Last year the Bulgarians spent over 1 billion EUR for Christmas presents, parties and trips. In 2019 this amount is expected to see 10% increase. In other words, each citizen spends an average of EUR 200 for gifts for relatives and friends. This is due to the fact that in 2019 the salaries in the public and the private sector saw 10% increase on average which means that the disposable income of the Bulgarians went up. A New Year’s Eve spent in some neighboring countries like Turkey, Greece, Serbia and North Macedonia also costs EUR 200 on average. This year, however, long-distance journeys will be less, because only January 1 is declared official holiday. According to research of Gallup International, over 2.4 million Bulgarians (out of all 7 million) are considering the possibility to travel for the forthcoming Christmas holidays and the winter season. Although Bulgaria ranks last in the EU in terms of purchasing parity, the Bulgarians do not want to punish themselves or their relatives with financial restrictions during the holidays. 33% of the respondents of Alpha Research sociological agency say that 2019 has been good for them and only 14% of the surveyed answer that this year has been worse. What does the Bulgarian consumer intend to buy for a gift? Like in previous years, the Bulgarians traditionally buy toys and Christmas decorations, clothing, cosmetics, shoes and electronics. Let us remind that some of these gifts were already bought in November during the Black Friday and on Cyber Mondays when huge price discounts were made and many people preferred to buy Christmas presents in advance.

Once we know what to buy, we have to decide whether we will purchase in the traditional shops and shopping malls or virtually in Internet sites. Many consumers worldwide fight with this dilemma. In Bulgaria this problem does not seem that significant, because according to a survey carried out by Eurostat, only 21% of the Bulgarians buy online, whereas in Western European over 60% of the population is used to making purchases on the Internet. According to shopping experts, people usually make hybrid decisions- they buy both online and in traditional shops. However, the number of people purchasing on the Internet has been constantly increasing over the recent years, because in 2008 only 3% of the population were buying on Internet. Despite the alarming forecasts of some analysts about a forthcoming economic crisis, 55% of the Bulgarians believe that in 2020 this country’s economy will continue to grow, employment will be high and salaries will continue to rise. Many people, however, will resort to their savings or take bank loans for various reasons and here is a good news. According to survey of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 68% of the companies are planning to give Christmas bonuses to their employees ranging between EUR 250 and 500. The Bulgarian pensioners with lowest pensions also received Christmas bonuses from the state budget to the tune of EUR 20 each.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov