them to the store.

Asked to estimate the financial value of these unappreciated presents, survey respondents suggest a range with a median value of around €45.


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