£2.6 billion spent on unwanted Christmas presents

Adults in the UK receive £2.6billion worth of unwanted gifts at Christmas, according to new research from Triodos Bank. The study found that 32 per cent of people receive at least one unwanted present every year with an average value of £155.

Of those who received unwanted goods, 14 per cent said they were worth at least £500 while three per cent of the men questioned admitted being given an unwanted present with a value of £1,000 or more.

The research found that the level and value of unwanted gift giving differs between the age groups, with younger people being the most likely to receive unwanted gifts of the highest value.

Less than a fifth (18%) of the over 55s polled said they’d received an unwanted gifts, estimating the average value to be £32 and in the 35-54 age group, 31 per cent were given presents they didn’t want, worth around £70 on average. But almost half of those aged 18-34 received unwanted gifts, on average two each, with an estimated value of £279.

Appetite for ethical investment

As well as looking at unwanted gifts, Triodos Bank’s survey also looked at what people do with their Christmas money.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, 26 per cent of people said they would spend any money they were given for Christmas straight away. But of those who would save or invest any Christmas gift money, 24 per cent said they would consider using it for something good, for example, environmental or social sectors such as renewable energy, healthcare or local community projects.

For the 18-34s, the number was almost double the overall average, with 42% stating they would consider investing or saving Christmas money ethically. For the 35-54 age group, 19 per cent said they would consider saving or investing Christmas money ethically while in the over 55s, the number was slightly down at 15 per cent, with 5 per cent saying they were very likely to do so.

Across the country, the numbers varied too, with 40 per cent of people in London saying they would save or invest money they were given ethically, with more than half of those (24%) saying they were very likely to do so. The lowest number was in the North West, where 17% said they would consider ethical savings or investments.

Huw Davies, Head of Personal Banking at Triodos comments: “It’s good to see that if given money so many people would consider saving or investing it ethically, and particularly encouraging and that this is even more prevalent in the younger generation.”