Consumers to spend £53bn on Christmas

British consumers are expected to spend more than £53 billion over the festive period this year, according to a new report.

Whether it's spending on the office Christmas party outfit, the turkey or Christmas gifts, nearly two thirds of consumers will be using plastic to pay for their purchases.

The study by Apacs also revealed that £5.6 billion of the spending is going to be made on online purchases.

In total, spending on cards, cash and cheques is forecast to reach £53 billion – up 4.2 per cent on December 2006.

Commenting on the study, Sandra Quinn, director of communications at Apacs, said: "Whether buying the turkey or stocking fillers, we're most likely to be using our debit card to pay for them this Christmas, continuing the ongoing trend of pulling out the debit card in preference to our credit cards, cash or cheques.

"The one exception is online where we are much more likely to use our credit cards – which makes sense because of the extra consumer protection they provide."

• Asian weddings services
• Celebrity events
• Corporate events
• Event corporate news
• Event services
• Events trends
  • Brits 'ditch' office parties in credit crunch
  • Space weddings to become reality in 2011
  • Stag parties becoming more ambitious
  • Credit crunch causes corporate travel cutback
  • Green issues high on corporate event agenda
• Weddings
• Weddings services
• What’s new in events?