Mustard Director Gareth Hodgson discusses who REALLY owns Christmas…
When it gets closer to Christmas, my mind wanders back a couple of decades to the early days of my career in the research team at Iceland. Prawn rings. Random miniature party food. Ice Cream chocolates. Days spent in store to help keep the freezers stocked and customers happy (but getting assigned to the worst jobs because you were there from head office). Glory days.
Something you’d hear daily in the office back then was that “M&S own Christmas”. And there was no real dispute. ‘Special’ occasion food and drinks? Check. Socks, undies, dressing gowns and slippers? Check. Decorations? Check. Different gift items? Check. Something to wrap them up with? Check.
They even ‘owned’ the Christmas TV Ads which they returned to in a big way after two decades off television. When I was a lad in the 80’s, it was the Woolworths TV Ad you looked forward to, but in the 2000’s M&S took over the mantle featuring heavy hitters like David Beckham, Emma Bunton, and…er… Des Lynam putting the magic & sparkle into Christmas.
And then in 2007, along came John Lewis throwing warmth and emotion into the festive TV Ad mix. Suddenly Christmas was a John Lewis thing. People excitedly waiting for their adverts to be released. John Lewis became the brand most associated with Christmas. The M&S Christmas crown had slipped.
But in recent years, the John Lewis halo has got a bit rustier. Only once since 2019 have they topped Kantar’s consumer-based ranking of the best festive Ads. The Christmas period has been more erratic in terms of sales each year, with poor performances costing the MD their job and growth being at a smaller rate since.
In contrast, M&S have gone from strength-to-strength in recent years with significant Christmas sales growth in 2023 in 2024 across both grocery and non-grocery. Retail Gazette declared them “King of Christmas” in January this year.
So, who do consumers think owns Christmas in 2024?
We asked the question to UK consumers and the winner is… neither of them!
In the eyes of the nation, it’s Amazon who own Christmas. But only just. 17.7% choosing them compared to 17.5% saying John Lewis. M&S lags behind in third place with 11.3%, but well clear of 4th placed Tesco (3.9%).
Our Strategy Director Andrew Wiseman wrote about delivery, availability and ease being key to Christmas retail success earlier this month (click HERE to read that one). It looks like they trump Christmas ‘feels’ in the eyes of consumers too.
But not for all.
It’s those cold-hearted old Baby Boomers who think more functionally that are driving the overall Amazon win, with 23.9% choosing them. M&S actually rank second for this group (13.8%) with John Lewis taking the bronze (8%).
In contrast, the warm nostalgic hug of those John Lewis Ads from their youth clearly still resonates with Gen Z. They were significantly more likely to think that John Lewis own Christmas, with 28.6% highlighting them compared to 16.3% for Amazon and just 2% for M&S.
As Gen Z continues to age and their Christmas buying influence increases (more kids, more homes), will this emotional connection to John Lewis translate to a future Christmas surge in sales? Where’s the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come when you need him?
Right, I’m off to my beloved Woolworths to sort out the kids pressies…