Christmas is quickly approaching, and the backdrop is a convoluted and ambiguous one where the skyrocketing prices seem to be the real actors. Italians are faced with price rises that cover a variety of product categories only a little less than a month before the start of the 2022 Christmas holidays. According to an IPSOS survey, 65% of respondents are more concerned about rising prices than they were last year, requiring them to find ways to mitigate the impact of price increases as much as possible, such as: more than half (53%) are looking for better promotions, prices, deals, coupons; 40% took advantage of Black Friday discounts or other major promotional days; and 8% plan to buy used products. Inflation and price hikes have a considerable impact on the money that Italians have opted to designate for Christmas presents; in fact, the spending prospects are quite bleak. While costs for gifts, dinners/lunches, and excursions over the Christmas season are differentiated, spending is expected to be much lower than last year. 61% to 74% of people anticipate spending less in 2021 (the statistics pertaining to travel is especially depressing: 56% anticipate spending nothing or practically nothing); 12% to 27% of people anticipate spending levels to stay the same as last year; and just 4% to 5% anticipate spending rises, which are almost entirely driven by inflationary dynamics (for the same purchases, increasing prices, spending increases).
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