A survey by the consultants Deloitte suggests that more than half of Slovaks will spend the same or more on Christmas than last year despite the effects of the global economic crisis. Forty-five percent of respondents in a survey conducted by Deloitte said they planned to spend the same on Christmas presents this year, while 13 percent said they would spend more. Forty-two percent of those polled admitted they would be less generous with their gifts than in 2008, the SITA newswire wrote.
However, the crisis has caused people in Slovakia to plan a budget for their Christmas spending. While one-third of people had a Christmas budget last year, now Slovaks are more prudent and 53 percent said they will spend only up to a planned amount on Christmas shopping. The most popular Christmas gifts are books, clothing and cosmetics, which 56 percent of respondents said they would buy. The main criteria buyers will use to select Christmas gifts will be price and the variety on offer. Sales and discounts were not as important to Slovak consumers as for other inhabitants of Europe. The Deloitte survey focused on consumer behaviour across Europe. The company surveyed 17,567 people older than 18 from 17 European countries. It was conducted in late September and early October. In Slovakia, 501 respondents were surveyed.
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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