Read on for our related articles from the Christmas Retail Survey 2007. 

Are consumers dreaming of a green Christmas? (Download the PDF, 61 KB)
The socially responsible individual faces difficult choices in adapting their lifestyle to reduce their personal environmental impact. Using recycable bags, low energy light bulbs and keeping unused appliances switched off is relatively easy as nothing ultimately is foregone. Cutting down on overseas holidays to faraway sunnier climes is perhaps a harder decision. Christmas might be seen as a similarly difficult test of consumers' commitment - especially if the challenege seems to involve making this season's environmental footprint smaller than that of last year.

Shopping in the information age  (Download the PDF, 59 KB)
In 2006, the UK e-commerce sector attained a major landmark. The average Internet user spent £1,000 on e-commerce. In all in 2006 UK consumers spent £30 billion using e-commerce, a significant increase on the 2002 figure of £5 billion. It’s not just e-commerce pure plays, such as Amazon.co.uk and Ocado that are generating huge revenues. Bricks and mortars stores are also thriving on the web, with Tesco now exceeding £1billion in sales from Tesco.com.

The cost of counterfeit at Christmas (Download the PDF, 152 KB)
UK consumers’ insatiable demand for luxury goods shows no sign of slowing. According to the Deloitte annual Christmas Retail Survey, nearly one in five of consumers surveyed intend to buy a designer handbag or shoes as a gift for friends and family this year and, perhaps not surprisingly, one in five also have designer items on their Christmas wish list. 31% of these are women aged 16-31.

The credit crunch: Should Santa tighten his belt? (Download the PDF, 54 KB)
Last year, we added a frosty note to this festive report, predicting a less than prosperous New Year for the UK consumer. We forecast increases in personal borrowing rates and the adoption of tougher lending regimes as banks attempt to reduce their losses in response to the rising number of personal insolvencies through bankruptcy or Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) and the backdrop of continued growth in consumer debt.

Radio Frequency Identification: An uncertain future (Download the PDF, 61 KB)
Our survey has revealed some interesting insights regarding leading UK retailers attitudes towards adoption of RFID. It is no surprise that improved visibility in the supply chain and better management of inventory feature as key factors influencing adoption.

Security: Covering what counts? (Download the PDF, 65 KB)
2007 has been another eventful year for retail security. The fraud story of the year was the security breach at TJX, in which the personal details of over 45 million customers were stolen. What lies ahead for retailers in 2008?

Self-checkout: Enhancing convenience through technology. (Download the PDF, 134 KB)
More consumers are embracing self-service checkouts with two-thirds using this facility compared with only half of the population in 2006. Our research demonstrates that people are now more comfortable using this service.