Shopping rush expected in the lead-up to Christmas

Farmers is gearing up for the Christmas rush as shoppers leave buying until the last-minute.

Farmers head of marketing Dean Cook says when Christmas falls on a Saturday as it does this year, the Christmas shopping rush always comes late.

Sales data shows that while the average Christmas sale is similar to last year, shopping and spending is considerably later than last year.

“Most people will work the entire week before Christmas and this means limited time for shopping, so we are expecting a huge rush on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in the lead-up,” he says.

Shopping Personalities
Last-minute shoppers tend to go for pre-packaged Christmas sets but there’s a large group of shoppers whose festive shopping is well under the Christmas tree.

“‘Pre-planner’ shoppers complete their shopping in November, before the Christmas crowds start to build. ‘Pre-planners’ have time to wander the store and have specific ideas about what they want to buy,” says Cook.

On the other hand ‘Procrastinators’ are likely to be people who work and aren’t sure what to buy.
“Procrastinators are looking for the Christmas solution – we help them out by setting up gift zones in store and ensuring all product price points are clearly marked so shopping is quick and easy,” says Cook.

“Shoppers like stores that are easy to navigate. Big department stores can be daunting at Christmas time, especially for males, who may not visit them so often!”

Farmers is staying open until midnight on Thursday 23rd December so that last-minute shoppers can get everything they need in time.

Most Popular Gifts
Popular toys for boys this year include Bey Blades, NERF and the timeless classic, Lego. Strawberry Shortcake and Zu Zu pets are proving popular for girls, as is Barbie.

Fragrance gift sets are flying off the shelves as are beach towels, the Soda Stream start-up pack, and gift cards (for the difficult person to buy for).