It has been revealed that 21 per cent of consumers intend to pay for their Christmas shopping and related expenses with a credit card or another form of credit.
According to research by Abbey, this is despite the fact that spending on festive food with all the trimmings is down by an average of 17 per cent.
In addition, more than half (52 per cent) of Britons are intending to spend less on this year's Christmas gifts for friends and loved ones, while 34 per cent admitted that they would not be purchasing anything at all.
As well as using a credit card, some 20 per cent claimed they would be dipping into their savings to fund the seasonal celebrations, although 51 per cent stated that they would be sacrificing a luxury treat for themselves in order to meet costs.
Meanwhile, new data from the Office for National Statistics has revealed that the recession is likely to be deeper than originally feared, leading some economists to speculate that interest rates will have reached zero by 2009.
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