Due to rising living expenses, Christmas budgets for Japanese consumers have decreased by 27%.

According to a Tokyo research firm on Thursday, Japanese consumers’ average Christmas budget is 16,329 yen, which is 27.7% less than last year as many try to cut costs.

A representative of Intage, which conducted an online survey of 5,000 people between the ages of 15 and 79 from November 22 to 25, stated that “the rising cost of living is a factor that has made consumers keep a tight hold of their purse strings.”

Customers seem to be preparing for higher spending during the nine-day holiday around New Year, the company said, in addition to the fact that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day fall on weekdays this year.

As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic subsided, Christmas budgets rose for two years in a row, according to surveys that were first conducted in 2021.

The mean budget for New Year, polled separately, was mostly the same as last year, according to Intage.

In response to a multiple-choice question concerning plans for Christmas, “No plans” was the most selected response at 51.1 percent, up 1.2 percentage points from last year, while 27.4 percent chose “Buy a present (including one for myself),” down 2.3 percentage points.