Christmas shoppers set to miss out on £347 of rewarding spend
On average, Christmas shoppers expect to spend a total of £439 this festive period (£182 on food and drink and £257 on presents), according to research from M&S Bank. With 79 per cent expecting the biggest share of their spending to be made using non-reward methods, shoppers could miss out on earning rewards on £347 of their seasonal purchases.
The majority (two thirds) of Christmas shoppers plan to spend either the same as, or more than last Christmas. Yet almost four in ten (37%) say they don’t save money for their Christmas shopping.
However, shrewd Christmas shoppers are using other methods to ‘save’, with around two thirds (65%) redeeming reward or loyalty points they’ve saved during the year and over half (55%) plan to use discount vouchers. In addition, 70 per cent purchase items on special offer when doing their Christmas shopping.
Sue Fox, CEO of M&S Bank, said: “It’s fantastic that so many shoppers are planning to use reward points to help reduce the cost of Christmas. It’s also interesting to see that while many say they don’t save money for Christmas, savvy-shoppers are actually saving reward points earned throughout the year, to use at Christmas.
“However, a high percentage of festive shoppers are missing out on earning reward points on one of the biggest shopping trips of the year. These points could be used as a New Year treat, or even saved to help pay for Christmas next year.”
Over half of Christmas shoppers say they will make a list for their food shopping (55%), increasing to 58 per cent when it comes to buying Christmas presents. However, only three-quarters (76%) of those making a list say they will follow it.
Until 31st December 2014, M&S Credit Card customers will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win back the cost of Christmas every time they make a purchase using their M&S Credit Card. Customers will receive one entry every time they spend on their M&S Credit Card during the festive period and new customers taking out an M&S Credit Card before 31st December will also receive an additional five entries.
In addition, new M&S Credit Card customers can take advantage of 19 months’ interest-free shopping, as well as zero per cent on balance transfers for 15 months.
All M&S Credit Card customers earn one point for every £1 spent in M&S and one point for every £2 spent elsewhere. In addition, M&S Premium Current Account customers using an M&S Credit Card earn three points for every £1 spent at M&S. M&S points are automatically converted into M&S vouchers and sent to customers each quarter.