Some people might flinch at the mention of Christmas in September but preparation for the festive period will have begun months ago for any retail business worth its salt. And if new research from Greene King, the brewer and pub operator, is anything to go by, businesses can look forward to a bumper Christmas.
The Greene King Leisure Spend Tracker revealed that over a quarter of British adults expect to spend more this Christmas than last year, with 60% saying they have no plans to cut their spending this year. It also found that 60% of Brits have already started buying their presents or plan to have their shopping underway by the beginning of December. Indeed, just 9% of shoppers intend to leave buying their gifts until the fortnight before Christmas Day and – no surprises here – men are twice more likely to be last minute shoppers than women.
According to the research, family households have increased their month-on-month leisure spending by 12% with the summer school holidays encouraging higher spending on family entertainment. Overall, average British household leisure spend increased by 1% year-on-year and 8% month-on-month.
“Further growth on last year’s spending would mean a great boost for the UK economy,” said Fiona Gunn, marketing director at Greene King. “Beyond showing how much Brits enjoy the festive period, these findings indicate that consumers are much more confident in their personal finances than in recent years. Interest rates are expected to stay low, supermarket price wars are driving household costs down and online orders are making the Christmas shopping much easier.”
It looks like being a very Merry Christmas for businesses. 
