In Romania the budget allotted to the Christmas shopping is around EUR 250, as against the EUR 460 at European level, says a survey conducted by Reveal Marketing Research during December 6-15, 2019.
The study surveyed residents in the cities how they will get ready for the winter holidays, what are their budgets and how important these moments are for them.
About EUR 100 (RON 477) are destined to the expenses on foodstuff, while RON 403 are spent on presents on the average. The rest of the money (RON 172) is allotted to the Christmas tree and to Christmas decorations (RON 137).
In terms of regions, residents in Bucharest and Dobruja are willing to spend more than the national average, while the ones in Transylvania are more sober. Youngsters under 25 said they will spend more by RON 30 on food than the old people, and around RON 92 for gifts.
To cover these expenses, many Romanians are counting on the Christmas bonus. More than a half (51%) respondents say the Christmas bonus is pretty important and helps them a lot, while a quarter (26.3%) state that they wouldn’t make it without this bonus. The fee is mostly expected by those aged from 25 to 34, with 59.2% of them admitting it would be hard for them without this money.
Christmas shopping
The shopping fever starts since November for some (13.3%), but most respondents (30.2%) say they start shopping in the second week of December, or even in the third week (24.2%).
Supermarkets and hypermarkets are Romanian’s first choice when it comes to buy foodstuff for the holidays (93.5%). Markets are the second choice (40%), mainly preferred by people older than 55, while online shops are favored by the youngsters under 25 and by Bucharest-Ilfov residents.
As for presents, Romanians prefer to shop in physical stores (30%) and malls (68.2%). However, four in ten Romanians are fans of online shopping.
The Christmas tree
The winter holidays’ symbol, the Christmas tree is present in 90% of the Romanian houses. Only one third though will buy a natural tree. Not necessarily due to environmental reasons, but mostly for financial reasons, 59% of the Romanians are choosing an artificial Christmas tree, while a tiny percentage (1.4%) said they opt for minimalist Christmas trees, made of decorations or books, inspired from Pinterest.
Romanians usually buy their Christmas tree from the supermarket (52%) and from the market (22%).
Decorations consist mainly in globes and tinsel (72%), while only a quarter choose sustainable decorations. 15% of the Romanians change their Christmas decorations every year, while 40% keep them for more then three years.
Spending Christmas with the beloved ones
Winter holidays are not only about shopping and food, but also about quality time spent with the family and friends (85%). 3 to 5 percentage of them say they do it out of obligation, and the percentage is higher (6.5%) among those aged from 35 to 44.