According to a report by CBRE, 53 % of surveyed Poles have not yet bought a single Christmas present. Most respondents intend to buy gifts 2-3 weeks before Christmas.

Surprises under the Christmas tree for loved ones are prepared by 9 out of 10 Poles, according to a survey by CBRE company published on Monday 4 December. It indicated that 53 % have not yet bought a single gift, 31 % have some and 4 % have already stocked up on all of them.

According to the report, 1 % of respondents do not buy gifts but make them themselves.

The report found that women are leading the way in the pre-Christmas gift race. 35 % of them declare that they already have at least some of the presents. This answer was indicated by only 27 % of men. Also, people aged 25-34 are faster than the average in gift shopping, with 40 % of them having already started to complete their packages.

59 % of surveyed Poles buys Christmas presents 2-3 weeks before Christmas, while 17 % do such shopping a week before. 3 % of respondents buy presents two or three days before Christmas, while “completely last-minute” presents are bought by 6 % of respondents.

As noted in the CBRE report, the ‘last-minute’ shopping option is more often chosen by residents of large cities (11 %). This is probably due to the easier accessibility of large shopping centres. Retirees and pensioners are also more likely to go to the shops at the last moment (8 %).

Respondents also indicated what they dislike most about Christmas shopping. Almost half (49 %) said high prices, crowds in shops (21 %), too much choice of gifts, which can be overwhelming (12 %), closed shops on Sunday (8 %) and shortages in the assortment (6 %).

Adrian Andrzejewski