The FINANCIAL — In total 40% of Georgians plan to halve their Christmas budgets this year. 50% will spend the same amount as they did last year, while only 10% will increase their budgets. Dramatic devaluation of the Georgian Lari against the USD along with increased prices are the main reason behind Georgians having to spend less during the time of year that is traditionally the most extravagant.
Over the last week The FINANCIAL questioned over 300 respondents on their Christmas and New Year spending budgets. They were also asked to name the main places where they plan to purchase their gifts, as well as the main types of gifts they plan to buy, in addition to their most and least desired gift-types.
The average sum that Georgians spend on Christmas gifts used to be GEL 300. This year the sum will amount to little over GEL 200.
“The increased prices of various products are the main reason why I decided to cut my planned expenditure on gifts this year. Decorations along with food products for the New Year celebration feast also require a solid amount of expenditure. I am afraid I’ll be left with an empty wallet after the New Year,” Ketevan, 36, told The FINANCIAL.
“We are already seeing a dramatic increase in product prices while my income has remained the same,” she added.
Employed Zaza, 35, generally spends about GEL 400-500 on New Year gifts. However, this year his expenditure will be somewhere in the region of GEL 150-200. In his words, the increased prices combined with devaluated income have pushed him to take this decision.
29-year-old mother of two Tamar was fired from her job at one of the Georgian banks before her maternity leave had expired. In her words, as she is unemployed she will be forced to spend just GEL 50 on gifts this year, down from GEL 150 from previous years.
Only 10% of respondents will spend more this year than they did previously. Increased numbers of family members are the main reason for this.
The majority (or 95%) of Georgians will be shopping in local stores this year. The recent dramatic fall of the Georgian Lari against the USD from 1.75 to 2.40 has made online shopping less affordable for Georgians.
“I plan to purchase gifts from local shops. The devaluation of the Georgian Lari has made it pointless to surf for gifts online. The upside is that I will not have to wait for the two or more weeks it takes for purchases to arrive,” said Lali, 33.
Jewellery, perfume and books are the most desired gifts among female respondents. Nearly 40% stated that they would appreciate any type of gift as presents are always welcome. The adult male respondents tended to have bolder wishes, with the list including brand new cars and smartphones.
Be aware of a person’s taste before planning to give them something – this is our main conclusion as the list of disliked gifts is quite long, depending on individuals’ taste.
“The most disliked gift for me would be something impractical which I would never use, for example earrings,” said Ella, 31. A statue is the most disliked present for 5% of respondents. Meanwhile, 3% would never want to be given a pet.
Statista.com, one of the world’s largest statistics portals, published the average budget amounts for Christmas gifts in Europe in 2014, on a country by country basis. The statistics illustrated the average amount budgeted by consumers to spend on gifts for Christmas 2014 in selected European countries.
According to the report, in the European Union as a whole, consumers had an average budget of EUR 252 to spend on Christmas gifts at the end of 2014. UK consumers however budgeted higher, averaging EUR 408.
The UK was followed by: Switzerland with EUR 336; Denmark – EUR 325; France – EUR 284; Finland – EUR 271; Germany – EUR 266; the EU – EUR 252; Belgium – EUR 247; Italy – EUR 199; Greece – EUR 157; Poland – EUR 138; Russia – EUR 126; Portugal – EUR 113; the Netherlands – EUR 111; and, Ukraine – EUR 71.
By converting Georgians’ expenditure from the national currency into EUR it appears that with GEL 300 (or EUR 115) Georgia came bottom of the list of Christmas budgets out of all European countries. This year moves the country even lower, by amounting to just EUR 76.
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