The average Pole will spend around 800 złoty on Christmas gifts for loved ones. One in six people say they take out a loan or credit for this purpose, according to a survey conducted for Rzeczpospolita.
Holidays on Credit
The daily notes that the commercialization of Christmas is accelerating, and each year the number of people for whom gifts are the most important element of the holidays continues to grow.
“Only a few percent of society do not buy them, and despite a general tendency to cut back on Christmas spending, this particular item is largely unaffected,” the newspaper writes.
Meanwhile, according to a Shopfully survey, 16 percent of respondents declared that they would take out a loan—from a bank, a non-bank lender, or even from friends—to organize Christmas Eve dinner and the holiday period.
Men more often than women say they intend to take out a loan or credit (18.7 percent versus 13.5 percent). Such declarations are made primarily by people aged 25–34 (23 percent), those with a monthly net income above 9,000 złoty (29.2 percent), and residents of towns with populations between 5,000 and 19,000 (23.3 percent), the paper reports.
Rzeczpospolita also quoted Robert Biegaj from Shopfully, who said the data are “a clear signal that for some Poles the holiday season represents a significant burden on household budgets.”
In most cases, this is not about the desire to organize especially lavish holidays, but rather the necessity of covering basic expenses such as food, gifts, or travel. For several years now, households have faced clear cost pressures and a lack of adequate savings, which means that the holiday season—traditionally associated with higher spending—encourages people to reach for additional financing, he emphasized.
Online Sales Are Growing
Adam Czarnecki, vice president of ARC Rynek i Opinia, pointed out that “pre-Christmas gift shopping is carried out almost equally through online channels and traditional retail.”
Shopping for gifts online is not only a sign of a generally changing purchasing model, but also, for many consumers, a way to avoid crowds in shopping centers as well as the reluctance many feel toward the often artificially and aggressively constructed ‘holiday atmosphere’ in stores, he added.
Citing a survey by ARC Rynek i Opinia, Rzeczpospolita reports that this year only 17 percent of respondents plan to cut their budget for Christmas gifts, 27 percent intend to increase it, and 56 percent will spend a similar amount as in 2024. On average, Poles will spend 798.2 złoty on presents.
“Research by Professor Dominika Maison shows that 77 percent of Poles enjoy giving gifts. The most desired present under the Christmas tree is cash, indicated by one in five respondents. Books were mentioned by 18 percent, and electronics by 14 percent,” Rzeczpospolita writes in its Friday edition.