Aussies have embraced the festive spirit early — half have already completed their Christmas shopping, with the remaining planning to leave it until the final weeks and days leading up to Christmas day.
The finding comes from a survey conducted by Instant Scratch-Its, which also found the “significant other” was the first and the favourite on Aussies’ shopping lists.
Surprisingly, more than 90% of survey respondents revealed they loved to buy Christmas presents each year. However, it pays to make a list and check it twice, with about a quarter of Aussies admitting they’ve forgotten to buy a yuletide gift for someone in the past.
With less than two weeks until Christmas, Instant Scratch-Its spokesperson Ally Ramsamy said the research pointed to a last-minute dash through the aisles.
“Among the 50% who have yet to complete their shopping, most admitted they were simply too lazy or disorganised to do it any earlier,” she explained.
“Some mentioned that it was because it was the Christmas season and it just “felt right” to do it then. Several other respondents said they waited until December because they were saving and looking out for all of those Christmas sales.
“Hearteningly, Aussies have put their partners at the top of their lists for the simple reason that they’re the most important. Others explained that they purchased for their significant other first because if they forgot to buy their gift, they’d be added to the naughty list. Several survey participants wisely noted “happy wife, happy life”.”
With Christmas being the busiest time of year for Instant Scratch-Its, Ms Ramsamy said some Aussies could find a top prize of $100,000 in their stocking on Christmas Day.
“Those giving Instant Scratch-Its this year will also be thrilled to discover that almost 85% of Aussies said if they won a top prize on an Instant Scratch-Its ticket they would share it with the person that gave it to them,” she said.
This year’s Instant Scratch-Its Christmas range features three different games $1 Christmas Gift, $2 Christmas Wishes and $5 Merry Christmas.
Between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020, there were 151 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across The Lott’s jurisdictions who collectively took home more than $11.8 million in top prizes.
During this same time, Instant Scratch-Its players enjoyed more than 29.1 million wins across all prize tiers worth more than $235.25 million. This equates to more than half a million dollars won on Instant Scratch-Its every day.