Generosity will drive Christmas spending this year, with parents spending considerably more than the childfree on Christmas gifts.

According to the IPA Insight report, ‘The 2024 Christmas Consumer’, shoppers this year are ready to shower their loved ones with presents. The average Brit expects to spend almost £600 on core Christmas-related products and activities. With parents expected to spend over £250 more than non-parents.

According to the IPA’s annual Christmas-focused survey of 2,000 UK adults, carried out by Opinium, the expected spend is highest among 35-44s (£723.40) and over 75s (£607.60). It is lowest among 65-74s (£486.60) and 55-64s (£489.60). Parents also expect to spend considerably more (£654.40) than non-parents (£397.90).

The majority (55%) of UK adults expect to spend most of their Christmas 2024 budget on gifts for others, followed by food and drink (18%), travel (6%), gifts for themselves (4%), socialising (4%) and decorations (2%). (The remaining percentage of Brits – around 12% - are not sure what they will spend the most money on during Christmas 2024.

While the marketing industry calendar has retailers showcasing their Christmas products to journalists and buyers in July, consumers remain comfortable leaving their Christmas shopping to the last minute.

Almost a third (31%) of all consumers expect to still be shopping during December, while 43% plan to have finished shopping before Black Friday.

However, the research underlined that parents are more likely to do their shopping early (18% in September and October and 20% in the first half of November 20%) than non-parents (13% in September and October and 14% in early November).

Younger generations are most likely to take advantage of the Black Friday sales with 82% of 18-24s and 75% of 25-34s planning to spend at least a quarter of their budget during this time. 85% of over 75s and 73% of 65-74s do not intend to spend any of their budget during the period.

Young workers are the most open to buying gifts from new or emerging brands with almost two-thirds (61%) of 25-34s and more than half of 18-24s (54%) and 35-44s (56%) considering this.

The research also underlined the continued rise of restraint and underconsumption amongst young consumers who are rejecting hyper-consumption fuelled by social media. According to the research 56% of 18-24s and 25-34s hope to receive practical or essential gifts rather than luxury items this Christmas. This is lowest among over 75s (28%) and 55-64s (32%).

Eric Kreis, Insight Manager at the IPA, explained: “We know that Christmas is a critical time for brands in all categories. While consumers’ Christmas budgets appear healthy, we imagine that with the cost-of-living crisis continuing to grip, they will want to make sure every penny counts. This data therefore provides helpful insights into the habits, feelings and plans of UK adults around Christmas 2024 to help brands and agencies appeal best to their consumers.”

This focus on value, buying gifts that matter, are meaningful and useful will be a key trend in Christmas advertising this year. A trend that reflects the blend of the need for consumers to blend generosity with genuinely useful gifts which last.