One third of unwanted Christmas gifts gather dust at home
Shpock study shows that only 5% of the UK dare to ask for the receipt
Wednesday, December 13, 2017 — Everyone knows about the dreaded unwanted Christmas gift but what happens to them once the big day is over? Based on a study in co-operation with YouGov[1], Shpock can finally reveal how many of the presents are stored at home, gathering dust year after year. The boot sale app also reveals what percentage of the UK are willing to sell the presents online.
Socks, ugly jumpers, iPads, smartphones and more. The unwanted Christmas gift can be anything that doesn’t fit, is not liked or even something that’s been bought twice. A huge 71% of Brits have received at least one unwanted Christmas gift in the past. The debate continues on what to do with these items in the post festive period. Shpock found that a huge 34% choose to do nothing, storing the gift at home, where it has little benefit and often is never opened or used. Just 5% felt brave enough to ask for the receipt in order to exchange it, often fearful of offending the gift giver. Another big chunk land on online markets for selling.
60% of unwanted gifts on Shpock find a new owner within a week
“Over £17 million of unwanted Christmas gifts were traded on the boot sale app last year. In the four week period following Christmas, hundreds of thousands of unwanted Christmas gifts were traded on Shpock", explains Conor Gannon, Shpock spokesperson. “There is a clear appetite for these gifts with 60% finding a new owner within one week. We expect this number to grow a lot this holiday season. The platform is the perfect place to re-sell unwanted gifts at a good price. You can list and sell an item within seconds.”
Benefits of selling online
Advantages of selling unwanted gifts online:
- You don’t have to ask the original gift giver for the receipt
- You can sell the item from the comfort of your home
- You get cash in return for something you don’t want
- You make someone else happy
- You don’t waste storage space at home
[1] All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2117 adults. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
