Christmas spending

Just another Panic Monday

Just another Panic Monday

Just Another Panic Monday: Shoppers to spend £1.06BN today on last minute dash despite new tiered system

Shoppers are predicted to spend £1.06bn today (21st December) on last-minute Christmas shopping. Despite the Prime Minister’s announcement on Saturday (19th) regarding the new tiered system.

·                     UK consumers are set to spend £1.06bn today – a 12% decrease YoY 

·                     Tier 4 restrictions see an 18% decrease on originally predicted total spend

·                     Shoppers in tier 4 will spend £358m today


·                     Shoppers in tiers 1, 2 and 3 will spend a total of £703m today

·                     8.98 million shoppers are still expected to visit essential and non-essential stores today across the UK

Shoppers are predicted to spend £1.06bn today (21st December) on last-minute Christmas shopping. Despite the Prime Minister’s announcement on Saturday (19th) regarding the new tiered system, according to a new report1.  

The VoucherCodes.co.ukShopping for Christmas 2020 report, carried out by the Centre for Retail Research (CRR), shows the impact the closure of non-essential stores in tier 4 areas will have on Christmas spending. With only four days left until Christmas Day, it is expected that the total spend today will reach £1.06bn. A 12% decrease when compared to 2019.  

Prior to the announcement from Downing Street on Saturday (19th), the report predicted £1.3bn was set to be spent on Panic Monday today – up from £1.29bn in 2019. However, now that London and large parts of the South East and East of England have plunged into tier 4, this is now expected to drop by 18%, with those now in tier 4  only predicted to spend £358m today.  

However, not everyone is affected by the new restrictions and those in tiers 1, 2 or 3 will spend a combined total of £703m today. It is still forecast that a total of 8.98 million shoppers across the UK will visit both essential and non-essential stores today.  

Anita Naik, the Lifestyle Editor at  VoucherCodes.co.uk,commented: “The last full week before Christmas is always a busy period for retailers both offline and online. The latest restrictions and introduction of a new tier 4 is likely to have caused people to panic more so than they usually would, and many will be using today to stock up on food and drink items ahead of Christmas Day.  

“Shopping for Christmas can be overwhelming, especially with restrictions changing almost daily. However, it’s important to make sure you’re not panicked into spending more than intended. Downloading a free browser extension such as DealFinder by VoucherCodes to automatically find and apply the best discount codes is a quick and easy way to make sure you don’t overspend.”  

Top Tips Header

With the latest tiers announcements, most of our Christmas plans have been thrown into chaos. Boris Johnson has just given a Conference to say we don’t need to panic buy. However, given the fact that many of us have to fend for ourselves now. I have given my top 3 tips for Panic Monday:

1. HUNT FOR BEST DISCOUNT CODES

According to Vouchercodes, ‘Download a free browser extension such as DealFinderby VoucherCodes to automatically find and apply the best discount codes. ’

Don’t impulse buy! Find the best bargain…then buy…if you need to.

2. STAY LOCAL, AS WELL AS BUY ONLINE

OK, so I wasn’t planning to be in London for Christmas, therefore I didn’t have much food in. I can’t help think of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen when I hear this phrase. I am shielding, but when I went for a walk today, the queue for Aldi was around two blocks. Try and find local supermarkets and shops who will really appreciate your custom. Appreciate most last-minute buying will be online but help those people in your local community too.

3. USE PLUM APP TO TRACK YOUR FINANCES

I have been using the Plum App this year to stay on top of my finances. You can see in one app, how much money you have in your bank accounts. As well as understand how much you have spent on your credit cards.

Be the Boss of your Finances.

That concludes my NEW Lockdown Diaries series!

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