Credit-crunch Christmas kicks off
Christmas shopping kicks off this weekend as credit-crunch Britain ekes out its seasonal budget over the next six or seven weeks.
More than half of shoppers polled have said they will be cutting down on new clothes and eating out less to cope with Christmas spending.
And says Helen Roberts, at market researcher GfK NOP: "People are spreading the load, perhaps starting earlier than usual so as to divide the cost across their October, November and December pay packets."
But it’s not all cold comfort, as seen by the 300,000 packets of mince pies that Tesco has already shifted, and the 750,000 it expected to sell this week alone.
The supermarket’s mince-pie buyer, Ben Simpson, said: "Mince-pie sales are very much governed by cold weather, and once the temperature drops in the run-up to Christmas, demand starts in earnest.
"Last week’s cold snap and the snowfall across much of Britain did just that, and created an earlier-than-usual rush on mince pies. Once that happens, they literally fly off the shelves from now until after New Year."
Copyright © PA Business 2008
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