Irish shoppers to spend €2,500 on average this Christmas, survey finds

Many Irish people plan to spend more this Christmas than last year, according to a survey that coincides with cyber Monday, the pre-festive on-line shopping spree.

Retail Ireland estimated last year that the average Irish household spent €2,585 on Christmas.

The Bank of Ireland Economic Pulse survey indicates one in five of them intend spending more on Christmas presents this year than in 2016, while 57 per cent expect that the cost will be the same.

More or less reflecting that, 28 per cent of retailers expect Christmas 2017 turnover to rise, while around half of them anticipate that sales will be level with last year, the survey says.

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Dr Loretta O’Sullivan, group chief economist Bank of Ireland, said that with Black Friday just gone and cyber Monday kicking off, “it’s full steam ahead for festive shopping”.

“Consumers and retailers look to be on the same page in this respect, with one in five households planning on spending more on presents this year compared with last Christmas, while one in four retailers expect their Christmas turnover to be up on last year,” she said.