Purchasing power: the French will spend less this holiday season

The French are reluctant to spend on holiday shopping: the expected drop in spending is equivalent to 2.1 billion euros.

ShipStation and Packlink, two delivery solutions for e-commerce, have unveiled the results of their latest study on the holiday shopping expectations of the French and Europeans. The results are clear. Compared to the previous year, French consumers expect to reduce their non-essential Christmas and Black Friday spending by -11.5%. This is equivalent to a loss of 2.1 billion euros.

Although the French feel as much or more financially challenged than their European neighbours (39% compared to 30% of Germans surveyed), they still expect to spend less than the European average of -13.2%. The biggest drop is in the UK, with an estimated reduction in spending of -22%.

Among the explanations for this staggering fall is inflation, which is reaching record levels: rising food, fuel and energy prices are putting a strain on household spending. In this respect, 32% of French consumers cite inflation as their biggest concern for end-of-year spending.

“Rising inflation and the crisis are having a significant impact on the economy and this will not only affect consumer habits, but also the strategies of retailers who are trying to keep their costs down (…) The retailers who will do well will be those who have anticipated this decline, for example by relying on technological solutions,” says Roland Buquet, Sales Director at Packlink.

According to the survey, the categories most exposed to spending cuts in France are clothing (29%), home furniture (24.5%) and toys (21%). In contrast, health and beauty products (18%) and DIY and gardening (16.5%) stand out as the categories where cuts will be least significant.

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Hélène Cougot

Passionnée depuis son plus jeune âge par l’art et la mode, Hélène s’oriente vers une école de stylisme, l’Atelier Chardon-Savard à Paris, avec une option Communication. Afin d’ajouter des cordes à son arc, elle décide de compléter sa formation par un MBA en Management du Luxe et Marketing Expérientiel à l’Institut Supérieur de Gestion à Paris dont elle sort diplômée en 2020. Elle a notamment écrit des articles lifestyle et beauté pour le magazine Do it in Paris et se spécialise en rédaction d’articles concernant le luxe, l’art et la mode au sein du magazine Luxus Plus.********** [EN] Passionate about art and fashion from a young age, Hélène went to a fashion design school, Atelier Chardon-Savard in Paris, with a Communication option. In order to add more strings to her bow, she decided to complete her education with an MBA in Luxury Management and Experiential Marketing at the Institut Supérieur de Gestion in Paris from which she graduated in 2020. She has written lifestyle and beauty articles for Do it in Paris magazine and specializes in writing articles about luxury, art and fashion for Luxus Plus magazine.