New survey shows Australians are looking forward to a very social Christmas

Stockland’s annual Christmas survey¹ gives an insight into how Australians will be spending Christmas, what they’re buying, and how they’re feeling as they look forward to a festive season, with fewer COVID-19 impacts.

Stockland’s 2022 Christmas survey reveals:

• 70% of Australians are looking forward to socialising with family and friends following last Christmas’ COVID-19 lockdowns.
• More than half of all Australians will be buying most of their Christmas gifts in shopping centres.
• Nearly half of all Australians enjoy Christmas shopping but find it to be stressful at times.

“It’s interesting to see how Australians are feeling, with many families and friends coming together for Christmas, some even after a few years apart,” said Stockland Executive General Manager, Town Centres, Michelle Abbey.

“It’s no surprise that most Australians are looking forward to celebrating with their loved ones this year (70%). Nearly half of all Australians are planning to spend Christmas Day at home (46%) and – interestingly – the majority are staying close to home with no plans to travel interstate or overseas during the Christmas period (70%).

“Our survey shows Australians are looking forward to feeling a little less stressed compared to last year (28%), and though some enjoy Christmas shopping, they still find it stressful (45%). More people are shopping for most of their gifts in shopping centres this year (59%) compared to last year (47%) and are expecting to spend the most on food and drinks (47%), followed by clothing (45%), and toys (37%)².

“With more people shopping in centres this year and looking for a less stressful experience this festive season, we recently launched our new campaign, Make Christmas A Holiday.

“We’ve created a calendar of activities, such as free childminding services, gift wrapping stations, and gift and recipe guides that will help our customers sit back, relax, and get into the true holiday spirit,” Ms Abbey said.

According to almost 1,150 participants surveyed:

• More than a quarter of Australians are looking forward to shopping in stores with no restrictions (27%) and not having to check-in to venues (25%).
• 63% expect to be spending the same on gifts this year compared to last year, 21% expect to spend more, and 16% expect to spend less.

• More than half of those surveyed (56%) will be purchasing gift cards or vouchers for Christmas this year.
• 36% of people start Christmas shopping in November and 25% start in December.
• Over the Christmas period, 14% of people have plans to travel interstate and 6% overseas.
• Almost half of Australians will not be hosting Christmas at home this year (49%), 30% are planning to have ten or less people over, and 18% are planning to have between 11 to 30 people over.
• 42% of people will be spending Christmas Day at a relative’s house, and specifically, 18% will be spending it at their parents’ or grandparents’ place.

1. n = 1,138

2. This is the proportion of people who listed these items as their top three categories they will spend the most in purchasing gifts this year.