Austrians: Almost 3 Billion Euro for Christmas Presents
- 8 out of 10 Austrians are buying presents
- 21% are last minute buyers
- New Christmas present: Prepaid credit cards
Presents worth 500 euro on average
The cash registers of Austrian retailers are ringing again during the Christmas season this year. 8 out of 10 Austrians are once again buying Christmas presents for their loved ones this year. On average, Austrians are spending 500 euro per capita for this purpose. This amounts to 2.9 billion euro in total. Those with a net income of less than 2,000 euro are on average only able to spend around 345 euro. This is the result of a survey performed by market research and polling institute Integral on behalf of Erste Bank und Sparkassen.
Every 5th respondent buys presents at the last minute
21 percent of Austrians are buying Christmas presents just one week before the holiday. With 44%, those in the 20 to 29 year age group are most prone to buying their presents at the last minute. Last minute buyers are spending 451 euro, which is 10% less than those who already purchase presents at an earlier point in time are spending. In keeping with this trend, Erste Bank und Sparkassen is as of now offering an ideal last-minute present as well: online s Prepaid Cards, i.e., credit cards that can be preloaded. These are available in the George store, in the Card Control app, as well as in all branch offices. “With the new online card one can even still quickly print out one's present on December 24 and place it under the Christmas tree”, says Peter Bosek, member of the management board at Erste Bank.
The online version of these cards can be printed out immediately after purchase in the George store and be used for online shopping. In principle there are two variants of s Prepaid Cards available, either as a physical plastic card (sent by mail) or as the printable online version. A maximum balance of 10,000 euro can be loaded to the reloadable version, while a one-off amount of up to 150 euro can be loaded to a gift card. Non-customers may purchase these cards at Erste Bank branch offices as well. All cards offer a personal PIN code, which one can choose when ordering the card online.
About the study: Integral has conducted survey of 500 Austrians (representative of the population above the age of 14) via telephone and asked them about their spending behaviour and their planned expenditures for Christmas presents. The survey has taken place in the time period 20 October to 16 November 2015. Unless specified otherwise, comparisons refer to the previous year's figures.
21 percent of Austrians are buying Christmas presents just one week before the holiday. With 44%, those in the 20 to 29 year age group are most prone to buying their presents at the last minute. Last minute buyers are spending 451 euro, which is 10% less than those who already purchase presents at an earlier point in time are spending. In keeping with this trend, Erste Bank und Sparkassen is as of now offering an ideal last-minute present as well: online s Prepaid Cards, i.e., credit cards that can be preloaded. These are available in the George store, in the Card Control app, as well as in all branch offices. “With the new online card one can even still quickly print out one's present on December 24 and place it under the Christmas tree”, says Peter Bosek, member of the management board at Erste Bank.
The online version of these cards can be printed out immediately after purchase in the George store and be used for online shopping. In principle there are two variants of s Prepaid Cards available, either as a physical plastic card (sent by mail) or as the printable online version. A maximum balance of 10,000 euro can be loaded to the reloadable version, while a one-off amount of up to 150 euro can be loaded to a gift card. Non-customers may purchase these cards at Erste Bank branch offices as well. All cards offer a personal PIN code, which one can choose when ordering the card online.
About the study: Integral has conducted survey of 500 Austrians (representative of the population above the age of 14) via telephone and asked them about their spending behaviour and their planned expenditures for Christmas presents. The survey has taken place in the time period 20 October to 16 November 2015. Unless specified otherwise, comparisons refer to the previous year's figures.
