Pets could have a happier Christmas this year than grandparents if last year's festive shopping habits are repeated in 2012.
That is one of the suggestions in a report published this week by SAS UK and Verdict, called How Britain will shop for Christmas, which examines 2011's festive spend and makes predictions for the season ahead. The report, based on interviews with 10,000 shoppers, forecasts that Britons will shell out £86bn on Christmas this year - up 1% from last year, despite less disposable income being available.

When asked last year who they were buying gifts for, more shoppers surveyed said they were buying gifts for pets than for grandparents or colleagues. Almost one-third of shoppers bought Christmas gifts for pets, within which 24.5% purchased pet toys and 23.1% pet food.

More women than men bought pet gifts, and most people buying them were aged between 35 and 54. Supermarkets and Poundland were the top destination for the gifts.

The report also looks at prospects for DIY and gardening in Q4, which it says are set to decline by 2.5% as the housing market remains challenging. Customers are less willing to engage in major projects before Christmas, it points out, with re-decorating projects likely to be put off until the New Year.

It says that while DIY superstores do sell Christmas trees and decorations, such trade is mainly driven by passing traffic from shoppers looking to purchase DIY products, which will be quite low. The greater convenience of getting Christmas decorations while doing the weekly shop will make the grocers a more popular choice. Gardening sales will be negative, the report predicts, but supported by sales of real Christmas trees and decorative plants.
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One area that could see a rise in sales is craft products. One fifth of shoppers in the How Britain Shops for Christmas survey said they bought craft gifts last year, and the success of this year's cookery programmes, most recently The Great British Bake Off, is likely to boost baking-related gifts.

Online sales are set to account for 10.6% of the total retail spend in 2012 and, says Cindy Etsell, head of retail, SAS UK & Ireland: "Click and collect and M-commerce will be particularly attractive for the time-pressed over Christmas. And, while spend is up, volume is down and so discounting is expected to be a big part of retailers' strategies. The combination of multi-channel shopping and heavy discounting will increase competitive pressure."