Buying for buying sake costs £700 million
A report issued today suggests that the average member of the UK population spent nearly £30 on Christmas gifts which were unwanted. It would appear that nearly £700 million has been "wasted" over the festive period on gifts which were bought simply because people felt they had to. How crazy is this?
At a time when many in the UK are struggling to pay their mortgage, put food on the table and feel under pressure at their place of work, nearly £700 million has been poured down the drain on gifts which will never be used. Websites such as eBay have been flooded with gifts for resale since Christmas Day and the flood of unwanted gifts is certain to continue for some time to come. While many gifts will eventually find their way to an appreciable audience surely the £700 million in question could have been spent better?
The UK consumer never ceases to amaze experts in the field of retail with billions of pounds spent over the festive period despite the fact we are still in the grip of what has been the longest UK recession since the 1930s. As we mentioned in one of our recent post, upwards of £1 billion is expected to be spent over Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the 27 December. But how many of these gifts will also remain unused and unwanted?
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