Shoppers ‘expect to spend £200 less this Christmas than last year typically’

People expect to have spent around £200 less on Christmas this year than they did in 2019, a survey has found.

On average, shoppers have been planning to spend £883 on Christmas, down by £233 compared to 2019 (£1,116), YouGov said.

Those who are “financially distressed” typically expect their festive spend to be £607 – down by £212 from £819 in 2019.

People defined as financially distressed said they were struggling to keep up with their financial commitments or were worried they would fall behind.

Meanwhile those grouped as “over-indebted” – meaning they are at least three months behind on their bills or financial commitments, intend to spend more than the average at £1,016, down by £28 from £1,044 in 2019.

Overall, the proportion of people predicting they will spend more than they should has fallen to 29%, down from 43% in 2019.

The proportion who predict they will spend too much remains higher among both financially distressed (36%) and over-indebted people (40%) but these proportions have also fallen from last year, YouGov found.

Nearly 2,400 people across the UK were surveyed by YouGov in late November.