How will Christmas be different this year?

Christmas is the biggest holiday season in the world. Although it is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, many perceive it not as a religious celebration but as a cultural one. It is also an occasion to get together with family members, have fun, give and receive presents, and much more.

For many, the holiday evokes fond memories of specific sounds and smells and a feeling of home. These memories are what lead people to grasp the importance of establishing their own traditions, which can make the holiday special.

Family traditions, in particular, bring people closer together. They can lead to unforgettable memories and help one feel part of something bigger, a sense of belonging. They are something to await with great anticipation. They help shape people’s character, especially the youth. People make an effort to observe different traditions that are important to them all year round, but Christmas traditions are the strongest without a doubt.

Most people observe Christmas on December 25 as a cultural and religious celebration. Christmas Day is preceded by the Nativity Fast or the Advent season. It marks the beginning of Christmastide, which ends with the Twelfth Night and traditionally goes on for 12 days in the West. In many countries, Christmas Day is a public holiday. So is December 24 or Christmas Eve.

Most Christians perceive Christmas as a religious celebration, while non-Christians see it as a cultural holiday when they celebrate it. All in all, it builds an integral component of the holiday season, which is organized entirely around it. Many people get together on or around Christmas to make plans for the year ahead, as they do on New Year’s Eve. However, ever since the COVID-19 outbreak, the Christmas holidays have been different. People still look forward to spending time with their loved ones, although the concept of togetherness has been altered.

Most of the respondents in a study we carried out do not agree that communicating online can replace being physically present in the same room. You will learn more about this and other results of the study from our report that will be available soon.

Consumers and brands alike are hoping for a dose of normality this season. After a Christmas holiday that was suffocated by strict regulations and chaos last year – how this is possible is beyond us. Despite restrictions not being as strict, the impact of the pandemic has not faded. It is expected to reflect on consumer behaviour again this Christmas.

The difference is that brands have a new and improved opportunity to help not only individual consumers but also entire communities to rekindle the festive spirit. What’s more, they can offer people different ways to help them buy presents for their relatives and friends smoothly.

We carried out extensive research, resulting in a comprehensive report on Christmas in 17 countries. Some of the findings were quite surprising and can be extrapolated to populations globally. The report offers lucrative market insight as well. Our data shows that despite the pandemic, people will not lose interest in Christmas. They will always want to buy their loved ones gifts and spend this special time with them. While full results will be published on December 18, 2021, here are some details.

Fieldwork took place between December 2 and December 10. The total number of respondents was 14,250, making this quite a representative survey for almost 1B consumers celebrating Christmas worldwide.

Some of the topics and insights we discovered in the study: