Survey by the FOM university How much money do people in Bonn spend on Christmas presents?
Bonn · When buying Christmas presents, do people in Bonn pay attention to sustainability and the environment? And how much do they spend on gifts? The FOM University of Applied Sciences for Economy & Management in Bonn has conducted a nationwide Christmas survey and has now published its results.
The Bonn-based FOM University of Applied Sciences for Economy & Management has conducted a nationwide Christmas survey. Under the title “Christmas Survey 2019: Shopping behaviour of consumers in Germany with regard to Christmas gifts”, the survey focused on sustainability and environmental protection when buying gifts leading up to Christmas. The university surveyed a total of 62,000 women and men between the ages of 12 and 99, out of which about 1,600 were from Bonn. Only 30 per cent of all the individuals in Bonn who were surveyed stated that they pay attention to environmentally friendly packaging materials when packaging their gifts.
Under the generic term “sustainability”, the researchers had summarised the importance of environmentally friendly materials, such as wood instead of plastic, the use of health-friendly paints and varnishes, eco-labels, biological production and the recyclability of products.
When asked whether these criteria would influence their buying of presents, 73 per cent of the 12- to 22-year-olds in Bonn said that this was unimportant to them. In the case of Generation Y (23 to 38 years of age), the figure was 70 per cent, whereas half, namely 51 per cent, of 39- to 54-year-olds, stated that the topic of sustainability was of no importance when buying gifts. Only 30 per cent of all people in Bonn between the ages of 12 and 99 who were surveyed, stated that they pay attention to environmentally friendly packaging materials when wrapping their presents.
What people in Bonn give as presents for Christmas
But what do the people of Bonn give at Christmas and how much do they spend? The survey showed that about every second person in Bonn gives gift vouchers as presents on Christmas Eve, followed by concert and theatre tickets, cosmetics, jewellery, books and toys. More traditional gifts such as home textiles or living accessories were less popular presents. On average, each person from Bonn surveyed, intends to spend around 480 euros on Christmas presents this year.
Most people in Bonn get ideas for presents through personal recommendations from friends and acquaintances, and about 20 per cent look on social networks. The Internet continues to be a popular purchasing platform: approximately 82 per cent of the 23- to 38-year-olds in Bonn surveyed, said that they placed their orders online. Around half also buy gifts in specialist shops in the city and appreciate the personal advice they are given there.
A comparison among generations shows that younger people buy their Christmas presents at short notice. The younger the person, the shorter the time before Christmas they buy, the university study shows. By contrast, the older the interviewees were, the more time they allowed themselves for the selection and purchase of presents. Thus, many young people only go shopping in the final days before the festivities, whereas by this time the Babyboomers and older generation already have bought all their gifts.
Further results of the study can be found here.
(Original text; Jill Mylonas, translation John Chandler)
