French shoppers embrace optimism and smart spending in 2024
With the festive season just around the corner, French shoppers are gearing up for Christmas with a renewed sense of optimism and a keen eye for strategic spending. The latest 2024 Christmas Barometer, conducted by IPSOS for Rakuten of 2,500 French people, reveals some significant shifts in consumer behavior compared to last year.
French shoppers are not only more positive about their purchasing power but are also adopting savvy shopping habits to make the most of their budgets.
Renewed optimism on purchasing power
One of the 2024 survey’s most striking findings is the renewed optimism among French consumers. This year, nearly half of respondents (49%) believe their purchasing power will remain stable, a notable increase of 11 points from 2023, with 13% expecting an improvement. This marks a significant shift from the pessimism of previous years: 53% thought their purchasing power would worsen in 2022 and 50% in 2023.
Black Friday: The start of festive shopping
French shoppers are strategically shopping more than ever. 75% of respondents plan ahead to manage their budgets and 46% set themselves a budget to stick to, a trend that has risen by 3 points.
Black Friday remains a crucial event for bargain hunting, with approximately 80% of respondents planning to do their Christmas shopping during this period. This trend is particularly noticeable among the younger demographic, with 92% of 16–34 year-olds intending to take advantage of Black Friday deals.
“In a context where purchasing power is under pressure, the secondhand market helps the French to reconcile the pleasure of gift-giving with prudent budget management.”
Cédric Dufour, CEO of Rakuten France and Rakuten TV
One of the most notable trends in recent years is the growing acceptance of secondhand gifts. This year, 50% of French shoppers plan to offer secondhand or refurbished gifts, a practice that has significantly increased since 2020. The shift is driven by both economic and ecological considerations, with 32% of respondents believing that buying secondhand has a positive impact, up 4 points from 2023. The most popular categories for secondhand gifts include cultural items (46%), clothing (41%), and toys (38%).
Commenting on the rise of secondhand gift giving, Cédric Dufour, CEO of Rakuten France and Rakuten TV, said, “In a context where purchasing power is under pressure, the secondhand market helps the French to reconcile the pleasure of gift-giving with prudent budget management, while contributing to a more sustainable Christmas. We at Rakuten France are proud to play a central role in this transition, by offering our users a vast choice of pre-owned and refurbished products that meet their expectations, whether economic or ecological.”
Stacking up the Euros with cashback
The 2024 study reveals the growing popularity of cashback programs among the French. These reward systems, such as Rakuten Rewards in the U.S. and Europe, provide shoppers with a percentage of their spending back in cash.
Almost half of French shoppers (48%) said they are already using cashback programs to maximize their purchasing power, confirming the growing importance of this prudential option.
Reselling gifts after Christmas is also becoming increasingly common. Nearly 4 out of 10 respondents said they are prepared to resell gifts that don’t suit them.
For the first time, Rakuten asked the French to estimate how much they could earn by reselling their gifts after the holidays, and the results speak for themselves. On average, reselling gifts allowed French shoppers to earn 100 euros in 2023. Impressively, 23% of sellers earned more than 100 euros from the practice and 2% even exceeded 500 euros.
As we approach the 2024 holiday season, French shoppers are demonstrating a blend of optimism, strategic spending and sustainability in their shopping habits. Rakuten France continues to support these evolving consumer habits with a wide range of pre-owned and refurbished products, ensuring that the magic of Christmas is kind to both customer wallets and the planet.
Methodology
The Rakuten – IPSOS study was based on a national sample of 2,500 individuals representative of the French population aged 16 and over. The survey was conducted online in October 2024.
