Brits Spend up to Twice as much on Presents as Other Europeans, Paysafe Survey Reveals

LONDON and VIENNA, December 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

New Paysafe survey also reveals majority of presents will be purchased online 

• Men and women in GB spend roughly the same amount on Christmas presents (£399 / £377) 
• British women plan to spend more than twice as much as German women 
• Up to 57% of all presents for festive season will be ordered online  
• CDs & DVDs, books & ebooks and toys & games top online shopping list 

Consumers in Great Britain will purchase the majority of their Christmas presents online this year, according to a new survey commissioned by Paysafe's online prepaid payment provider paysafecard. The survey also reveals British consumers are planning to spend £388 each on average on presents over the festive season - significantly more than their counterparts in other European countries, including Switzerland. Some age groups are willing to spend more than £500 to treat loved ones. Among the most popular items when shopping online are CDs and DVDs, books and ebooks, toys and games or food and sweets.

The survey also reveals:

• British consumers will buy the majority of their Christmas presents online this year (52%)
• Consumers aged 30-39 are particularly likely to make most of their festive purchases online (57.4%)
• Despite current economic uncertainty, British consumers are planning to spend more money on Christmas presents those in other European countries such as Germany and Switzerland, one of the richest nations in the world
• 30-39 year olds are the biggest spenders, with £505 going on presents on average. The same age group usually spends £214 on their entire online shopping bill each month, including groceries, games, betting and other online spending, while the average value across all age groups is £169.

1,000 British men and women aged between 16 to 69 years took part in the pan-European survey which was conducted by Marketagent on behalf of paysafecard, one of the global market leaders in prepaid online payment methods, and part of Paysafe Group plc (LSE: PAYS).

The findings also reveal that men and women in Great Britain are planning to spend roughly the same amount as each other on presents for friends, family and colleagues (£399 and £377 respectively). In other European countries such as Germany and Austria, the gap is much bigger. In Germany, men will spend about 45% more than women (£250 compared to £172). In Austria, the average amount spent on presents will total £320 (men) and £258 (women). In real terms, British men are planning to spend £149 more on Christmas presents than men in Germany, while British women are going to spend more than twice as much as German women (£377 / £172). Even in Switzerland, one of the ten richest countries in the world, men and women will spend less (£366 / £287) on Christmas presents than their British counterparts.

Despite the general trend to stream films and music, CDs and DVDs top the list of presents British consumers will put under the Christmas tree. Books and ebooks, toys and games, and clothes are also among the most popular items to be purchased online this year. Buying books and ebooks online is particularly popular with men and women aged 40-49 (48.2%). Those aged 30-39 are especially keen on toys and games (52.4%) as presents for family and friends.

Consumers in Great Britain also seem to have a sweeter tooth than their European counterparts when it comes to online presents. 18.4% of all British consumers said that they are more likely to buy food and sweets online than in a local shop to treat their loved ones for Christmas, with only 3.8% of all Austrians doing the same.

Commenting on the results of the survey, Udo Müller, CEO of paysafecard, said: "Clearly, Christmas spending habits differ across Europe, with British men and women being the biggest spenders. Consumers across Europe are now purchasing the majority of presents on the internet, putting brick-and-mortar shops under pressure. However, competition online is also tough so offering the widest range of payment options is important to ensure as many consumers as possible can make a purchase, leaving no Christmas shopper put out at the check-out. Paysafe's range of services are ideally suited to support any merchant through the Christmas period, providing flexibility to cope with peak times and multiple ways for customers to make payments. paysafecard in particular provides an easy way to pay, even removing the need for a credit card or a bank account."

About Paysafe 

Paysafe provides digital payments and transaction-related solutions to businesses and consumers around the world. Paysafe makes transactions easy by enabling fast, convenient and secure ways to pay-before, pay-now and pay-later through its digital wallets, prepaid solution, payment processing and card issuing and acquiring products and services. We believe that every point of every payment should be relevant, simple and secure. With two decades of experience, Paysafe is trusted by merchants and consumers in more than 200 countries and territories, to move and manage money via more than 100 payment types and 40 currencies. Paysafe offers multi-platform products with an emphasis on emerging payment technologies including mobile. Paysafe's brand portfolio includes NETELLER® and Skrill®, MeritCard, paysafecard®, payolution®, Income Access and FANS Entertainment. Paysafe Group plc shares trade on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol (PAYS.L). For more information, visit: www.paysafe.com.

About paysafecard: 

paysafecard is a prepaid online payment method available in 43 countries and at over 500,000 sales outlets. paysafecard is available to everyone - customers need neither a bank account nor a credit card. Paying requires simply entering the 16-digit paysafecard PIN. Based in Vienna, paysafecard has become a market leader in prepaid payment methods with the brands paysafecard, my paysafecard and paysafecard MasterCard®.

The company was founded in 2000 in Austria and is a Paysafe Group plc subsidiary. Paysafe shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol (PAYS.L).

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Further information on paysafecard is available at www.paysafecard.com. Further information on Paysafe is available at www.paysafe.com.