Worrying new data shows that Christmas may be going out of fashion…
More people than ever seem to have given up entirely on buying gifts. In 2011, the number of Yuletide scrooges was only 1%, but figures this year have already reached 7% – and further inquiries into people’s spending trends make depressing reading.
The study, by Observador Cetelem, shows that less than half the number of people who receive Christmas bonuses will actually use it – as it was used traditionally – on buying presents.
In 2011, 82% of people with festive bonuses said they would be using their extra cash to put presents under the tree. In 2012, that number had dropped to 63%. Now, it is down to 49%.
And to make matters worse, less and less people are receiving Christmas bonuses these days.
In 2011, only 9% of workers were deprived of their annual bonuses. A year later, the figure had risen to 21% and this year it has reached 25%, says Observador Cetelem.
The lack of a Christmas bonus particularly affects the younger population. Over 60% of those queried between the ages of 18 and 24 said they did not receive a bonus, while 58% of those aged between 45 and 54 confirmed that they did.
The depressing study was carried out alongside Nielsen information company and included interviews with 500 people living in Portugal, of both sexes and between the ages of 18 and 65.
