Christmas shopping a year-round project

A recent study from Intersperience discovered 15 percent of shoppers bought Christmas presents throughout the 12 months before the holiday in 2011, which is important for retailers to understand as they plan marketing campaigns for both in-store and online promotions.

According to the study, the average shopper spent £299 on Christmas gifts, up £9 from 2010, while average online shopping revenues increased from £25 to £188 for the year. Further, 13 percent of shoppers said they started shopping for Christmas gifts much earlier in 2011, and 26 percent said they started a little bit early.

“Discount coupons were much in evidence and we found people have taken to seeking out bargains at all times of the year, buying presents cheaply off-season and keeping them hidden until December,” said Paul Hudson, CEO of Intersperience. “We are as a nation, in effect, Christmas shopping all-year round now.”

Retailers have begun to tailor marketing initiatives to spur further online spending, as a study from Kenshoo found paid search advertisers generated 50 percent more transactions and 26 percent more total online revenue from search engines during the 2011 Christmas shopping season than in 2010. These numbers indicate U.K. shoppers are becoming more comfortable with online purchases.