How much Uusimaa residents spend on Christmas gifts?
According to a survey conducted by OP Uusimaa in November, Uusimaa residents spend on average 330 euros on Christmas gifts and other holiday season expenses. The largest Christmas budgets in the Uusimaa region are in Hyvinkää, at around 380 euros, and Porvoo, at around 360 euros. In Järvenpää, the amount spent on Christmas expenses is significantly smaller at 300 euros.
Average Christmas spending is around 350 euros in Lohja and around 330 euros in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area according to the survey.
The survey also revealed that 55% of Uusimaa residents planned to spend the same amount on Christmas shopping as in previous years, while around 33% said they intended to spend slightly or significantly less than last Christmas.
"Inflation and the general increase in living costs continue to have an impact on the budgets of many Uusimaa households, and many people are planning their Christmas spending more carefully," says Thomas Salomaa, Senior Vice President, Basic Services, Personal Customers at OP Uusimaa.
Christmas shoppers favour shopping malls in Hyvinkää and brick-and-mortar shops in Porvoo
Where do Uusimaa residents buy Christmas gifts? Nearly half of Uusimaa residents, or 41%, do their Christmas gift shopping in malls. Online stores are favoured by 27% of Christmas shoppers, and brick-and-mortar shops by 10%.
There are interesting differences between towns in the Uusimaa region: in Porvoo, as many as 18% of respondents say they buy Christmas gifts from brick-and-mortar shops, while as many as 46% of shoppers in Hyvinkää and 43% in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area prefer shopping malls.
"The variation can be largely explained by differences in supply and each municipality's characteristics. Porvoo has many brick-and-mortar shops, and its residents are more likely to shop at the Christmas market and small handicrafts shops. In the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and Hyvinkää, Christmas shopping can be done handily in one visit to a large shopping mall," says Thomas Salomaa.