Consumer Experience and Research: December 2017

Monday, 18 December 2017

Christmas🎄😇💖

iReach Insights Press Release

92% of those surveyed will celebrate Christmas this year!

86% will spend time with family and friends during Christmas

Over 7 in 10 (71%) wish that Santa Claus was real.

89% reported feeling extra financial pressure with Christmas approaching.

Over half (58%) will attend Christmas Mass or St. Stephens Day Mass.

One-quarter (25%) list “Fairytale of New York” as their favourite Christmas song.

80% will put up a Christmas Tree this year.

As the holidays rapidly approach, Christmas is increasingly on everyone's mind, and plans for the holiday are at the forefront of many conversations. In a recent survey, iReach asked 1000 people in Ireland if and how they were planning on celebrating Christmas this year, their attitudes towards Christmas presents and financial pressure due to Christmas. The survey questions were included in the Nationally Representative iReach Consumer Decisions Omnibus run between the 23^th November and the 30^th November and has a 3% Confidence Interval and 95% Confidence Level.

Of those surveyed, almost all (92%) are celebrating Christmas, with 86% spending time with family and friends during the Christmas season. Other popular activities include eating Christmas Dinner (83%), putting up a Christmas Tree (80%), and decorating the house (78%). Others are planning on wearing a Christmas jumper to get into the Christmas spirit, with almost half (43%) stating they will wear one at some point. Popular times for those planning on wearing one include Christmas Day (49%) and random days throughout the Christmas holidays (45%), although 17% are planning on wearing one to a work party.

Additionally, over half (58%) will attend a religious ceremony, such as Christmas Eve Mass (26%), Midnight Christmas Mass (14%), or Christmas Day Mass (25%). Only 6% of those celebrating Christmas will attend St. Stephens Day Mass.
Often Christmas comes along with giving Christmas presents, and 8 in 10 of those celebrating Christmas responded that they will go Christmas shopping this year. Nevertheless, only 78% are planning on wrapping Christmas presents, 68% of males and 87% of females.
Most respondents appear to be on top of buying Christmas gifts, with only 16% waiting until the 23^rd and 24^th of December to buy gifts. Most buy their Christmas gifts in early December (57%), rather than getting ahead in October (12%) or November (39%). Only 5% buy gifts during the January Sales in preparation for next year. Of those who celebrate Christmas, over one-third (39%) are buying Christmas presents for people they can’t stand, with 14% buying at least 4 gifts.

Christmas is a time of celebration, happiness and good cheer. We at iReach wish you a very Merry Christmas filled with all your favourite Christmas songs (which for 25% of respondents includes “Fairytale of New York” as their absolute favourite)!

What about you? Share and comment!

Friday, 8 December 2017

Brexit

iReach Insights Press Release

33% expect Brexit to have a negative impact on their company's business activity.
23% state that their company is already experiencing negative consequences because of Brexit.
One in four companies have a plan for Brexit to make sure that it is ready for the changes that lie ahead.
76% of business decision makers think that the United Kingdom’s decision to withdraw from the EU won’t prove to be the right decision in the long term
37% of people think that Brexit will create more jobs in Ireland.

After the Brexit referendum on the 23rd June 2016 which showed that 51.9% of all British Citizens wanted to leave the European Union. Brexit has been a major concern not only for the British but also for people from all over Europe. Due to its geographic position and close trading ties with the UK, Irish companies are even more affected by the Brexit than their European partners and competitors. In a recent survey, Ireach Insights asked over 150 Irish Business Executives about their views on Brexit and what it means for business in Ireland.

The survey questions were included in a Business to Business Standalone 15^th November and the 30^th November and has a 3% Confidence Interval and 95% Confidence Level.

33% of business executives in Ireland expect Brexit to have a negative impact on their company’s business activity. 32% don’t think Brexit will have an impact at all, 28% this it will have equally positive and negative impact on business activity and only 8% think it will have a positive impact.

Over 1 in five (23%) state that their company is already experiencing negative consequences because of Brexit.

Of those (23%) already experiencing negative consequences, the Top 3 areas are Reduced Business Activity (30%), Impeded decision-making due to frequent currency fluctuations (28%) and confusion or delays in setting up future business strategies (23%). Other areas that are affected are loss of or other issues with supply chains (20%), non-planned increase in operational expenditures (20%), low employee morale due to insecurities about the company’s future (13%) and reduced levels of operational profit (8%).

When looking towards the future and planning for Brexit, only one in four companies have a plan for Brexit to make sure that it is ready for the changes that lie ahead. 40% have no plan and 35% aren’t sure whether there is a plan or not. The Top 3 areas people think further investment should be in: Skilled Workforce (24%), Expansion to new Foreign Markets (19%) and Research and Development (14%).

Overwhelmingly, 3 quarters (76%) of business decision makers think that the United Kingdom’s decision to withdraw from the EU won’t prove to be the right decision in the long term. 15% are unsure whether or not it will prove to be right for the UK and 9% think it will be. Although the majority don’t think that it will prove to be the right decision, 31% do agree that the United Kingdom is strong enough to remain economically competitive and successful without the rest of Europe.

Despite the concerns some people may have about Brexit, 37% of people think that Brexit will create more jobs in Ireland. 78% of people think that Irelands biggest competitive advantage in luring more multinational giants from the UK is mainly our low tax rates and well-educated, English speaking workforce.

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