Most Croatians plan to spend up to HRK 500 on Christmas presents, a survey carried out by Ja Trgovac magazine and the Hendal market research agency showed.

The survey, conducted in November on a “representative sample of people aged above 16,” revealed that 31.6 per cent of respondents would spend up to 500 kuna (€67) on Christmas gifts, while another 24 percent plan on spending up to 200 kuna (€27).

Nearly 21 per cent of those interviewed said they were not planning to buy any Christmas gifts this year, similar to last year when 22 per cent said the same.

This year’s survey showed an increase in the number of people who would spend less on Christmas presents than last year, as 36.6 per cent of respondents said they would spend less for that purpose, compared to 33.5 percent in 2020.

On the other hand, the number of those planning to spend more also increased, from 3.9 percent last year to 6.2 per cent this year. However, the proportion of the largest group, who say that they will spend the same as the previous year, fell from 62.6 percent in 2020 to 57.0 per cent in 2021.

Around 59 per cent of respondents plan on buying Christmas gifts online, compared with 55 per cent last year.

The survey also showed that fewer and fewer people found pleasure in Christmas shopping. This year 41 percent said they enjoyed it, down from 48 per cent last year.

The proportion of people who find Christmas shopping stressful increased to 22 percent, while 37 percent said that it gave them both stress and satisfaction.

About 10 per cent of those interviewed said they were planning on going on winter holidays or skiing trips, the same as last year.