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Russians to pamper themselves instead of relatives and friends for New Year's, says poll

A poll says Russians prefer spending more money on gifts for themselves than for relatives and friends

© Sergei Fadeichev/TASS

MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. Russians prefer spending more money on gifts for themselves than for relatives and friends, PayPal said in a survey.

According to the survey, most Russians are planning to shell out about 7,600 rubles ($114) on presents for themselves and just 3,500 rubles ($52.75) on their family or friends.

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About 34% of the polled Russians plan to buy clothing for themselves, while 28% view various accessories and 26% want electronic goods. For their loved ones, Russians will be shopping for accessories (41%), gift sets (35%) and clothes (20%).

The research showed that 25% of those polled started to shop for presents a month before New Year’s compared to another 25% who hit the shops two weeks before the holiday. Twelve percent go hunting for gifts a week prior to New Year’s and just 4% of them run around shopping on the eve of the holiday.

At least 73% of the polled Russians blame packed shopping malls and traffic jams as the main obstacles for their choice of gifts, whereas 40% cite a lack of time for shopping, PayPal says. Thanks to these factors, 40% of Russians to buy New Year’s gifts online.

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