Press Release

OVER ONE MILLION MEN ARE EXPECTED TO DO THEIR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING ON CHRISTMAS EVE

22 December 2006

Despite shops gearing up for Christmas in August, over one million men1 are expected to flood the shops on Christmas Eve this year in an attempt to do all their festive shopping in a last minute dash.

Research from National Savings and Investments (NS&I) shows that one in 20 (5%) admits to starting their Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve. In contrast less than 0.5% of women confess to the same eleventh-hour madness.  And these last minute lads may have their work cut out for them as on average they claim to normally buy gifts for 10 people.

Just under half (49%) of men say they normally spend more on Christmas presents than they budgeted for, with men spending on average £44 per person - £10 more than women, who limit themselves to an average of £35 per person. Worryingly, almost one in five (18%) men confesses that they mainly tend to pay for their presents with a credit card. 

The last minute rush will come as welcome news for many retailers after reports than seasonal spending is down on previous years2.

John Prout, sales director at NS&I comments: "Shopping centres and high streets are set to be swarming with men speed-shopping this Christmas Eve. While some undoubtedly love the excitement of a last minute dash, others are likely to overspend trying to find the perfect gift with just hours to go. What is worse is many will be loading up their credit cards to finance the spree. A bit of simple planning can help avoid this stress and make for a better start to the New Year.

"In the meantime if you are struggling to locate a male friend or relative on 24th December - try the local shops!"