Mystery shoppers like most regular customers are planning their own spending cuts this Christmas despite the desperate need to "Spend, spend, spend" to boost our economy. A survey by leading UK Mystery Shopping company and Brand Auditing Specialists, Retail Active found that four out of ten shoppers say they plan to spend less or much less on Christmas than last year. In fact some would go as far as to decided to 'not do' presents at all!
Retail Active's managing director, Julian Chamberlain said: "We asked 2000 people for details of their Christmas shopping plans and 1279 responded. Well over half (66%) said the uncertain state of the economy made them worried about spending money on Christmas.
"Families say they plan to save on Christmas spending this year, wherever possible - with more than nine out of ten saying they are going to spend at least 30% less than last year.
"Times are tight and our survey shows that people are resorting to selling belongings to raise cash, dipping in to savings and using credit cards for Christmas Purchases."
Discount stores and better planning by family's have allowed some to reduce their overall spend. Spreading the cost by starting shopping earlier in the year, is a technique referred to by many of the shoppers that responded to our survey.
Christmas is a busy time of year here at Retail Active, and there are lots and lots of Mystery shopping jobs available, and an ideal way to get the inside scoop on current promotions etc on the high street. If you are interested in our Mystery Shopper programme or have a requirement within your business, then please visit our website for more information and ways to get involved.
