ZAGREB, 19 Dec (Hina) – Most Croatians plan to keep their Christmas gift spending at last year’s level, while online shopping continues to play a major role, according to a survey by Ja Trgovac magazine and Hendal market research agency published on Friday.

The survey shows that 83% of citizens plan to buy Christmas gifts, a stable share in line with previous years. One third of respondents (33%) plan to spend up to €50, while 29% will spend up to €100. A further 20% expect to spend more, including 14% who will spend up to €200 and 6% more than €200.

Around 70% of respondents said they will spend the same amount on gifts as last year, up from 54% a year earlier. Meanwhile, 21% plan to reduce spending and 10% to increase it.

At least some gifts will be bought online by 58% of citizens. For 38%, gift shopping is described as “pure pleasure”, down from 46% last year, while for the remaining respondents it represents stress or a mix of stress and enjoyment.

The survey also found that 8% of citizens plan to go skiing or on a winter holiday this year, down from 13% last year.

The research was conducted in November on a nationally representative sample of Croatian citizens aged 16 and over.