Survey reveals that Christmas is cancelled for over a quarter of Wiganers

The findings came from a poll of 2,000 shoppers conducted by Inventory Planner – who provide forecasts and planning software for businesses.

Almost half (49 per cent) of shoppers are “worried” that they may not be able to afford to buy gifts for the festive period, and 15 per cent said they plan to buy no presents at all in order to save cash.

Additionally a fifth of households (21 per cent) plan to spend less this year than they did last year, 17 per cent are ditching the Christmas tree and 16 per cent not roasting a turkey.

Inventory Planner’s spokesperson Sara Arthrell said: “Many shoppers in Wigan face a nightmare before Christmas but they are finding clever ways to save money and make sure that the Grinch doesn’t spoil all the fun.”

Inventory Planner found that households were looking at lots of ways to limit spending this Christmas, with minimising travel to save on petrol and other travel costs proving to be one of the most popular methods.

Other popular cash savers include doing home-made gifts (chosen by 22 per cent of respondents), switching to cheaper Secret Santa presents, and not using wrapping paper or seeking cheaper alternatives such as old newspapers.

A fifth of households will be asking guests to make a contribution to the cost of Christmas dinner and 18 per cent are taking on extra hours to save up for the holidays, 17 per cent have taken on a second job to help.

Furthermore, one in six shoppers are opting to buy second hand while others are not bothering to buy greetings cards this year.

Arthrell said: “With more than a quarter of consumers cancelling Christmas this year, many retailers are facing a nightmare in the New Year being stuck with dangerous levels of excess stock.

“Good inventory planning is vital. With a shrinking economy and weak consumer confidence, many retailers need to turn their surplus stock into cash quickly and strengthen their cash reserves as they prepare to trade through a recession.”