It’s a bad year for the Christmas sweater

Three-quarters of the UK’s shoppers plan to tighten their Christmas spending budgets this year, with gifts for friends and parties bearing the brunt of the cutbacks.

Even novelty Christmas sweaters look set to suffer, with 15 per cent of people saying they will no longer be forking out on the festive favourite, according to the Co-operative’s Christmas spending survey.

The Co-operative found evidence to suggest that people will shop more smartly this year, with one in five planning to use loyalty points and vouchers.

The number planning to rely on credit cards to pay for festive purchases has dropped from 40 per cent last year to 34 per cent.