Nearly 90% of people plan to spend less this Christmas

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Consumers look set to cut back on spending this Christmas as the cost of living crisis takes hold.

89 percent of consumers say they plan to spend less, or not increase their spending on their families while 41 percent will spend less on gifts for friends.

The figures from EY Ireland are contained in its latest Future Consumer Index which also finds 37 percent will purchase less food for celebratory meals to avoid waste this Christmas and 44 percent plan to use less festive lighting and decorations at home.

Colette Devey, EY Ireland Partner and Consumer Products and Retail Lead said consumers are becoming more selective when it comes to spending.:

"We're looking at consumer behaviour and are seeing what we're calling the emergence of the era of the conscious consumer.

What that means in fact is that on one hand consumers are exercising caution, particularly in light of rising inflation rates and increasing energy and household prices, they're feeling more constrained in their ability to spend and will be making conscious decision about how they spend through the upcoming festive period."