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A Very COVID Christmas: The Pandemic’s Impact on Festive Spending

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festive spending infographic

The Pandemic’s Impact on Festive Spending

View the high-resolution of the infographic by clicking here.

From mass job losses to not seeing family and friends for months on end, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed people to their limits in 2020.

As an incredibly difficult year draws to a close, people are starting to accept that this festive season will be anything but typical. But while a portion of consumers have reined in their spending due to financial uncertainty, others are spreading Christmas cheer by indulging in gifts for their loved ones.

The graphic above from Raconteur explores how consumers’ festive spending in the U.S. and UK has changed as a result of the ongoing pandemic.

Will the shift trigger permanent changes in the retail industry?

Festive Budget Breakdown

According creative agency Kinetic, half of all UK adults surveyed believe this Christmas is more important than ever before, with that figure rising to three quarters for 18-34 year olds.

However, given consumers’ concerns over the future of the economy, they are expected to reduce spending during the festive season. In the U.S. for example, spending will decline by 7% to $1,387 per household.

When it comes to how consumers plan to spend their hard-earned cash, some interesting insights emerge. As many have saved significantly on socializing and travel—which is down 34% year-on-year—they plan to put this money towards items for themselves instead of gifts and gift cards for others. These items include clothes, at-home entertainment, and home furnishings.

It therefore comes as little surprise that the global online home decor market is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of almost 13% between 2020-2024 with revenue of over $80 billion.

Dampening the Christmas Spirit?

Unsurprisingly, over half of all U.S. consumers are anxious about shopping in-store this holiday season. The vast majority have health and safety concerns, with 71% being the most worried about dealing with others who aren’t taking the virus seriously. This is closely followed by being around, or too close to others in stores.

Therefore, when it comes to physical shopping, people feel more comfortable in local stores or at outdoor markets and much less so in shopping malls.

Safety in Online Shopping

Considering this change in mindset, almost 60% of UK consumers said that they will be shopping online more this Christmas.

Here’s a closer look at how they plan to shop differently during the 2020 holiday season:

Shopping In-storeShopping Online
More12%59%
Same28%29%
Less60%12%

But while ecommerce sales are expected to spike over Christmas, delivery speeds and shipping delays are also major concerns for consumers. As a result, many of them started their shopping much earlier this year to avoid disappointment. In fact, over half of all UK shoppers had started their Christmas shopping before November had even arrived.

Bidding Adieu to 2020

The end to a painful year for many can’t come soon enough. But boarded-up storefronts, and “for sale” signs serve as a harsh reminder of the fragility of the retail sector and its reliance on consumer sentiment.

Even as we march forward guided by the hope of an effective vaccine, the future of retail remains uncertain. For consumers, their confidence will build once more, but how they choose to spend their money following the festive season will be more important for businesses and the economy than ever before.

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Brands

Charted: Number of IKEA Stores, by Country

Known for their size, labyrinth-like layouts, food, and of course, functional furniture, IKEA stores have become a whole shopping experience. But which country has the most of them?

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A cropped chart with the number of Ikea stores in each country.

Charted: Number of IKEA Stores By Country

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

The first IKEA opened in 1958 in Älmhult, Sweden, forever changing how students and young adults on a shoestring budget decorated their homes.

Its mission to provide simple, affordable, and functional furniture to the masses revolutionized an entire industry.

But in which countries does the Scandinavian brand have the biggest presence?

We visualize the number of IKEA stores globally, by region and country, using data from World Population Review. The source warns that per-country numbers tend to fluctuate as stores can open and shut at any time. IKEA’s own store count lists them by region only, and has a lower total number, suggesting stores have closed since World Population Review’s last count.

Which Countries Have the Most IKEA Stores?

IKEA’s biggest presence is in Germany, boasting of 55 stores in a country of 83 million people, or about one store per 1.5 million Germans.

RankCountryRegionIkea Stores
1🇩🇪 GermanyEurope55
2🇺🇸 U.S.North America52
3🇨🇳 ChinaAsia37
4🇫🇷 FranceEurope36
5🇪🇸 SpainEurope30
6🇮🇹 ItalyEurope23
7🇬🇧 UKEurope22
8🇸🇪 SwedenEurope20
9🇨🇦 CanadaNorth America15
10🇳🇱 NetherlandsEurope13
11🇯🇵 JapanAsia12
12🇵🇱 PolandEurope11
13🇦🇺 AustraliaOceania10
14🇨🇭 SwitzerlandEurope9
15🇧🇪 BelgiumEurope8
16🇦🇹 AustriaEurope8
17🇮🇩 IndonesiaAsia7
18🇹🇷 TurkeyAsia7
19🇹🇼 TaiwanAsia7
20🇮🇱 IsraelAsia7
21🇳🇴 NorwayEurope7
22🇮🇳 IndiaAsia5
23🇬🇷 GreeceEurope5
24🇵🇹 PortugalEurope5
25🇩🇰 DenmarkEurope5
26🇫🇮 FinlandEurope5
27🇹🇭 ThailandAsia4
28🇰🇷 South KoreaAsia4
29🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaAsia4
30🇲🇾 MalaysiaAsia4
31🇦🇪 UAEAsia4
32🇭🇰 Hong KongAsia4
33🇨🇿 Czech RepublicEurope4
34🇩🇴 Dominican RepublicNorth America4
35🇪🇬 EgyptAfrica3
36🇲🇦 MoroccoAfrica3
37🇸🇬 SingaporeAsia3
38🇰🇼 KuwaitAsia3
39🇭🇺 HungaryEurope3
40🇧🇬 BulgariaEurope3
41🇵🇷 Puerto RicoNorth America3
42🇷🇴 RomaniaEurope2
43🇮🇪 IrelandEurope2
44🇲🇽 MexicoNorth America2
45🇨🇱 ChileSouth America2
46🇵🇭 PhilippinesAsia1
47🇯🇴 JordanAsia1
48🇴🇲 OmanAsia1
49🇶🇦 QatarAsia1
50🇧🇭 BahrainAsia1
51🇲🇴 MacauAsia1
52🇺🇦 UkraineEurope1
53🇷🇸 SerbiaEurope1
54🇸🇰 SlovakiaEurope1
55🇭🇷 CroatiaEurope1
56🇱🇹 LithuaniaEurope1
57🇸🇮 SloveniaEurope1
58🇱🇻 LatviaEurope1
59🇪🇪 EstoniaEurope1
60🇨🇾 CyprusEurope1
61🇮🇸 IcelandEurope1
N/A🌐 WorldN/A498

A 2022 survey found that 96% of Germans knew of the IKEA brand of which 64% actively bought furniture from them. But it’s not only a passion for minimalist home design that Germans enjoy. In 2011, a German newspaper found that IKEA ranked as the second-most popular fast food place in the country, successfully beating out McDonald’s.

Across the Atlantic, the U.S. ranks a close second with 52 IKEA stores, most of them congregating on both coasts, though a fair amount can be found in the Midwest.

Both Germany and the U.S. are well-ahead of the next closest countries, China (37), France (36), and Spain (30), which round out the top five.

Like many other brands seeking access to the 1.4-billion strong market, IKEA has focused on China as a major growth opportunity. It prioritized more modular designs to fit smaller Chinese homes, a sharp contrast to their American consumers who wanted bigger beds and closets.

Some countries in the Middle East and Eastern Europe only have a single store. However, numbers don’t tell the whole story. For example, in Croatia and Lithuania, IKEA is the most-searched brand in the country.

In the Philippines (also with a solitary IKEA), shoppers are treated to a an incredible (or tiring) experience: in Pasay City, the biggest IKEA store ever measures 700,000 square feet, or the equivalent of 150 basketball courts. Before it had even opened, Filipinos reportedly crashed the website in a rush to sign up for loyalty programs.

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