The findings show that 82% of Brits will be the same or more engaged in Black Friday this year and 55% intend to make Christmas the biggest celebration yet, with an estimated £200bn accumulated in savings throughout the pandemic.

One in four are expecting their Christmas and/or Black Friday budgets to increase this year, with over 70% having the same amount or more money to spend on Black Friday and 78% for Christmas, compared with 2020.

Lockdown has left its mark on consumer behaviours, with 'looking for gifts digitally' cited by respondents as the number one lockdown learning.

In addition, 8 in 10 think that Christmas ads should be aired earlier or at the same stage as usual, with 41% wanting ads to be focused on getting the family together and 29% wanting them to be bigger, louder and more colourful than ever.

The research was based on a survey of 2,000 UK consumers carried out in June 2021, with all respondents recruited independently via Future plc’s research platform The Lens.

It included more than 30 in-depth questions about Black Friday and Christmas planning, budgets, gifting, shopping and preparing. The sample is nationally representative for the UK, with percentage split ensured for gender, geography, age and social class. Of this sample, 54% of respondents are Future readers.

Zack Sullivan, Chief Revenue Officer, UK at Future plc, said: “Future has studied and tracked the impacts on consumer behaviour over the past 18 months to react quickly to changing demands. With Future readers accounting for approximately £101 billion of the estimated £198 billion saved by UK consumers, our already proven content commerce model puts us in a prime position to deliver significant value for advertisers this holiday season.

"Over half of consumers (55%) say they will make Christmas the biggest celebration yet and a huge majority (82%) are expected to put their savings towards Black Friday and Christmas. As consumers begin to plan their purchasing decisions, it is imperative for advertisers to get ahead by starting their planning now and engaging with their audiences.”