What is Ferratum Christmas Barometer 2017?
Since 2014, Ferratum Group has been asking its customers to share their spending habits. The survey is conducted twice a year — once during the Summer holidays and, again, just before Christmas.
The purpose of the survey is to review our customers´ spending behaviours during the holidays, what types of purchases will be made, and how spending differs between countries. The survey also explores how people plan to spend their Christmas holidays, which country will be spending the most money during the season, who will be using Airbnb for their accommodation, and which countries prefer online shopping more to shopping marathons.
In our seventh and largest survey to date, with over 21,000 respondents, we’re excited to share our findings of Christmas spending behaviour across the globe in the FERRATUM CHRISTMAS BAROMETER 2017™
Ferratum Australia was part of the seventh holiday survey where we’re looking at Christmas spending in the FERRATUM CHRISTMAS BAROMETER 2017™.
THE LARGEST FERRATUM INTERNATIONAL CHRISTMAS SURVEY COMPARES CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN 20 COUNTRIES
Over 21,000 households participated in Ferratum Group’s Christmas Barometer™, which was carried out for the fourth successive year. So what are the most popular gift purchases, and which country will be spending the most this Christmas? Will people make their Christmas purchases online or via traditional retail? Who really spends more on drinks during the festive season, us or our Kiwi neighbours? And, how many Aussies are really planning to use AirBnB this year?
Our results show that 20% will be increasing their spending, while nearly 50% of households will be spending as much on gifts and celebrations as they did last Christmas.
Spending Trends
According to the results in our 2017 Christmas Barometer™, the top Christmas spenders this year will be Mexico (34.6%), Romania (31.9%), Spain (29.6%), and Brazil (28.2%). At the other end of the scale, we can find Croatia (14.4%), Norway (13.4), Finland (12.3%), and the Netherlands (11.8%) who will retain their position from last year as the lowest spenders during Christmas.
Our survey shows that Christmas spending will be high in both New Zealand and Australia with households from both countries allocating 22%-23% of their monthly salary on Christmas.„At a time when we keep hearing that families are doing it tough, it is very interesting to see Australian’s plan to spend more than 22% of their income on items such as toys, clothing and alchohol this year“, said Mr James Logan, Country Manager, Australia.
Christmas spending relative to disposable household income
SPENDING IN RELATION TO OTHER COUNTRIES
-
Mexico
198
34.6%
-
Romania
182
31.9%
-
Spain
169
29.6%
-
Brazil
161
28.2%
-
Bulgaria
137
24%
-
New Zealand
135
23.6%
-
Australia
128
22.4%
-
UK
126
22.1%
-
Poland
121
21.2%
-
Czech
115
20.2%
-
Canada
105
18.4%
-
Grand Total
100
17.5%
-
Estonia
99
17.3%
-
Latvia
97
17%
-
Sweden
84
14.6%
-
Croatia
82
14.4%
-
Norway
77
13.4%
-
Finland
70
12.3%
-
Germany
68
11.9%
-
Denmark
68
11.8%
-
Netherlands
68
11.8%
International Christmas spending 2017
Household Christmas spending forecast 2017
-
Same as last Christmas
48.8%
-
Less than last Christmas
30.2%
-
More than last Christmas
20.9%
Staying Mobile
As well as being some of the biggest spenders this year, Australian’s plan to take their finances mobile, with a staggering 91.1% of Australian respondents saying they will use mobile banking this Christmas, more than any other country in the survey.
More than 50% of survey participants will be using cards over cash to pay for Christmas. 70% of those in Norway and Sweden chose card as their preferred method of payment.
When it comes to banking, over 60% of all respondents said they would use mobile banking for their daily transactions. More than 80% of respondents in Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Canada said they would be using mobile banking during Christmas.
Where Are People Shopping And What Are They Buying?
Similar to last year, the number of households shopping online will be around 25%. Germany, UK and the Netherlands are the most digital savvy when it comes to purchasing Christmas gifts online, while Croatia, Latvia and Mexico are the most traditional, preferring, physical retail for their Christmas shopping.
What's most important during Christmas time?
-
Spending time with family/loved ones
70.4%
-
Enjoying Christmas spirit/feast
19.1%
-
Christmas is not so special for me
5.1%
-
Getting Christmas gifts
3.1%
-
Something else
1.5%
-
Enjoying wintersports
0.8%
Index of online purchases during Christmas:
-
Germany
45.4%
-
UK
38.6%
-
Netherlands
32.6%
-
Sweden
31.2%
-
Canada
27.1%
-
Denmark
27%
-
Czech
26.9%
-
Norway
26.8%
-
Australia
25.5%
-
Spain
24.9%
-
Romania
24.3%
-
Poland
23%
-
Bulgaria
21.7%
-
New Zealand
19.6%
-
Brazil
19.3%
-
Finland
18%
-
Estonia
16.5%
-
Croatia
15.6%
-
Latvia
15%
-
Mexico
14.4%
Expenditure allocated for travelling
-
Brazil
30%
-
Romania
28%
-
New Zealand
27.8%
-
Bulgaria
21.4%
-
Australia
20.4%
-
Spain
20.4%
-
Mexico
19.9%
-
Sweden
18.9%
-
Finland
18.7%
-
Denmark
17.6%
-
Estonia
16.8%
-
Czech
16.7%
-
Norway
16.1%
-
Croatia
16.1%
-
Poland
15.3%
-
Canada
14.6%
-
Latvia
14.4%
-
UK
13.7%
-
Germany
12%
-
Netherlands
8.7%
When travelling, how much do you prefer card payments over cash transactions?
-
Sweden
69.3%
-
Norway
69.1%
-
New Zealand
62.1%
-
Denmark
61.9%
-
UK
60.7%
-
Australia
59.2%
-
Spain
58.6%
-
Latvia
57%
-
Canada
56%
-
Finland
54.5%
-
Germany
53.1%
-
Estonia
53%
-
Netherlands
51.3%
-
Czech
49.8%
-
Romania
49.6%
-
Bulgaria
47%
-
Poland
42.2%
-
Croatia
41%
-
Brazil
35.3%
-
Mexico
33.3%
Households utilising mobile banking services during Christmas time
-
Australia
91.1%
-
New Zealand
87.2%
-
Netherlands
85.7%
-
Sweden
85%
-
Norway
84.3%
-
Canada
81.1%
-
UK
79.6%
-
Brazil
64.6%
-
Croatia
63.8%
-
Finland
63.7%
-
Czech
61.3%
-
Poland
60.2%
-
Spain
60%
-
Germany
57.7%
-
Romania
54.2%
-
Estonia
49.3%
-
Latvia
48%
-
Bulgaria
46.1%
-
Mexico
44.6%
-
Denmark
44.2%
Households planning to utilise AirBnB services during holidays
-
Romania
40.4%
-
Germany
35.1%
-
Estonia
23.9%
-
Denmark
21.1%
-
Croatia
19.9%
-
Netherlands
18.7%
-
Latvia
17.5%
-
Canada
16.3%
-
Bulgaria
15.1%
-
Australia
15.1%
-
New Zealand
13.8%
-
Brazil
12%
-
Mexico
11.8%
-
Sweden
11.3%
-
Norway
11.1%
-
Spain
9.7%
-
Czech
8.8%
-
UK
8.4%
-
Finland
8.3%
-
Poland
4.4%
Holiday financing preferences:
-
With savings
57.6%
-
Partly with Ferratum Loans
19%
-
Partly with credit cards
14.4%
-
Partly with consumer credit
5.5%
-
Partly with loans from other financial institutions
3.4%
How soon do you think you will able to pay back the loans used for holiday spendings?
Top Christmas spending behaviour:
So, what do people expect to get for Christmas this year? 17.5% of respondents put clothes at the top of the list making it the most popular item to give and recieve. Toys and games (13.7%), sweets (12%), and consumer electronics (9.1%) were other popular choices.
Respondents from eleven countries said they prefered clothing as Christmas gifts. Finland (17.5%) and Croatia (23.9%) will spend a large portion of their Christmas budget on sweets and delicacies, while respondents in the UK, Sweden, Australia, and Estonia said they´ll be spending 20% of their Christmas budget on toys and games.
„Three quaters of Australians still plan to do their Christmas shopping at brick-and-mortar stores, that shocked me. Perhaps we’re only seeing the tip of iceberg in Australia with the online disruption to retail, a scary thought“, said Mr Logan.
Australia
-
Toys & Games
20.1%
-
Clothing
17%
-
Alcohol
11.6%
-
Gift cards
11.6%
-
Consumer electronics
10.3%
Bulgaria
-
Clothing
17%
-
Consumer electronics
13.7%
-
Toys & Games
13.4%
-
Travels
11.7%
-
Sweets and delicacies
11.5%
Brazil
-
Clothing
27%
-
Travels
16.5%
-
Toys & Games
10%
-
Household utensils
9%
-
Consumer electronics
8.8%
Canada
-
Clothing
20%
-
Gift cards
17.6%
-
Toys & Games
15.4%
-
Consumer electronics
13.1%
-
Alcohol
6.7%
Czech
-
Clothing
20.8%
-
Toys & Games
17.7%
-
Cosmetics
11.9%
-
Consumer electronics
11.3%
-
Household utensils
10%
Germany
-
Books
14.5%
-
Sweets and delicacies
13.2%
-
Gift cards
12.1%
-
Toys & Games
11.8%
-
Consumer electronics
9.7%
Denmark
-
Clothing
20.8%
-
Gift cards
12.2%
-
Sweets and delicacies
11.8%
-
Consumer electronics
11.3%
-
Toys & Games
10.2%
Estonia
-
Toys & Games
18.8%
-
Sweets and delicacies
18.1%
-
Gift cards
11.3%
-
Clothing
9.8%
-
Well-being services, spa
7.8%
Spain
-
Clothing
24.2%
-
Toys & Games
16%
-
Consumer electronics
12.1%
-
Travels
9.1%
-
Sweets and delicacies
8.7%
Finland
-
Sweets and delicacies
17.5%
-
Clothing
14%
-
Toys & Games
11.5%
-
Gift cards
9.8%
-
Travels
9.7%
Croatia
-
Sweets and delicacies
23.9%
-
Clothing
19.4%
-
Toys & Games
17.2%
-
Cosmetics
9.1%
-
Household utensils
5.9%
Latvia
Mexico
-
Clothing
29.8%
-
Alcohol
16.6%
-
Consumer electronics
9.6%
-
Cosmetics
8.9%
-
Musical instruments
7.6%
Netherlands
-
Clothing
19.3%
-
Sweets and delicacies
18.8%
-
Household utensils
13.9%
-
Musical instruments
9.5%
-
Well-being services, spa
7.3%
Norway
-
Clothing
21.6%
-
Toys & Games
13.1%
-
Gift cards
11.9%
-
Sweets and delicacies
11%
-
Consumer electronics
7.9%
New Zealand
-
Clothing
19.1%
-
Toys & Games
16.2%
-
Travels
14.6%
-
Sweets and delicacies
8.9%
-
Consumer electronics
8.1%
Poland
-
Cosmetics
18.7%
-
Alcohol
16.8%
-
Clothing
15.3%
-
Household utensils
11.8%
-
Consumer electronics
8.7%
Romania
-
Clothing
20.9%
-
Sweets and delicacies
19.4%
-
Toys & Games
12.7%
-
Consumer electronics
9.4%
-
Travels
9%
Sweden
-
Toys & Games
19%
-
Clothing
18%
-
Consumer electronics
11.8%
-
Sweets and delicacies
11.5%
-
Gift cards
10.7%
UK
-
Toys & Games
19.8%
-
Clothing
19.5%
-
Consumer electronics
11.1%
-
Gift cards
9.5%
-
Sweets and delicacies
8.7%
How was Ferratum Group Christmas Barometer 2017 ™ conducted?
- Over 21,000 households participated in the survey. Respondents were aged from 18 61+. 58.8% of participants were female. The average available net income of participating households was between €555 – €4,580. The average household size among respondents was 2.89 persons.
- In addition to demographic factors, respondents were asked about their disposable monthly net income, how much they spend on Christmas, what activities they will be spending their money on, and if they are going to use Airbnb or a hotel while travelling during Christmas.
- The survey used each country’s respective currency. Responses were evened out to reflect the respective purchasing power of each country. All survey respondents were anonymous.
About Ferratum Group:
Ferratum Group is an international provider of mobile banking and digital consumer and small business loans, distributed and managed by mobile devices. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Ferratum has expanded rapidly to 25 countries across Europe, Africa, South and North America and the Asia-Pacific region.
As a pioneer in digital and mobile financial services technology, Ferratum is at the forefront of the digital banking revolution. Ferratum Mobile Bank, launched in 2016, is an innovative mobile banking platform offering a range of banking services, including real time digital payments and transfers, within a single app. It is currently available in five European markets. Led by its founder, Jorma Jokela, Ferratum has approximately 1.8 million active and former customers who have been granted one or more loans in the past (as at 30 September 2017).
Ferratum Group is listed on the Prime Standard of Frankfurt Stock Exchange under symbol ‘FRU.’ For more information, visit www.ferratumgroup.com.
Contacts:
Ferratum Australia
James Logan
Country Manager, Australia
T: +61 448 601 214
E: james.logan@ferratum.com.au
Ferratum Group
Emmi Kyykkä
PR Manager
T: +41 79 940 6315
E: emmi.kyykka@ferratum.com