Beauty products take top spot on Christmas wish lists 

New consumer research has revealed that skincare, beauty and make-up products were in high demand this festive season, cropping up on 23% of wish lists (up from 15% in 2022). Beauty scored just below fashion, which appeared on one in three (34%) wish lists. 

Not only did the new consumer research, conducted by Barclays, reveal spending habits before Christmas, but also the expected consumer trends during the post-Christmas sale season.

Overall, festive sales shoppers intend to spend an average of £253 this year – 10% more than in 2022 and the highest amount since before the pandemic – as they take advantage of early discounts and use reselling sites to find bargains.

Barclays, which sees nearly half of the UK’s credit and debit card transactions, expects sales shoppers across the UK to spend nearly £4.7 billion – £253 per head, which is £67 more than in 2019 and the highest figure for four years.

Boxing Day remains the most popular day to start festive sales shopping, with more than a quarter (27%) beginning their search yesterday. However, thanks to retailers launching early sales, some bargain hunters said they were intending to begin on Christmas Eve (23%) and even Christmas Day (17%).

With 77% of retailers closed on Boxing Day, most shoppers take to e-commerce though many consumers will spend more in-store (15%).

Karen Johnson, Head of Retail at Barclays, commented: "Retailers will be encouraged by a strong end to the year’s ‘golden quarter’. While Boxing Day remains the most popular day to start bargain-hunting, retailers are no longer putting all their eggs in one basket and are instead spreading out their discounts to boost ongoing demand – very similar to what we saw with early Back Friday deals in November.

"The earlier start means that some retailers will be in the fortunate position of having sold out of sales stock by early January, so we may see Spring products on shelves sooner than expected."