Families plan cutbacks on festive gifts

Families are forecast to slash their Christmas budgets by £2.5billion this year, with the biggest cutbacks on gifts.

Nearly half of people say they are worse off financially now than in the run-up to last Christmas.

Shoppers will shell out £82.2bn, down 3%, and below pre-pandemic levels, it is predicted.

Anita Naik, savings editor at VoucherCodes.co.uk, said: “This Christmas will undoubtedly be tough for families as soaring costs place additional strain during the most expensive time of the year.

“Many of us will be cutting back on gift spending in order to afford other elements that make Christmas magical, such as food and drinks shared with family.”

Shoppers are being hit with the biggest prices hikes since a survey was launched in 2005. The rate at which average prices rose jumped to 6.6% in October, up from 5.5% in September, the British Retail Consortium and NielsenIQ found.

People will spend less on presents this Christmas