Christmas Planned to Precision - Plymouth Shoppers Set to Spend More Than 20 Days Planning and Buying Presents

Plymouth shoppers are festive pros when it comes to Christmas preparation, with the average person set to spend more than 20 days researching, planning and buying presents.

A new survey of 2,000 people by British Land, owner of Drake Circus, found that, although people in Plymouth are likely to have made their first Christmas purchase on 14th August, almost half (45%) will leave it to the week before Christmas to do their gift buying.

In comparison, an uber-prepared 44 per cent have already picked up festive gifts in August or even before.

When it comes to the surprises under the tree on Christmas morning, it seems that partners top the list of those hardest to buy for (49%), followed by children (47%). Grandparents (6%) appear to be the easiest, as Plymouth shoppers spend the least time researching gifts for them.

Plymouth residents also admitted that they spend more time choosing a present for their mum (17%), than their dad (10%).

But it seems we’re slightly less prepared when it comes to the Christmas food shop, with 10 per cent of Plymouth shoppers leaving it right up until Christmas Eve to buy their festive food and drink such as turkey, treats and trimmings.

Each person in Plymouth is also expected to spend on average £215 this Christmas – a total expenditure of £45 million pounds from all adults in Plymouth*.

Greg Lumley, centre director at Drake Circus, said: “Christmas is an extremely important time of year for our shoppers, with an incredible amount of effort and planning going towards making it perfect. With our research finding that over eight in ten shoppers will be doing their present buying in store this year, we’ll be doing all we can to provide our visitors with everything they need for their friends and families this Christmas.”