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Loans and cards for Xmas shopping
09/12/2005 16:34:00
One in four people are expected to pay for Christmas presents using credit cards and personal loans, new research has revealed.
Brits will go gift mad over the next few weeks, forking out £600 on presents, more than twice what people in France or Germany spend over the festive period.
Only the Americans will spend more than UK residents, insurance firm AXA said.
However, high street stores are unlikely to benefit from this shopping frenzy, as more and more people turn to shopping online.
Mintel research shows that 15 per cent prefer to buy presents online, which marks a five per cent increase from last year.
Richard Perks, Mintel's director of retail research, said: "This Christmas is set to be a tough one for high street retailers.
"Tesco on one hand and internet retailers on the other will take the majority of retail growth and the high street is going to be squeezed in between the two."
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