It’s time to stock up for Christmas. What products are consumers willing to pay for amid high inflation?

The latest survey by eBay Ads shows that due to the high inflation rate, Europeans are facing financial crises to varying degrees, so Europeans' Christmas gift budgets may drop significantly this year .

Take Germany as an example. According to the eBay report, due to the economic downturn, the Christmas budget of German consumers has dropped significantly this year. However , as in previous years, this year consumers will start searching for Christmas gifts in September, and Christmas shopping will enter the hot sales stage at the end of November.

Currently, German consumers are in a negative mood. According to data from Gfk, a world-renowned market research company, the German consumer confidence index fell to a record low in May (26.6 points). Although it rose slightly in June (26 points), it only rose by 0.6 points.

Earlier, the German Ministry of Economy lowered its forecast for Germany's economic growth in 2022 from 3.6% to 2.2%, and predicted that the country's inflation rate will reach 6.1% this year.

The eBay report pointed out that in last year's survey , 40 % of German consumers purchased gifts worth 101 to 300 euros during the Christmas season, but this year only 26% of consumers retained this budget range , and the willingness to spend more than 300 euros on Christmas gifts also dropped from 32% in 2021 to 24% this year .

Compared with 2021 , price ( 29%) has become one of the most important criteria for German consumers to buy Christmas gifts this year . At the same time, quality ( 24%) , product sustainability ( 16%) , fair production ( 10%) , and regionality ( 8%) have also become factors they consider when purchasing Christmas gifts .

11 % of German respondents said they have already started planning to prepare Christmas surprise gifts, that is, experiential gifts ; only 7% are willing to DIY gifts themselves , which shows a relatively low demand.

The peak time nodes for Christmas gift searches and shopping this year are similar to those in 2021. The timeline is roughly as follows: searches for Christmas gifts begin in mid-September , search queries for individual product categories surge in early October , purchases begin in mid-to-late October , and the Christmas shopping season begins in late November to mid-December .

Let's review the German Christmas shopping season in 2021. In mid-September, Germans' interest in Christmas decorations, electronic devices, smart home products, and clothing such as jackets and dresses increased significantly ; at the end of October , outdoor sports equipment such as snowboard equipment began to be sought after by Germans ; at the end of November , toys such as board games and dolls ushered in a peak sales period .

Influenced by environmental protection concepts, German consumers will pay more attention to sustainability when purchasing Christmas items . Resource conservation ( 536%) , recyclability ( 315%) and fair trade ( 270%) have all become the focus of consumer attention .

It is now the end of July, and the product selection research and stocking for Christmas have reached the stage where we can start preparing. However, sellers need to be aware that inflation has hit consumer morale this year, and the European economy has also been declining . When selecting products and preparing stocks , you may try to avoid high-priced products to avoid losses due to lack of interest due to price .

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Christmas