Survey gives insights into festive-season shopping habits.

South Africans are using rewards-programme points and discounts to stretch their budgets, with 45 percent of respondents to the Multiply Festive Season Survey saying that they work their rewards programmes to get the most out of their festive-season shopping.

“The results of the survey show that South Africans are increasingly counting on rewards programmes to add value, particularly at a time of the year when expectations are high, but pressure on personal finances are even higher,” says Jaco Oosthuizen, CEO of Multiply, the wellness and rewards programme offered by Momentum.

Respondents to the online survey gave insights into their festive-season shopping habits, with 42 percent saying that they prefer to do their festive-season shopping ‘in a mall – the bigger, the better!’ Many shoppers didn’t go to a specific destination for their shopping, with 40 percent saying that they made their gift purchases whenever they found the perfect item.

Fifteen percent of respondents buy their gifts online, with nearly one third of those clicking to complete their festive-season purchases during the first half of December. Twenty-two percent of respondents do their festive-season shopping online all year through, with 14 percent leaving it to the last possible minute.

More practical gifts

The most popular gift category was the ‘home and lifestyle’ category, with a little more than half of respondents saying that they would buy these gifts. “This also goes to show that shoppers are thinking along more practical lines, purchasing gifts that will add value to the everyday lives of recipients,” says Oosthuizen. The next most popular category was toys and games, with 19 percent of respondents purchasing these, followed by technology.

“South African festive-season shoppers are being careful with their spending this year, with just over one third saying that they will spend up to R250 on gifts for members of their extended family,” says Oosthuizen. “Thirteen percent of respondents are not buying gifts for their extended family at all.”

Of the respondents who have children, and who are buying gifts for them, nearly half will purchase between two and five gifts for their offspring, while one third will buy their child a single, large gift. Of those buying gifts for their children, one third will spend between R500 and R1000 on each child, with a further one third spending between R250 and R500.

Respondents spend more money on their partners than they spend on their children, with 29 percent saying that they will spend more than R1000 on a gift for their significant other, and a further 29 percent saying that they will spend between R500 and R1000.

“This year has been a tough one for consumers, but they’re increasingly wising up to the benefits of rewards programmes, and how they can reduce festive-season financial pressures by using programme discounts and vouchers,” says Oosthuizen. “They’re also planning their shopping carefully by budgeting ahead of their shopping expeditions and using their rewards programme discounts and vouchers, with only 12 percent saying that they anticipate overextending their credit cards.”

Full results of the Multiply Festive Season Survey

The Multiply Festive Season Survey ran on News24.com between 17 November and 2 December 2014. 76% of respondents were female, 24% of respondents were male.

Respondents described their lifestyle as:

• Married, with children – 42.3%
• Single, no children – 30.4%
• Single, with children – 15.5%
• Married, no children – 9.7%
• Retired empty nester – 2.2%

Respondents said that they prefer to do their festive-season shopping in these locations:

• In a mall – the bigger the better – 42%
• Wherever they find the perfect gift – 40.1%
• Online – 15%
• In a department store – 1.9%
• In boutique shops – 1.0%

Respondents said that they do their festive-season shopping:

• During the first half of December – 32.1%
• All year through – 22.2%
• During the first half of November – 18.8%
• At the last possible minute – 14.7%

Respondents said that these were their gift categories of choice:

• Home and lifestyle – 51%
• Toys and games – 19.3%
• Technology – 14.7%
• Magazines and books – 9.9%
• Sports and outdoor – 5.1%

Respondents said that they pay for their festive-season shopping:

• I use a combination of cash and rewards programme points – 41.3%
• I save my money during the year and pay cash – 37.9%
• I max out my credit card – 12.6%
• I don’t eat during December so that I can buy gifts – 5.3%
• I save up my rewards programme points and discounts the whole year – 2.9%

Respondents with children buy this many gifts for their children:

• Between two and five gifts – 47.1%
• One big gift – 38%
• Who’s counting anyway? – 17%
• Between five and ten gifts – 6.2%

Respondents are willing to spend this much money on gifts for their children:

• Between R501 and R1000 – 34%
• Between R251 and R500 – 33%
• More than R1000 – 20%
• Between R10 and R250 – 12.4%

Respondents are willing to spend this amount of money on a gift for their partner, if they have one:

• Between R501 and R1000 – 29.7%
• More than R1000 – 28.5%
• Between R251 and R500 – 20.8%
• Don’t have a partner – 13.8%
• Between R10 and R250 – 7.2%

Respondents said that they would spend this amount of money on gifts for their extended family:

• Between R10 and R250 – 35.7%
• Between R251 and R500 – 33.3%
• I don’t buy gifts for my extended family – 13%
• Between R501 and R1000 – 12.1%
• More than R1000 – 5.8%