Just under a third of survey respondents plan on spending between R250 – R500 on gifts this festive season

Results of eBucks' online Festive Survey 2011 have revealed that South Africans will be spoiling their loved ones this festive season, with 32% of respondents planning on spending between R250 and R500 on each gift they buy, and 29% planning on spending between R500 – R1000 per gift.

The festive survey - conducted online by eBucks, FNB and RMB Private Bank's reward programme, in October 2011 - surveyed 1937 South Africans on their festive shopping behaviour and how much respondents plan to spend on gifts.

Jolande Duvenage, eBucks CEO, says: "A substantial 95% of respondents indicated that the festive season is one of their favourite times of year to show their loved ones how they feel by giving a special gift or two."

In fact, just under half (48%) of the respondents plan to buy gifts for between one and five people, while 38% are planning to buy for between five and 10 people.

"This shows that people are putting more thought into how they will be spending on gifts this year, and buying more meaningful gifts for those who are closest to them," Duvenage adds.

When asked what gift would top the respondents' wish list this festive season, an impressive 58% said that they want to receive a gadget or electronic device. The next most popular gift respondents wish to receive was cash or vouchers, with 13% of respondents stating that this would be their ideal gift to receive this festive season. Other items to make it onto this year's wish list include jewellery (5%), books (4%) and appliances (4%).

"Gift vouchers were the most popular items purchased in the eBucks store over both the 2009 and 2010 festive seasons," adds Duvenage.

When it comes to buying the perfect gift for their partners, the survey results showed that a great proportion of respondents in a relationship – 42% of men and 37% of women – will be spending between R500 – R1000 per gift on their significant others. In addition, a third of men (34%) and a quarter of women (24%) are likely to spend over R1000 on a gift for their partners.

The survey also found that parents will be buying gifts for their little ones this year. However, the amounts they intend on spending varied greatly. Forty percent of respondents plan on spending between R1 – R500 per child, while 39% plan to spend between R500 – R1000 per child. Fifteen percent of parents plan to spend between R1000 – R3000, while a minority of 3% plan to spend over R3000 per child.

"With the current economic downturn and survey results, we expect that people will be more responsible and savvy with what they spend, with significant others receiving more expensive gifts," Duvenage adds.

Careful planning ahead of the shopping season also seems to be increasingly popular, with 36% of respondents saying that they had already begun their festive shopping in November. Just over half of those surveyed (53%) do their shopping in the three weeks leading up to the holiday, with a very small minority - 4% - sheepishly admitting to doing their gift shopping either on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day.

The eBucks Festive Survey also asked respondents about where they prefer to do their festive shopping.

"When it comes to actually shopping for presents, nearly 50% of respondents said that they would buy gifts from a number of shops, as well as online stores. While 40% of respondents like to touch, and see the items that they are purchasing in physical shops, 8% of respondents said that they will be doing all their shopping online, because it saves them time, and they'll be able to avoid the crowds that are always part of the festive season rush," says Duvenage.

"We have already seen an increase in activity in the eBucks online shop, as our members have already started buying their Festive Season goodies," says Duvenage. "We are also seeing increased activity from our partners, where eBucks customers can spend their eBucks, and earn even more when they pay for purchases with qualifying products from FNB or RMB Private Bank."

"Whether it's goods from Makro, a gift voucher purchased via the eBucks Shop, a book from Kalahari.com, games and gadgets from Incredible Connection, or even a tank of petrol from Engen to help you on your journey to spend time with loved ones, eBucks gives its members the opportunity to make the most of the Festive Season," Duvenage concludes.

Notes to editors (full results of the eBucks Festive Survey):

• The eBucks Festive Survey ran on News24.com between 14 October 2011 and 1 November 2011
  
  
• 1937 South Africans answered this survey - 67% are male and 33% are female
  
  
• Of those surveyed, 95% celebrate the festive season and give gifts
  
  
• On average, those who were surveyed and said they celebrate the festive season, plan on spending, on average per gift:
  • 19% spend between R1 – R250
  • 31.6% spend between R250 – R500
  • 13.6% spend between R500 – R750
  • 15.1% spend between R750 – R1000
  • 20.4% spend R1000 or more
  
  
  
• Of the female respondents, who are in a relationship and do celebrate the festive season (603 respondents in total) :
  • 5.6% said that they don't buy presents for their partner
  • 11.3% said that they spend between R1-R250 on their partner
  • 22.9% said that they spend between R250 – R500 on their partner
  • 21.7% said that they will spend between R500 and R750
  • 14.8% said that they will spend between R750 and R1000
  • 23.7% said that they will spend between R1000 or more
  
  
  
• Of the male respondents, who are in a relationship, and do celebrate the festive season (1201 respondents in total):
  • 2.6% said they don't buy presents for their partner
  • 4.8% said they spend between R1-R250
  • 17.4% said between R250 – R500
  • 22.1% said between R500 – R750
  • 19.7% said between R750 – R1000
  • 33.5% said R1000 or more
  
  
  
• Of the respondents, who are parents, and do celebrate the festive season (1025 respondents in total):
  • 1.8% said they don't plan to buy presents for their child/ children
  • 40.4% said they plan to spend R1 – R500 per child
  • 39.4% said they plan to spend R500 – R1000 per child
  • 15.3% said they plan to spend between R1000 – R3000 per child
  • 2.2% said they plan to spend between R3000 – R5000 per child
  • 0.9% said they plan to spend R5000 or more per child
  
  
  
• The South Africans who answered this survey shop in these ways:
  • 51.2% a combination of online and real life shops
  • 40.4% prefer to make purchases in shops
  • 8.4% do all their shopping online because it saves them time and they avoid the crowds
  
  
  
• When do those surveyed do their shopping:
  • 3.2% said theirs is already done as they collect gifts throughout the year
  • 37.9% usually start in November to beat the rush
  • 52.9% buy their gifts three weeks before Christmas
  • 5.6% On Christmas Eve
  • 0.4% On Christmas Day
  
  
  
• What present do survey respondents most wish to receive this festive season:
  • 57.8% - gadget
  • 12.7% - cash or a voucher
  • 4.9% - jewellery
  • 4.4% - books
  • 4.1% - appliance
  • 3.7% - fitness or sporting equipment
  • 3.6% - clothing
  • 3.2% - perfume or aftershave
  • 2.9% - CDs or DVDs
  • 2.6% of respondents would not choose one of these gifts
  
  
  
• How many people do respondents normally buy presents for this Festive Season:
  • 1.1% said just one person
  • 48.2% said between 1 and 5 people
  • 38.4% said between 5 and 10 people
  • 9.7% said between 10 and 15 people
  • 2.6% said more than 15 people

About eBucks:

eBucks, the rewards programme offered by First National Bank (FNB) and RMB Private Bank, is acknowledged as one of South Africa's leading rewards programmes with highly active members spending in excess of 80% of the eBucks earned in any given month.