In 2011, over 20% of shoppers bought ready meals last year in the run up to Christmas – with the number increasing significantly in the week before Christmas compared to the previous four weeks.

1. CHRISTMAS 2012 ✷ CON S U M E R B E H AV IOUR ✷
CLICK & COLLECT
& M-COMMERCE
THIS YEAR BRITONS WILL SPEND
£86 BILLION
1% MORE THAN IN 2011
Click and collect and mobile commerce are
going to be key channels for shopping this
year, especially for those who are pressed
for time over the run up to Christmas.
CELEB-BRATE!
In 2011, over 20% of shoppers bought ready
meals last year in the run up to Christmas –
with the number increasing significantly in
the week before Christmas compared to the
previous four weeks.
Despite time pressures at this time of year and
more premium ranges of ready meals available,
this trend will potentially stabilise or perhaps
drop, given that the nation’s imagination has
been captured by home cooking programmes.
Owing to the success of The Great British
Bake-Off, supermarkets and department stores
have reported sharp rises in baking ingredients
and baking materials and accessories.
FAST PAYMENTS PAMPERED
& DELIVERY PETS
True retail winners this year will be the 15.8% of shoppers bought gifts for pets last
those that offer flexibility in both delivery year, ahead of grandparents (14.3%) and
and payment, especially click or reserve colleagues (10.2%). Toys being the most
and collect. popular followed by food.
Supermarkets will focus mostly on food
and m-commerce will be attractive for
time-pressed shoppers over Christmas.
MUSIC TABLETS &
& DVDs CHABLETS
ONLINE PURCHASES
2012 2016
78.6% 97.1%
Last year, 7.4% shopped online using a tablet.
This year retailers with tablet optimised
websites will be best placed to take advantage
of time pressures for shoppers who need to
ensure they are buying the right gifts.
Online purchases of music and DVD will This Christmas tablet purchases, especially for
dominate, with 78.6% of the retail market parents and grandparents, are expected to be the
share this year. This will rise to 97.1% in 2016. major gift trend as they are easier to use and more
leisurely. Some of the top toys touted are tablets
specifically designed for children.
2013 BOOKS
52.9%
Books will increasingly be bought online,
with 52.9% of sales by 2013.
However, these products are likely to suffer in the
wake of e-readers and tablets, and popularity of
downloading and streaming.
JUST DESSERTS
BRANDY BUTTER REVIVAL MINCE PIES
Last year, 51.6% of shoppers bought brandy Were the most popular traditional
butter, compared to just 28.4% in 2010. Christmas treat last year.
2010 2011
28.4% 51.6%
CHRISTMAS PUDDING CHRISTMAS CAKE
Less than half bought puddings. Christmas cakes sales particularly
dropped in popularity in 2011.
The combination of multi-channel shopping and heavy discounting will increase
competitive pressure. And so it’s absolutely crucial retailers have analytics
technology in place to understand increasingly complex customer behaviours to
make the right decisions in real-time on product, price, promotion and placement.
Having a single customer view across different touch points will mean retailers
can forecast and monitor demand more accurately to at least maintain margins.
Source: Report from SAS and Verdict
called How Britain will shop for Christmas