Half of Brits more likely to shop during ‘Crimbo Limbo’ than Black Friday

As Black Friday approaches, and with many ‘deals’ already in full swing, retailers may be thinking now is the peak pre-Christmas sales period.

However, a new nationwide survey of 2,000 UK consumers by social media platform Snapchat has revealed that ‘Crimbo Limbo’ - the listless period between Christmas and New Year - will see 84% of Brits shop just as much, if not more, than they do on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the January sales.

The biggest shoppers in between Christmas Day and New Year are Gen Z and Millennials, with 72% of Gen Z and 70% of Millennial shoppers spending more during ‘Crimbo Limbo’ than other times of the year, and nine in 10 spending more or the same amount (92% for both generations).

Other key data revealed includes:

• 48% of Brits are more likely to shop between Christmas and New Year than Black Friday and other sales moments.
• 57% list shopping in their top three favourite activities during ‘Crimbo Limbo’, with two-thirds of Gen Z and Millennials reporting shopping adds to their enjoyment of the season.
• 67% of Gen Z and 69% of Millennials use digital platforms more in ‘Crimbo Limbo’.
• Consumers are most interested in clothing during the post-Christmas sales (47%) followed by food and drink (33%), gifts (31%) and home goods (26%).
• 26% spend as much on themselves as they do gifts in December.

The research shows that advertisers, who may be taking the chance of some downtime and dialling back campaigns once the last delivery day before Christmas passes, may actually be "peaking too soon" by winding spend down – precisely when consumers are winding their spending up.

Bridget Lea, VP & UK General Manager at Snapchat, said: "Brands can often forget that important downtime post-Christmas when people are still very much in a spending mindset and, with Christmas shopping out of the way, they often have more time and are online looking to treat themselves.

"Combined, Gen Z and Millennial shoppers hold over $4.4 trillion in spending power globally, so with more of them shopping on digital platforms after Christmas, the ‘Crimbo Limbo’ period should be considered an integral peak opportunity for advertisers to reach consumers ready to be inspired, and to shop.:

While lots of people will be looking for post-Christmas bargains (48%) and have more money to spend after getting cash gifts (25%), special promotions top the list of motivating factors for shoppers of all ages, with Gen X (53%) more influenced than Gen Z (45%) by sales or discounts.

Consumers will be shopping online and in-store during the period, but 47% of Gen Z and 42% of Millennials are more likely to shop online for their post-Christmas purchases, suggesting that digital platforms are favourable for both inspiration and purchase decision-making.