Will YOU can be spending extra money than most individuals this Christmas?
Britons are expected to spend £24.6billion on Christmas this year, representing an increase of 3.5 per cent on a year ago, data suggests.
Millions of Britons are battling higher taxes and bills, yet show no sign of slowing their festive spending.
Average spending per adult over Christmas is forecast to rise from £449 to £461, according to PwC’s latest Festive Predictions Survey.
Younger shoppers are set to spend more for Christmas than other age groups, with 32 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds stating they plan to spend even more money than last year.
The youngest cohort of adults look set to be the biggest spenders this Christmas, splurging around £541 each.
Meanwhile, 18 per cent of 35 to 44-year-olds and 14 per cent of 45 to 54-year-olds said they will keep a closer eye on the purse strings this year.
Splashing out: Britons are expected to spend £24.6bn on Christmas this year
The 45 to 54-year-olds age group category are on track to spend the least per head, at £436.
Across all age groups, women are forecast to spend more than men for Christmas, with a £471 outlay per head forecast. Men are expected to spend £452 per head.
Of those consumers who said they are planning to spend less, the cost of living was cited as the key reason.
More than a third of people surveyed said they have less money to spend, with 34 per cent revealing their personal finances have been negatively affected over the past year. Twenty-four per cent said they were less confident about their finances.
Although the survey of 2,000 people was conducted three weeks before the Budget, only 15 per cent of those consumers cutting back mentioned concerns over what would be announced by the Treasury as a reason to spend less cash.
While overall spending for Christmas is expected to see a slight uplift, consumers’ net spending intentions were broadly in line with last year, PwC said.
What will we be buying?
Food and drink will be the top spending priority again, with 27 per cent of consumers planning to spend more compared to 2024.
Spending will be driven by higher grocery price inflation, plans for more family gatherings and shoppers opting to trade up to ‘extra special’ products.
Eighteen per cent of people surveyed said they plan to spend more money on health & beauty products for Christmas, making it the third most prioritised category, overtaking both adult and children’s clothing and electricals and technology.
Clothes came in as the fourth highest priority for consumer spend this Christmas, with 17 per cent planning to spend more on adult clothing this year.
Going all out: Millions of Britons are battling higher taxes and bills, yet show no sign of slowing their festive spending
With shops laden with Christmas products earlier in 2025, it is unsurprising that many consumers plan to do their Christmas shopping early.
Forty-six per cent of people surveyed by PwC said they had finished their Christmas shopping before the beginning of December.
Most people doing this said it was because they wanted to be organised, but others shop early in a bid to try and get the best prices or spread the cost of Christmas across a longer period.
Forty-seven per cent of shoppers will still do their festive spending in early-to-mid December, with 8 per cent leaving it until the week before Christmas.
PwC said: ‘Women continue to be more organised than men, with the majority of women (54 per cent) having bought most of their gifts by the start of December, and only 4 per cent leaving it until the week before Christmas. By contrast, one in eight (12 per cent) men plan to do most of their shopping the week before Christmas.’
Fifty-five per cent of presents are expected to be purchased online, with only around of third of purchases taking place in bricks and mortar shops.
Jacqueline Windsor, head of retail at PwC UK, said: ‘Retailers, and particularly supermarkets, will be encouraged to see consumer net spending intentions for food and drink in positive territory.’
She added: ‘For retailers, the challenge is to balance competing consumer priorities. Those who succeed will need to offer a mix of practical and joyful products at different price points to meet the needs of shoppers managing their wallets and celebrating special occasions.
‘The good news is that despite the slow start to the festive shopping period, we know that the majority of Christmas shopping is done in December, and that consumers always spend more than they expect on festive presents and celebrations.
‘So, it’s still all to play for the retail and hospitality sectors as we come into the final weeks before Christmas.’
The Bank of England is widely expected to cut interest rates at its policy meeting on Thursday next week. Financial markets are anticipating a cut in borrowing costs to 3.75 per cent, down from 4 per cent. UK inflation stood at 3.8 per cent in the year to October, official data showed.
Figures from Worldpanel by Numerator this week showed grocery inflation held steady at 4.7 per cent in the four weeks to 30 November, keeping the pressure on households facing higher bills as they head into Christmas.
