As the final countdown to the festive season begins, Mintel shares some festive stats and figures covering the food and drink, health, alcohol, shopping, household and personal care sectors. It’s fun!

Christmas Shopping and Planning

• What will you find in your stocking this year? Last year, clothing (58%), books (49%) and perfume, aftershave and toiletries (46%) were Britain’s top three Christmas purchases.
• Feeling more generous this Christmas than last? Last Christmas, one in ten (9%) Brits spent a lot more on Christmas shopping than the year before, while 42% spent around the same.
• Still not started shopping yet? Last year 20% of Brits left their shopping till the last week
• Can’t face the shops? In 2011, 54% of Brits used the Internet for Christmas gift ideas, 46% compared prices online while 36% bought some gifts online.
• …And after last year, 24% of Brits said they would buy more online this Christmas.
• Just in case your gift doesn’t quite fit the bill… last year 7% of Brits returned and changed gifts while 3% sold their unwanted gifts on eBay.
• Can’t decide what to buy? Some 29% of Brits claim that home accessories make good gifts.
• Pets top of the Christmas shopping list? Almost four in ten (38%) pet owners in the UK report buying a gift for their pet, rising to 52% of dog owners.

Food, Spirits and Baking Habits

• What’s your Christmas tipple? Over a third (36%) of consumers who drink dark spirits claim Whisky/Bourbon as their favourite at Christmas and New Year, compared to 21% for Brandy/Cognac/Armagnac and 17% for Dark/Golden/Spiced Rum.
• Over one in ten (11%) of Britain’s bakers tend to only bake at home for special occasions.
• Some 62% of Brits buy novelty and boxed chocolates as a gift for Christmas to sweeten up their holidays.
• Champagne appears to have lost some of its appeal at Christmas and Easter, as Sparkling Wine users in the UK are now more likely to drink it than Champagne (48% against 46% respectively).

Household and Personal Care

• Cleaning up for the visitors? 83% of Brits say they get satisfaction from seeing their home clean and tidy – but 18% say they ‘can’t stand’ cleaning their home.
• The smell of Christmas — 59% of adults use air fresheners to help make their home smell fresh for visiting guests, while 52% use scented candles to add ambience to a room.
• Watch the overeating — eight in ten (80%) Brits have suffered gastrointestinal problems in the last 12 months, higher than colds, flu and headaches.

Christmas Dinner

• All set for the big bird? By the end of 2012, British consumers are expected to have gobbled up 89,000 tonnes of turkey.
• Fresh or frozen? Frozen potatoes grew 6.3% year on year to account for 12% of the UK potato market in 2011.
• It’s all (flavoured) gravy —a quarter (25%) of Brits would like to see more interesting flavours of Gravy — and the same number (25%) would like to see Gravy with more authentic ingredients.
• Prepare the Cheeseboard — 18% of Brits consume Cheese after dinner.