UK gifting: Are you making the most of British generosity?

We are a generous nation. Every year, UK retail sales are buoyed by Brits buying presents for birthdays, anniversaries, retirements, and a host of calendar events like Valentine’s Day, Easter, and of course Christmas.

And while Christmas is the biggest single retail event of the year, driving a substantial spike in sales during the Golden Quarter of October, November and December,[1] as a nation we give more for birthdays over the course of each year.[2]

If your business is part of the retail sector supply chain, an understanding of British gift-giving habits can be crucial to maximise sales, revenues and profits, by providing consumers with the perfect presents for their loved ones.

At MRM, we have increasingly seen that adding the personal touch can elevate engagement, and we’ll look at the impact of personalisation in more detail below.

What is a gift?

The size of the market depends on how you define a gift. The Giftware Association notes that the categories of goods given as gifts have changed over the years:

“Traditionally, gifts were often limited to items such as greeting cards, flowers, and chocolates. Today, however, the definition of a gift has broadened significantly.”[3]

As a result, the term has expanded to encompass a wider range of items typically given as presents, including:

The market for purpose-made giftware is valued at about £9.3 billion a year.[4] Yet the Giftware Association adds that some estimates are much larger, driven by demand for different occasions throughout the year, as well as the advent of ecommerce.

How much do Brits spend on Christmas gifts?

Christmas is the culmination of the retail sector’s Golden Quarter and sees total retail sales spike each year to reach about £60 billion. That’s about £10 billion more than any other month.[5]

In recent years, total UK spending on Christmas gifts alone has stood at around £28-29 billion, with spend per person around £600.

Year	Spend (per person)	Change	Spend (UK total)	Change
2019	£513	N/A	£26.9 billion	N/A
2020	£476	-7.2%	£24.3 billion	-9.7%
2021	£548	+15.1%	£25.6 billion	+5.3%
2022	£430	-21.5%	£20.1 billion	-21.5%
2023	£602	+40.0%	£27.6 billion	+37.3%
2024	£596	-1.0%	£28.6 billion	+3.6%

Table 1: Planned spend per person and projected total UK spend on Christmas gifts. Source: Finder UK.[6]

How many gifts do Brits give at Christmas?

Most people buy presents for at least six people – and 2% of people give gifts to more than 20 family, friends, colleagues and other recipients.[7]

Just 2% of people surveyed by YouGov said that they celebrate Christmas but do not give any gifts.

Number of gift recipients	% of gift-givers
0	2%
1-2	11%
3-5	34%
6-10	36%
11-20	15%
21+	2%

Table 2: Number of recipients for whom UK consumers buy Christmas gifts. Source: YouGov UK Christmas Gifting Consumer Report 2024.[8]

With nearly nine out of ten UK consumers giving at least three gifts at Christmas, it’s easy to see why retail sales accelerate so rapidly in the final weeks before the celebration.

Do UK consumers look for promotions when Christmas shopping?

The YouGov survey found that 85% of UK shoppers take advantage of promotions and sales at least sometimes when buying seasonal gifts in the run-up to Christmas, with another 11% doing so on occasion.[9]

When asked how often they use sales and promotions on Christmas gifts, the survey’s respondents said:

This suggests that British consumers are savvy about their spending when possible, but will pay full price for the perfect gift too.

What are the most popular UK Christmas gifts?

This high density of gift-giving makes Christmas the ideal snapshot to see what categories of products UK consumers prefer to give.

Traditional gifts rank highly, with the top five categories comprising clothes, books, gift cards, cosmetics and toys.

Category	Popularity
Clothing	49%
Books	46%
Gift cards/vouchers	43%
Cosmetics/beauty products	42%
Toys	36%
Jewellery	29%
Fashion accessories	29%
Tech products	26%
Other	22%
Sporting goods	13%
Subscription services	7%

Table 3: Percentage of UK Christmas gift-givers who give products from each category. Source: YouGov UK Christmas Gifting Consumer Report 2024.[10]

YouGov found that men are more likely to give tech products (30% of men vs. 22% of women) while women are more likely to give books (50% of women vs. 41% of men) and beauty products (50% of women vs. 33% of men).[11]

It’s worth noting that the expanded definition of ‘giftware’ falls partly into some of these most popular categories, for example clothing if it’s personalised, or high-tech gadgets designed to be given as gifts.

Which is the most generous generation?

When it comes to Christmas, the so-called Silent Generation, now aged in their 80s and above, are some of the most generous. In 2024, Finder UK found that they planned to give an average of £825 each in gifts.[12]

But even higher than that were Millennials, with a planned spend on Christmas presents of £871 each. This might reflect the connectedness of the first generation of digital natives, many of whom have long-distance friendships all over the world.

Generation	Years Born	Age in 2024	Planned Spend
Generation Z	1997-2006	18-27	£605
Millennials/Gen Y	1981-1996	28-43	£871
Generation X	1965-1980	44-59	£487
Baby Boomers	1947-1964	60-78	£371
Silent Generation	Before 1947	79+	£825

Table 4: Planned spend on Christmas gifts by each generation in 2024. Source: Finder UK.[13]

The higher spending by younger generations is echoed in research from Mintel, whose 2025 report found that they contributed significantly to the 84% of UK consumers who had purchased a gift in the previous 12 months.[14]

“Younger consumers, those aged 16-34, are a driving force behind this engagement. They eagerly adopt digital tools, embrace personalisation and explore emerging trends – pushing the sector to innovate and adapt to evolving preferences.”

– Emily Viberg, retail analyst, Mintel[15]

How big is the personalised gifts market in the UK?

The UK personalised gifts market had an estimated value of $1.88 billion (£1.43 billion) in 2024 and is growing fast. Data Bridge Market Research forecast that the market will be worth $3.27 billion by 2032, a compound annual growth rate of 7.1%.[16]

A separate forecast from Technavio predicts similar growth, with an expected $1.26 billion added to the market’s value by 2029 and a compound annual growth rate of 11%.[17]

Both forecasts reflect the anticipated growth in the personalised packaging market, which is set to reach $60.4 billion globally by 2033, an increase of 5.3% per year.

Looking to the future, the Giftware Association notes the growth potential that lies in a creative approach from retailers:

“As consumer preferences continue to evolve, there is a growing demand for eco-friendly and sustainable gifts, as well as experiential gifts… The rise of personalisation also presents a lucrative avenue for retailers, with consumers willing to spend more on unique, customised gifts.”[18]

Let MRM personalise your product

MRM’s expertise in bespoke personalised packaging is the perfect way to offer customised products to consumers who are prepared to pay extra for the personal touch, or as a competition prize or loyalty reward.

Our case studies in this area include our campaign for Butchers Pet Care, who wanted to give their customers a can of Christmas Recipe pet food with their dog’s name on the label.

We created a promotional website for the campaign, enabling customers to claim their customised can while collecting data for follow-up marketing – and we fulfilled delivery of 2,000 personalised cans of dog food in time for Christmas!

To find out more about our personalised packaging and product repacking services, contact MRM today.