Thanks, but no thanks;听Mastercard survey reveals what Brits really think of Secret Santa gifting.
Missing The Mark With Secret Santa Gifts
With holiday season ramping up, merrymakers are once again in search for the perfect Secret Santa gift. However, a recent survey conducted by Mastercard reveals the true secret of this long-standing tradition is that many don鈥檛 get it right. Often efforts are wasted with trinkets being regifted, never used or ending up in the bin.
Knowing this, the leading payments brand has partnered with online retailer, Protect the Planet, which caters to those that want to give the gift of more meaningful and sustainable presents. Together, they have created a curated 鈥楳astercard Edit鈥� consisting of the top best-selling eco-friendly options.
Available items include metal straws to bath bombs, hand cream and vinyl coasters, ranging from 拢3 to 拢15, so whatever you choose, you won鈥檛 break the bank. All gifts purchased on the site, as well as the gifts in the edit, from now until 21st December will contribute 5,000 trees being planted towards Mastercard鈥檚 ongoing pledge with Conservation International through its Priceless Planet Coalition initiative.
The Season Of Giving; But How Much?
With the average Brit spending听拢12.16听on Secret Santa gifts, Mastercard has discovered a听generational divide when it comes to Secret Santa budgets with Gen-Z willing to dig deeper than their older counterparts. 18-24-year-olds on average spend 40% more (拢14.22) than typical baby boomers (拢10.06), reflecting the attitudes Gen Z have towards gift giving and the festive period as they are willing to spend more than over 50s.
It鈥檚 not just the generations that can鈥檛 agree. Men听(30%)听are almost听50%听more likely to think that Secret Santa is wasteful compared to women听(21%). This is also likely to explain why men听(17%)听are twice as likely to ask for the receipt of their Secret Santa gift than women听(8%).
Scott Abrahams, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Mastercard UK & Ireland said:听鈥�It鈥檚 great to see consumers returning to the high street as the holiday season approaches. However, we know this year, more than ever, there is a growing number of people who wish to give gifts that not only bring joy to their friends and family but are also kinder to the environment. Our tie-up with Protect the Planet听demonstrates our understanding of the importance of the need for sustainable听options whilst also moving ever closer to our pledge of planting 100 million trees over five years.鈥�
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Christina Lapsa, Co-owner of Protect the Planet said:听鈥淲e are excited to work with Mastercard to make gifting during the festive period more sustainable. COP26 showed us that global warming is a problem that the public care passionately about, making the partnership even more crucial. We hope to inspire the nation to continue to gift the people closest to them without having a destructive impact on the planet.鈥�
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According听 to Mastercard SpendingPulse鈩�, which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment, UK sales are expected to grow by 8% between 1st听November and 26th听December compared to the same time period in 2020.
