Reveal Marketing Research: Holidays without restrictions this year, but with a tighter budget due to inflation

The first unrestricted holidays are approaching, but the challenges take on a new form this year due to the socio-economic context in which our country is. Therefore, Reveal Marketing Research conducted the annual study during the holidays, in which it aims to analyze how Romanians spend their holidays and observe the evolution of behaviors from year to year.  5 out of 10 Romanians are preparing to spend the holidays at home, and 9 out of 10 Romanians will spend it with their family Online shopping has not retained its popularity since the pandemic. 75% of Romanians prefer physical stores this year 49% of the holiday budget will be spent on food, 34% on gifts and 17% on decorations.   Romanians, happier this year for the holidays than last year   Romanians are happier this year during the winter holidays compared to last year. Asked how they feel about this year’s holidays, 65% of Romanians mentioned positive feelings, compared to only 53% in 2021. The most popular positive feelings are good (18%), excitement (17%) or happiness / joy (15%).   At the opposite pole, 34% of Romanians have negative thoughts about the holiday season, this year as well. Although the percentage is decreasing compared to last year (40%), feelings of stress/anxiety (8%), indifference (7%) or disappointment (6%) are still present in the lives of some Romanians.   As the first Christmas without restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the sentiment that has seen the biggest increase since last year is excitement. If in 2021 only 7% of Romanians declared themselves excited for the winter holidays, this year 17% of respondents feel this feeling.   What gifts do Romanians wish for and where will they spend their holidays   40% of Romanians say that it doesn’t matter what they get for Christmas this year. This percentage is decreasing compared to last year, when half of Romanians declared that they had no preferences regarding gifts.   Clothes are the most desired gifts, with 31% of respondents saying they want to receive clothing items for Christmas, while 27% mention perfume, up from last year when the percentages were 24% for both categories   Jewelry is also seeing significant growth this year. If in 2021 13% of respondents stated that they wanted to receive jewelry for Christmas, this year 21% of them have this expectation. The significant difference comes if we analyze the gender, while men declare to the same extent that they want to receive jewelry (9%), in the case of women the percentage increased from 18% in 2021 to 30% in 2022. So, a third of women expect to receive jewelry for Christmas this year.   Most Romanians will spend the winter holidays at home this year, but to a lesser extent than in previous years, when the pandemic influenced this choice. If in 2020 a percentage of 85% of Romanians stayed at home for Christmas, and in 2021 this percentage was 57%, in 2022 51% of respondents declared that they would spend the holidays at home. For people over 55, this percentage reaches 73%, while only a third of young people up to 24 will stay at home.   Christmas remains, however, a holiday spent with the family, with 85% of respondents declaring that they will spend it with their family, either at home or with relatives in town (19%) or with relatives outside the town (14%). Young people between 18 and 24 will spend the holidays with their family to a significantly lesser extent (70%). The percentage of those who will choose a vacation, either in the country or outside the country, is 9%, 3 percent higher than last year.   What budget Romanians allocate for the Christmas holidays   Romanians will spend most of their Christmas budget on food. Percentage wise, 49% of the holiday budget will go to food, 34% to gifts and 17% to decorations.   The average amount Romanians will spend this year is 1350 RON, marginally higher than last year, when they allocated 1315 for Christmas. If we think about the value of inflation, which exceeded 15 percent this year, Romanians will technically cut back this Christmas, considering the large increase in daily living costs.   In terms of age differences, the food budget is directly proportional to age, and the gift budget is inversely proportional. People aged over 55 are much more likely (56%) than 18-24 year old (44%) to spend their holiday budget on food, while the same young people will spend 40% of their budget on gifts, compared to only 31% for people over 55.   Romanians still prefer to make their purchases for Christmas in physical stores, to the detriment of online ones. Since the beginning of the pandemic, in 2022 the share of those who will shop online is the lowest, Romanians being excited, for the first time in 3 years, to leave the house to purchase gifts. 75% of respondents say they will shop in physical stores, compared to 64% last year and 69% in 2020. *** About Reveal Marketing Research Reveal Marketing Research is a full-service market research company, specialized in market research, sociological studies, customer insight, business strategy, market development. With expertise in over 20 industries, Reveal Marketing Research believes that market research is the basis for the right decisions and brand positioning. Qualitative and quantitative solutions have been helping companies in Romania and Europe for 14 years.   Methodology: The Reveal Marketing Research study was conducted online between 13-18.12.2022 on a representative sample for the universe of people aged 18+, internet users. The sample size was 1012 respondents, and the maximum sampling error is +/- 3.1% at a 95% confidence level.