Greeks to slash Christmas spending by 21 pct
Retailers may be looking to the Christmas season to boost falling sales but Greek consumers intend to slash spending by just over 20 percent this holiday period, according to a study. The study, put together by international accounting and consulting firm Deloitte, found that Greeks will cut their yuletide budgets by an average 21 percent from last year’s levels to 410 euros, fearing that there will be no light at the end of the economic tunnel for some time yet. The Christmas budget is defined as being the cost of gifts and festivities. After the Greeks, the Irish will also be tightening their purse strings, reducing spending by 10.6 percent to 1,020 euros. Next on the list are the Portuguese, who intend to spend 575 euros this Christmas, 6.3 percent less than last year. The study, carried out to determine consumer spending patterns across Europe, found that Europeans will spend 2.5 percent less on average than they did last year. The biggest rise in the region regarding Christmas spending this year is expected in Ukraine, where consumers declared that they will up the budget by 14.8 percent to 280 euros.
