Irish retailers can look forward to a bumper Christmas, according to the annual Deloitte Christmas shopping survey.
30% of Irish consumers are planning to spend more this Christmas, the survey reveals. Irish consumers spend around €1,270 per household on Christmas compared to an average of €725 across Europe.
'Planned spend at Christmas is driven by how confident people fell about the economy, their income, and job security,' said Cormac Hughes, Consumer Business Partner at Deloitte.
He said that over 75% of Irish people believe that the economy here is experiencing growth and 85% believe this will continue in 2005. He added that 57% expect a growth in household income in 2005 and almost half of Irish employees feel their job will be very secure in 2005 - the highest in Europe.
Almost 40% of Irish consumers also claim to have a higher disposal income than this time last year - the strongest performance across Europe. This growth has especially impacted the 25-40 year olds, which has shown a stronger rise in disposable income/spending power than other age groups.
46% of Irish consumers say they will start their Christmas shopping late this year, in the hope of getting bargains. The majority said they will shop around and compare prices to last year in order to get the best deal.
The Deloitte 2004 Christmas survey has been conducted in November each year since 1998. This year's survey polled almost 4,000 consumers - including 400 Irish adults - across seven EU markets, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK.
