Christmas shoppers opt for overseas and online retailers

British shoppers will spend an estimated £16.7 billion on Christmas gifts this year, but only just over half (57 per cent) of this will be spent in traditional UK high street stores, according to new research from Santander Credit Cards.  The findings show that the average Brit will spend £359 on Christmas gifts over the festive season, but over a third (38 per cent) will be spent online with UK retailers, equivalent to £6.4 billion in total. A further £838 million (5 per cent) of this year's festive spend will be received by firms based overseas.

According to the research, 4.2 million (9 per cent) Christmas shoppers plan to buy Christmas gifts from online retailers based overseas this season spending on average around 35 per cent of their total budget in this way. An additional 4.2 million (9 per cent) will spend around a quarter (23 per cent) of their festive budget on Christmas shopping while abroad this year.

Ian Coles, Director for Santander Cards, commented:  "With many people tightening their belts, shopping for Christmas gifts online can provide a more cost effective and convenient way of shopping. Others are perhaps hoping to seek out a different choice of goods and in some cases preferable exchange rates, with our research showing that around four million people are planning to do all or part of their Christmas shopping abroad.

"With almost half (46 per cent) of shoppers planning to spend on their credit card this year, we're urging them to ensure that the card they use is cost effective both in the UK and overseas. The Santander Zero card has no foreign exchange fee and also offers 0 per cent on balance transfers for 12 months and purchases for three months."

Of those planning to shop abroad almost a fifth (18 per cent) will visit the USA, 15 per cent will visit France and 10 per cent will visit Spain.

Younger generations appear to be the keenest online shoppers as 80 per cent of 18 - 34 year olds plan to buy Christmas gifts via the web compared to just 59 per cent of those over the age of 55.

Regionally, the East of England has the highest proportion of online shoppers, as eight in 10 (78 per cent) plan to spend online this year. In contrast, only 59 per cent of those living in the North East will use the internet to buy Christmas gifts. Interestingly it is also the North East that has the highest proportion of Christmas jetsetters, with 14 percent planning to Christmas shop abroad this year.