the essential
After two years of inflation, how do Chaurians cope with end-of-year expenses, particularly those relating to Christmas gifts? The traders of Castelnaudary, for their part, reported a wave of late customers compared to previous years.
After two years of inflation marked by rising prices, the Chaurians are facing end-of-year expenses, particularly those relating to Christmas gifts. Between the desire to please and the need not to break the bank, everyone adapts their budget and strategies.
Less budget, handmade gifts: everyone has their own strategy
Some decided to allocate a smaller budget, like Adèle (first name changed). “This year, it’s complicated. We’re trying to spend a little less,” she confides. An observation shared by Marie, who adds: “We have less budget than before”. Despite everything, some families try to maintain continuity in their Christmas spending. Michelle, grandmother of three grandchildren, says: “I stick to roughly fifty euros per person, but I don't give huge gifts.” Planning is therefore necessary to succeed in finding your account. “I try to plan in advance, putting a little aside every month. But we still plunge the budget, we make ups and downs,” continues the retiree.
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As for Gaëtan and Justine, they adopted another approach: start shopping in November. “The earlier you start, the more fun you can have,” explains the couple, who managed to allocate a budget of 100 euros per person thanks to a distribution of expenses between them. Emmanuelle, for her part, has opted for a more targeted budget since she gives “gifts only to my children and my husband”, which allows her to spend almost 200 euros per person.
For Hélène, the important thing is to satisfy the wishes of her children, even if this involves significant expenses. “My daughter got a dryer, it was what she wanted. Making people happy is the most important thing,” she smiles. Faced with a tight budget, Nathalie preferred to turn to handmade presents. “We make a lot of homemade gifts for adults. For children, we often put envelopes with money or buy what they ask for,” she explains. With five birthdays in December, she has to be more ingenious to reconcile birthdays and Christmas.
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A late excitement
If on the budget side, the Chauriens adopt different tactics to find rare pearls to place under the tree, how do the merchants of Castelnaudary welcome the wave of customers this year? Despite the excitement of the end-of-year celebrations, one observation stands out: store traffic has fallen behind this year, a trend that several brands, such as Maison Pompon, have confirmed. “People are not yet fully in the holiday spirit, but it should intensify very quickly,” staff said in the first week of December.
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On the Kingtoy side, things are accelerating. “Christmas represents our most important period, with 30% of our turnover generated during this season alone,” explains Barbara, director of the Castelnaudary store. The brand has increased its workforce to respond to the intensification of activity. Same story as at Maison Pompon: the trend is towards a late wave, already observed last year. “It starts from Black Friday, at the end of November. But customers take as much as before, with budgets that remain stable,” she explains, emphasizing that the average budget for a child is of 150 euros.
At the top of sales: animated plush toys, Paw Patrol toys and the essential Lego which also attract “kidults”. Board games maintain their popularity, and King Cadeau's own brands “are all the rage. We work on wooden products, made in France, from recycled products”, underlines Barbara. This CSR trend also responds to growing demand. As for Maison Pompon, it is often the “favorite” gifts that attract: original ideas such as socks, posters or tea towels displaying messages are a great success. “Customers follow their favorites,” underlines the brand.
