Press Releases

UK Consumers Call for Measures to Survive Christmas Spend

But One in Ten Germans would Ban Christmas Presents

16 December 2008 – A whopping 92 per cent of UK consumers are looking for ways to cope with spiralling Christmas spend, according to new research commissioned by digital marketing optimisation company, Coremetrics. However the breaking research, which questioned over 3,000 consumers across Europe, found that despite hard economic times just 4 per cent of British Scrooges would cancel Christmas if they could.

In fact, compared to the Germans, where one in ten would ban Christmas presents to save over the celebratory season, the Brits are positively festive with 95 per cent stating that they’d never ban presents to cut costs.

Although they wouldn’t ban gifts, when it comes to limiting Christmas spend, Brits lived up to their frugal stereotype. More than half opted to encourage friends and family to cap spending on gifts, compared to a third of French consumers and a quarter of Germans. Sneakily buying cheaper gifts, without consulting friends and family, was the saving tactic of choice for 32 per cent of Brits. Whilst stalling shopping until the January sales was agreed to be the best option for 17 per cent of French and 16 per cent of UK consumers – compared to just 5 per cent of Germans.

The survey revealed that consumers are also prudent when shopping for Christmas online, basing buying decisions on a range of influences:

• Price comparison websites are used most of all to source the best deal with
  61 per cent of UK consumers agreeing that these sites are the most important influencers.
• Online customer reviews (53 per cent) toppled the likes of Which? and other professional review sites (35 per cent) as the bigger influencer on consumer purchases in Britain.
• Well-known brands still attract consumer pounds in the UK market (44 per cent), compared to the French (37 per cent) and German consumers (35 per cent).

Richard Sheppard, Coremetrics’ VP and general manager, EMEA, commented on the findings: “It’s great to see that despite the frosty economy, Brits are still full of festive spirit. Although purse strings are tightening, customers are getting more savvy and tactical online in order to bag the best bargains – without becoming Scrooges this Christmas.”

About the research
‘The Eyes & Ears of Digital Marketing’ Survey was conducted by Dynamic Markets, on behalf of Coremetrics in November 2008. The survey examined the effectiveness of the digital marketing formulas adopted by European online retailers, as well as the effectiveness of those campaigns in the eyes of consumers. The digital marketing survey was conducted amongst middle and senior marketing managers responsible for e-commerce sites of large retail and wholesale companies with more than 250 employees. 100 respondents were surveyed in the UK, France and Germany, totaling 300 respondents. The consumer survey was conducted among 1,000 adult consumers, aged 18+, in the UK, France & Germany, totalling 3,000 respondents.

About Coremetrics
Coremetrics is the leading provider of online marketing and business optimisation solutions. Its products help businesses increase revenues and find and retain their most profitable customers by maximising every online interaction. More than 1,500 online business sites globally, transacting more than $15 billion this year, use Coremetrics’ Software as a Service (SaaS) to optimise their online marketing. Coremetrics’ solutions encompass advanced online analytics and integrated precision marketing applications, including search engine bid management, email targeting and cross sell recommendations to acquire customers more cost effectively, increase conversion rates, and increase lifetime customer value. Coremetrics is consistently recognised by industry analysts and thought leaders, and in 2008 was named to Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 Program for Silicon Valley Internet, Media, Entertainment and Communications companies. The company is privately held with funding from 3i, Accel Partners, FTVentures, and
Highland Capital Partners. Coremetrics Europe is headquartered in Windsor, Berkshire and corporate headquarters is located in San Mateo, California. To learn more about Coremetrics, visit www.coremetrics.co.uk or call 01753 272 220.

For more information please contact:
Louise Greeves / Nina Howse
Midnight Communications
Tel: 01273 666200
Email: coremetrics@midnight.co.uk

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