Hungarians plan to spend HUF 59,000 on gifts on average
The nationwide survey conducted on behalf of Telenor by Impetus Research was representative of Hungary’s population in terms of gender, age, type of settlement and region. The results show that the majority of Hungarians have become more price sensitive, and 35% have shopped more online since the beginning of the pandemic. The ratio of those who plan to spend on Christmas gifts as much or more than without the pandemic increased from 64% to 71%. Estimated average per capita spending amounts to HUF 59,000 this year, which is slightly higher than last year’s amount of HUF 55,000.
People buy their gifts well ahead. More than 50% of respondents start their Christmas shopping in November or even earlier, and they feel slightly safer to visit shops than before. This year, more Hungarian plan to buy gifts in shops than last year (52% vs 47%). Those shopping online will place their orders early to prevent delivery issues. 44% keep an eye on Christmas promotions, but only 20% attribute a major importance to Black Friday, traditionally associated with pre-Christmas shopping.
The most popular Christmas gifts include clothes (50%), electronic devices and accessories (46%), as well as toys (42%). Tangible gifts are followed by vouchers (25%), adventures (13%) and travel (8%). Of electronic devices, respondents’ most frequent choices include headphones/earphones (22%), smartphones (20%), phone cases or protective films (16%). 15% consider purchasing a smart watch as a gift.
Hungarian buy mobile devices (mobile phones, tablets, smart watches) mostly for their spouse (43%) or child (41%). Twice as many people plan to buy such a device for their parents (24%) than for themselves (12%). One in four people wishing to buy a mobile device as a gift consider purchasing a new subscription with the item depending on the promotions available.
People call if unable to meet
Based on survey results, four out of ten Hungarians spend less time with their loved ones than they would like two. Three out of four respondents try to have a deeper conservation with direct family members at least once a week, but only one in four discuss such matters with them daily. Most of them have meaningful discussions when meeting in person (82%), but more than half of respondents often make a mobile phone call (61%), and a surprisingly large number of people (53%) consider chat messaging an appropriate channel for personal encounters.
Nearly half of Hungarians (45%) want to catch up on missed meetings and conversations at Christmas. 47% of respondents want to spend Christmas with their direct family while 44% will meet a broader circle of relatives. Christmas celebrations will be affected by the pandemic less than the year before. While last year, 44% said they would meet less people than in 2019 mostly due to the pandemic, this year this answer was given only by 11%. Those who plan to meet less people during Christmas do so mostly to keep their elderly relatives not living in the same household safe.
In its Christmas promotion available from 18 November, Telenor offers several handsets at an attractive price to those wishing to buy a gift. Whether they prefer meaningful conversations or a high data allowance, every customer can find a plan of their liking in the range of Hiper tariffs.
To bring families closer together, Telenor offers its HiperCsoport (HiperGroup) service. If customers create a HiperGroup by combining at least two Hiper tariff plans with an active commitment associated with the same customer number, they will become eligible for several benefits including 10 to 15% off the monthly fee and free unlimited airtime for domestic voice calls within the group. The operator’s family tariffs offering an airtime and a data allowance adjusted to different age groups can also be included in a HiperGroup.
More information: www.telenor.hu/karacsonyi-ajanlat
[1] The survey was conducted on a sample of 1,000 Hungarians, between 26 October and 3 November 2021. The sample was representative of Hungary’s population aged 18 to 69 in terms of gender, region and type of settlement.