Core Facts
- Does Christmas have to be on 25th December?
- If you could save £100s, would you delay Christmas to have an Alternative Christmas?
- 12 million Brits think so, considering shunning tradition to make the most of Boxing Day bargains
Next year could see the beginning of families spending an Alternative Christmas, celebrating Christmas Day on the 27th December to save money, according to research from home phone and broadband company TalkTalk (http://www.talktalk.co.uk/).
The survey finds that almost 12 million Brits would happily buy all their presents, decorations and food at rock-bottom prices in the Boxing Day sales, and delay their entire family Christmas celebrations until the 27th December.
Four million people said they would consider such drastic action if it saved their family as little as £100.
15 million of us are already set on waiting until the post-Christmas sales to buy our loved ones a present. In fact a whopping £1.56 billion will be spent on pressies after Christmas.
If you delay your entire Christmas Day, TalkTalk has worked out that the average family could in fact save an estimated £208 each.
Quotes
Mark Schmid, TalkTalk:
"Britons are made to pay hugely inflated prices around Christmas, but this year it seems that millions of us are prepared to buck the trend by buying presents in the sales after Christmas. Delaying the entire Christmas celebration until December 27th might seem extreme, but in these tough times it's a great way of saving money if you're prepared to hang on an extra few days!"
"At TalkTalk you won't find any Christmas price hikes - you'll get the same first-class value and service all year round. You'll also get the flexibility and transparency that Britons are demanding in the credit crunch."
Boilerplate Statements
TalkTalk, launched in February 2003, is the home phone and broadband company from The Carphone Warehouse, the third-largest broadband provider in the UK. It now has 2.7 million broadband customers signed up to TalkTalk and AOL Broadband, which it acquired in October 2006.
The TalkTalk fully unbundled network now extends to approximately 1,700 exchanges, covering 80% of the UK population, with 73% of TalkTalk customers now on its own network.
In uSwitch's Customer Satisfaction Report in 2008, TalkTalk was voted the best value for money home phone provider and the best value for money bundle (combining home phone and broadband). This is the most comprehensive survey of UK telephone and broadband suppliers, and is based on the verdicts of over 10,000 home phone and 11,000 broadband customers.
In November 2008, TalkTalk became the first phone and broadband package to move away from the ‘one size fits all' package. myTalkTalk delivers value through choice by enabling customers to tailor a package that suits them. myTalkTalk provides essential, an award-winning 8Mb broadband service along with a great value phone bundle. Boost products can be added for £4 a month and enable customers to upgrade their internet security, speed and download limits as well as access great phone deals such as ½ price mobile calls, anytime calls and calling features.