Consumer Analysis: Culture and Christmas Shopping in Britain Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of consumer behavior during the Christmas shopping season in Britain. It examines the unique shopping culture of the UK, highlighting the tendency for last-minute purchases and the prevalence of panic-buying. The report delves into the historical context of Christmas celebrations and their evolution into modern consumer practices, including the rise of online shopping. A SWOT analysis is conducted to compare food and non-food retailers, evaluating their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The analysis reveals insights into consumer spending habits, online research trends, and the impact of these behaviors on retailers. The report concludes with recommendations for retailers to improve sales and customer relationships, alongside strategies for mitigating potential risks. The study utilizes existing literature and data to support its findings, offering a valuable overview of the UK Christmas shopping landscape.

Consumer Analysis1
Culture and Christmas Shopping in Britain
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Consumer Analysis2
Table of Content
Abstract.......................................................................................................................................................3
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Literature Review........................................................................................................................................3
SWOT Analysis for Food against Non-Food Products............................................................................4
1. Strengths......................................................................................................................................4
2. Weaknesses..................................................................................................................................4
3. Opportunities...............................................................................................................................4
4. Threats.........................................................................................................................................5
Overall Analysis..........................................................................................................................................5
Recommendation and Conclusion...............................................................................................................6

Consumer Analysis3
Abstract
This study will establish the fact that Britain has a unique shopping culture compared to other
European nations. Most Britons leave their shopping activities to just a week before Christmas.
More than half the Briton population is established to experience a thoughtless approach
regarded as panic-buying. According to this activity, one in five Briton adults will prepare a
schedule of the things he or she would buy for Christmas every year. On the contrary, most
Briton adults would buy the first thing that they spot just to 'get it done'. However, there is one
third of the population that would leave their shopping to just a week before Christmas. This
leaves them in a rush to grab bits and pieces since they try to have things bought in time (Barbu,
2011).
Introduction
The history of Christmas celebration dates back to A.D 336. On the contrary, the celebration has
changed with the modern way involving the sharing of food and gifts between friends and
family. This celebration is done on the 25th of December in the United Kingdom. However, the
days leading to Christmas are included in the season. Way back before Christmas day, people
save money and stock their houses with decorations and food. The task is always expensive.
About 39 percent of households end up spending about 200 British pounds excluding presents
(La Rosa, Loos and Pastor, 2016).
Literature Review
In 2016 alone, the Britons spent about 748 British pounds per person in the Christmas period. In
this period, people majorly buy products online. It has also been established that in 2016, Britons
spent about 299 British pounds per person to buy products online (NASDAQ, 2017).

Consumer Analysis4
According to Amazon, 62 percent of Britons performed online research before shopping for
products. Mostly, people bought Christmas gift cards. However, there is also a large number that
bought electronic devices like computers and mobile phones (NASDAQ, 2017).
SWOT Analysis for Food against Non-Food Products
1. Strengths
Most British food retailers have sound finances compared to non-food retailers. Such finances
give them advantages over other competitors (Analysis, 2017). Other factors are:
- Positive cash flow
- Growing profitability and turnover
- Good credit control and skilled financial management
- Proper marketing
- Availability of an established customer base
- Having an effective offline and online presence
2. Weaknesses
Some of the weaknesses affecting food retailers include:
- Poor management of finances as a result of inadequate funds.
- Lack of marketing focus due to factors such as having unresponsive attitudes to the
requirement of customers.
- Failure to innovate and complacency
- Personnel and management flaws
- Inefficient production due to factors such as shabby premises and poor location
3. Opportunities

Consumer Analysis5
Both food and non-food retailers in Britain have a number of opportunities that they could use to
increase their sales (PNMSOFT, 2017). Such opportunities include:
- Improving access to new markets and customers through opening oversea ventures.
- Increasing sales to existing customers
- Developing alternative channels of distribution like social media platforms
- Introducing financial bankers
4. Threats
Some of the threats include:
- Emergence of new competitors and improved competitive products
- Significant loss of customers
- Failure to supply the required quality of products
- Legislative, political, or regulatory changes like cost increment (Analysis, 2017).
Overall Analysis
Since Britons rush to do last-minute shopping, about 45% of the population loses its festive
cheer. While around 17% perform shopping activities a month before December 25th, most
people buy nonfood products compared to food products (Kissinger, 2017).

Consumer Analysis6
Recommendation and Conclusion
To increase overall sales the retailers need to:
- Build proper relations with customers and suppliers
- Promote proper employee relations
- Potential disasters like data theft and cybercrimes should be insured against.
- Come up with proper contingency plans to curb potential crises.

Consumer Analysis7
- Intellectual property invest in should be legally protected (Analysis, 2017).

Consumer Analysis8
Reference
Barbu, C.M., (2011). Cultural adaptation of products. Management & Marketing, 9(1), pp.105-
110.
Kissinger, D. (2017). Nike Inc. SWOT Analysis & Recommendations - Panmore Institute.
[online] Panmore Institute. Available at: http://panmore.com/nike-inc-swot-analysis-
recommendations [Accessed 17 Jan. 2018].
La Rosa M.· Loos P. & Pastor O. (2016). Business Process Management. 14th International
Conference, BPM 2016 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
NASDAQ (2017). NKE Income Statement. [online] NASDAQ.com. Available at:
http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/nke/financials?query=income-statement [Accessed 17
Jan. 2018].
Open Innovation. (2003). Open Innovation :: Open Innovation Community. Openinnovation.net.
Available at: http://openinnovation.net/about-2/open-innovation-definition/ [Accessed 17
Jan. 2018].
PNMSOFT. (2017). Business Process Management. [online] (BPM) Software. Available at:
http://www.pnmsoft.com/resources/bpm-tutorial/bpm/ [Accessed 17 Jan. 2018].
SWOT Analysis. (2017). "SWOT Analysis Of Amazon". Managementstudyguide.Com.
Available at: https://www.managementstudyguide.com/swot-analysis-of-amazon.htm.
[Accessed 17 Jan. 2018].