When Christmas comes, everyone forgets what they’re doing and starts to celebrate. In a market research agency, some people start celebrating even before December! However, many people forget how it affects businesses.
It’s the time of the year to relax for most people, but for some people work becomes the busiest it can be. For the people that work in the retail stores, the build up can be very stressful as many people come in to buy any and everything for their family and friends. Black Friday can also be a riot in the high-street, as everyone and anyone is trying to get the biggest deal possible. Their opening hours also become longer as people can take days or weekends out of their lives to go to their favourite shops.
The food industry also becomes extremely busy as every company books their work meal and every family buying a Christmas dinner. In 2017 alone, 4.2 million Christmas dinners were wasted in the UK. That’s just wasted and in the UK, think how many were eaten worldwide. It’s also been estimated that 42,000 chefs, 22,000 kitchen assistants, 15,000 waiting staff, and 13,000 bar staff will be working in pubs, hotels and restaurants. That’s nearly 100,000 people working on Christmas day for families.
Charities also become very busy around Christmas, as it is the time for giving. In December just over half of all UK households donate to a charity of their choice and 38% of people are more likely to donate to a good cause. Although this is extremely good for the charities and the causes they support, it makes them extremely buys and many places ask for part time volunteers.
Small and Medium sized businesses are impacted as many are run by a few people so having two days or two weeks off could potentially ruin their business. Many small or medium business (SME) owners miss their children’s nativity play and 75% of SME owners admit to working on Christmas day.
If you’d like to learn any more about how the Christmas period impacts market research agencies around the UK check out the infographic below.