Fears of global spending slowdown stoked by new AXA report

A new global report from AXA confirms the concerns of some retail analysts that tills in the UK will be ringing a little slower this Christmas. With millions set to spend less on presents for friends and family the only solace to be taken is the Brits still spend significantly more on Christmas presents than many countries around the world.

Alison Green, spokesperson at AXA said: “Spending on discretionary items, such as presents, are often seen as a barometer for the consumer economy. The fact that all of the countries in the top ten highest spending nations are seeing significant drops in their planned Christmas spending budgets, may set alarm bells, rather than jingle bells, ringing during the run-up to Christmas.”

Interpreting the data

Firstly, from a global perspective, Britain is still in a very healthy position, coming second only to the US when it comes to festive present buying.

Secondly, and possibly a longer term concern, is that spending in the world’s leading economies is slowing down – as evidenced by the fact that people in many different countries have decided that they can spend less this year on friends and family.

Where will the money be going?

The typical Brit doesn’t seem to be showing much imagination when it comes to choosing what to spend their hard on money on though:

A whopping 93% of working people say that they will be buying books, CDs, DVDs, theatre or concert tickets;
88% will be buying clothes;
And 83% will be buying sweets or chocolate.
The least popular gifts to give are mobile phones, digital cameras and travel vouchers.

Alison Green of AXA continued: “With Christmas being one of the major costs in the calendar year along with holidays, birthdays and anniversaries it is a good indicator of how we are feeling about our financial well-being. Although our research shows that people are planning to trim the amount they spend this year, they are still spending healthy sums on gifts.

“Maybe it’s too much to hope for – but after the credit boom we have seen in recent years, maybe the messages about financial planning that AXA and others have been stressing, are beginning to bear fruit.”