PRESS RELEASE
- Dixons Travel reveals Southerners are the real Christmas scrooges
Dixons Travel has today revealed that Southerners are a bunch of scrooges when it comes to splashing the cash on family at Christmas, in stark contrast to their Northern counterparts.
The study of 1,400 Christmas holidaymakers showed that not only do generous Northerners spend 50% more on Christmas presents for relatives in the UK than the stingy South, but nearly twice as many Northerners said they would spend more on gifts for relatives living abroad, because they see them less - with Northerners saying they would almost double the budget from £75 to £143 for far-flung family.
In comparison, Southerners expected to spend only £50 on their relatives, with many of them admitting to putting off visiting relatives abroad in order to save money on expensive gifts - in fact, twice as many Northerners will be travelling abroad this Christmas to visit family and friends than stay-at-home Southerners.
Northerners also prove much savvier than their Southern counterparts when it comes to flashing the cash, with twice as many of them choosing to save their shopping until they get to the airport in order to take advantage of the exclusive deals retailers such as Dixons Travel offer airside shoppers
Indeed, just over a half (53%) of Northerners admitted to being overcome with the Christmas spirit at the airport, splurging on last minute luxury and hi-tech gifts for relatives; compared to a third (33%) of Southerners.
Craig McDowell, manager at Dixons Travel at Manchester airport, said: "If you're expecting a visit from relatives from the North this year then you're in for a treat as we are seeing iPad2s, Kindles, iPods and Dr Dre headphones flying off the shelves as people leave their Christmas gift shopping to the last minute and bag a bargain at the airport. We're frequently seeing customers pick up two of something as well - so perhaps there as generous with themselves as they are with their families!".
