With Christmas just around the corner, new data from digital marketplace Gumtree has revealed that more than a third of Australians are concerned about their ability to pay for festive expenses.

According to Gumtree, 10 per cent of Australians are working extra hours in December to pay for items bought over Christmas, while almost 1 million people are selling pre-loved items on online marketplaces to make some extra cash.

According to Gumtree, the most desirable gifts this year are gift vouchers (22 per cent), electronics (12 per cent), and clothing and accessories (10 per cent).

However, one in ten Aussies (13 per cent) said they don’t want a Christmas gift at all.

On average, Australians purchase Christmas presents for six people each year, which Gumtree said equates to approximately 99 million gifts changing hands at Christmas time.

The average Australian spends around $680 on Christmas presents each year. This equates to $9.9 billion spent nationwide.

However, due to economic uncertainty and stagnant wage growth, more than one in three Australians are now more concerned about their ability to pay for Christmas based expenses, including gifts, food, entertaining, and decorations.

But despite Aussies being concerned about affording Christmas, only 6 per cent are selling items around their home on marketplaces such as Gumtree to make extra cash.

According to Gumtree, one quarter of Australians (26 per cent) save all year to ensure they have funds at Christmas.

As many as 82 per cent of Australians are trying to save money on their Christmas shopping this year, with almost one in five (16 per cent) people—the equivalent of 2.5 million people—doing this by carefully seeking out gifts from online marketplaces, like Gumtree.

Half (53 per cent) of Australians are planning on doing their Christmas shopping online. While one in ten (12 per cent) say they plan to pay for gifts with a credit card, loan, or buy-now pay later services.

Other ways people are saving money on their Christmas shopping this year include waiting to purchase items when they go on sale (49 per cent), and not giving as many presents or tightening the gift giving budget (37 per cent).

Given that we are currently living through the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half of Australians (53 per cent) have stated that they would be more open to buying someone a unique second-hand gift.

Moreover, 63 per cent of Australians would choose a high quality or uniquely sought out second-hand item over a lower quality item which is brand new.

Featured image source: iStock/Kerkez