While one in ten Czechs borrowed money for Christmas shopping last year, only three percent of people surveyed by the Czech Banking Association (CBA) and Ipsos are considering a loan this year. Most often, they want to borrow up to CZK 10,000.
“It is good that people are cautious when planning Christmas spending, and the vast majority of them would not go into debt for presents,” said Filip Hanzlík, chief lawyer and consumer affairs officer at the ČBA.
He added that even so, the association advised caution. “It is always a good idea to consider whether I have the means to repay such an obligation or to choose the provider of such a loan very carefully and always find out exactly how much I will pay for my loan,” Hanzlík noted.
The Czechs most often want to buy toys for children (42 percent) with the money they borrowed or plan to borrow for Christmas presents this year.
At 38 percent, they will buy white goods, 27 percent home furnishings, and 23 percent consumer electronics.
In 42 percent of cases, the most common reason for such a loan is a lack of savings. Almost a quarter do not want to wait and save for the coveted goods. A fifth of people is convinced by the fact that the item they are buying is on sale.
For the same number of people, the reason is that they want to give their children and family a lovely Christmas. On average, people plan to spend around CZK 7,500 on gifts. Last year, they reported an average of CZK 8,000.
An earlier STEM/MARK survey for Home Credit confirmed that most Czechs now want to spend less on presents. Due to high inflation, gifts are likely to decrease. Furthermore, according to the CBA, people currently expect to spend an average of CZK 3,500 on food and drink and around CZK 2,700 on Christmas decorations.
Christmas trees will be more expensive this year, along with carp or candy, by about ten percent.