According to a new poll, 6% of British pet owners admit to spending more money on their pets at Christmas than on individual gifts for their family, friends or loved ones.
A further 9% admitted to preferring to spend their time with their pet over their family, friends and loved ones during the festive period.
Nearly 3,000 Brits with pets were interviewed as part of the poll, and were asked who they would be spending Christmas with, and if they considered their pets part of the family.
Nick Swan, Founder and CEO of VoucherCodesPro.co.uk who carried out the survey, said "Cats and dogs are part of the family. Just because they are not human doesn’t mean you can’t treat them occasionally."
Pet lovers in South-West England topped the list of spenders, with owners willing to spend more than £75 on their pets over the Christmas season.
Website VoucherCodesPro conducted the research as part of an ongoing study into how Britons treat their pets during the Christmas period. 2,891 Britons aged 18 and over, all of whom admitted to owning a pet, were quizzed about the money they spent on their pets.
Initially all respondents were asked ‘Who do you plan to spend your time with over Christmas?’ to which four fifths, 81%, of respondents said ‘family’. Respondents also said they planned to spend the festive season with their ‘partner/spouse’ (55%), ‘friends’ (46%) and colleagues (16%).
All respondents were then asked ‘Do you consider your pet to be a part of the family?’ to which 92% of respondents said ‘yes’.
Following on from this, all respondents were then asked ‘Will you buy your pet a gift or treats for Christmas and over the festive period?’ to which almost two thirds of respondents, 64%, said that they would.
When provided with a list of possible presents they may buy for their pet, ‘toys’ (61%), ‘a new bed’ (43%) and ‘a festive stocking’ (40%) were the most popular choices. All those who stated that they would be buying gifts and/or treats for their pets over the Christmas period were asked to state how much they planned to spend, or had already spent.
Once all of the results were collated, an average cost was generated for each region of the UK, with the results as follows:
1.South West – £76.29 (amount people living in this region plan to spend on Christmas gifts for their pets)
2.North East – £71.44
3.Wales – £69.08
4.East of England – £62.57
5.London – £47.12
6.North West – £47.03 7.Scotland – £35.93
8.South East – £26.11
9.West Midlands – £22.80
10.Northern Ireland – £18.19
11.Yorkshire & the Humberside – £11.64
12.East Midlands – £7.82
At the GSPCA we have a selection of goods on sale for your pets this Christmas. The shop area is open 9am until 5pm Monday to Saturday and we also have an online shop with a selection of GSPCA goods - please click here
This Sunday with the Cheshire Home we have our Santa Paws Sponsored Walk and Christmas Fayre in the Inner Market Building where pet goods will be on sale - please click here for details
Steve Byrne GSPCA Manager said "It is amazing to see how much owners care for their pets, and Christmas has become as big a day for them as it is for all of the family."
"Guernsey is no exception to the UK trend of the amount spent on their pets as our Late Night Shopping Stall is always very popular in St Peter Port and the shop experiences an increase in trade at the GSPCA Animal Shelter."
"This Sunday we have our Santa Paws Sponsored Walk and Christmas Fayre in the Inner Market Building with the Cheshire Home and we will have plenty of pet goods on sale and you can also bring your dog into the dry to shop."
Santa Paws Sponsored Dog Walk & Christmas Fayre at the Market Bistro Sunday 14th December with the Guernsey Cheshire Home
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