SA not planning to splurge

South Africans are not planning to splurge on shopping over the festive season, the results of a survey reveals

"Nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of South African shoppers have indicated that they will spend the same or less than they did last year over the coming holiday season," according to the Deloitte Year-end Holiday Survey conducted in 19 countries.

The survey showed pessimism among South African consumers has increased. When asked about the current state of the economy, 41 percent of South African consumers surveyed said that they believed the economy was still in recession.

Forty-five percent of local respondents believe the economy will improve in 2011, compared with 65 percent last year. Only 26 percent believe the economy will stay the same.

However, Greek, Irish and Portuguese consumers are the most pessimistic of all the countries surveyed.

South Africans were more negative about job security.

Only one in two South Africans surveyed in 2010 said they considered their jobs to be secure, compared to 58 percent in 2009 and 81 percent in 2008.

“The rise in job insecurity however is not surprising given that job losses have continued to mount through the third quarter of 2010, and considering that a rise in unemployment typically lags a deterioration in economic activity,” said Kay Walsh, senior economist at Deloitte.

The amount budgeted to spend over the festive seasons was expected to be 2.5 percent lower on average across all the countries surveyed.

"In South Africa, the outlook for holiday spending is also quite bleak, albeit slightly better than in Europe with consumers indicating that they aim to spend 0.6 percent less than in the prior year."

South Africans plan to bargain hunt, with 79 percent saying they would buy products and gifts on sale, compared to 69 percent of Europeans.

"A whopping 87 percent of consumers also indicated that they will be focusing on purchasing useful gifts this season."

They also want to plan their shopping, with 78 percent saying they would prefer not to buy on impulse.

Parents are planning to buy useful gifts for their children, with 17 of the 19 countries surveyed showing that educational games will be the top gift purchased for children under the age of 12.

This echoes today's Times LIVE poll, which as at 12:58 shows that 69% of our readers are planning to spend less this year.