Masks and other disease prevention items were named as the South Koreans’ least desired Christmas presents.
On Dec. 21, Albacall, a platform where employers conduct contact-free interviews of candidates for part-time work, released the results of a survey of 919 South Koreans regarding their Christmas present preferences for 2020.
Around one in five respondents (21%) picked cash as their most desired Christmas present when only one choice was allowed. This was followed by a tablet PC or other IT device in second place (11.1%), a digital gift voucher in third (10.2%), a luxury item in fourth (8.1%), and a wallet/handbag in fifth (7.7%). Cash received the highest preference regardless of age or sex. Beyond cash, different age groups differed in preferences: respondents in their 20s favored IT (14.4%), those in their 30s chose digital gift vouchers (11.9%), and those in their 50s named health products (10.1%).
When age and sex were taken into account, women in their 40s and 50s showed a strong preference for luxury items (8.3%) and household appliances (6.9%), while men in their 40s and 50s favored health products (8.6%) and clothing (8.2%). Men in their 20s and 30s favored IT devices (15.3%) and gaming devices (7.1%), while women in their 20s and 30s favored IT devices (12.1%) and digital gift vouchers (12.3%).
Masks, hand sanitizer, and other disease prevention items were the least desirable presents (16.4%), followed by flowers (14.8%), gaming equipment (14.7%), health products (9.4%), and handwritten letters (8.6%).
Respondents predicted they would spend an average of 87,000 won (US$78.37) on Christmas presents, along with 84,000 won (US$75.67) on meals and other Christmas-related expenses. The survey was conducted online by Albacall over a five-day period from Dec. 7 to 11. A total of 919 adult men and women participated. The confidence level was 95% with a ±4.5 percent margin of error.
By Park Su-ji, staff reporter
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