Britons will have received £2.4 billion worth of unwanted Christmas presents this year, according to a new survey.
According to research from online classifieds website Gumtree.com, one in five people said mothers were the worst culprits for giving inappropriate gifts, followed by mothers-in-law (18%) and aunts (16%).
Every UK adult will have been given up to two presents they did not want this Christmas, each worth £48.41 on average.
A third of unwanted gifts end up gathering dust in the loft or the back of a cupboard, 15% are given away to someone else, and 2% are binned.
But half of Britons are too polite to express their true feelings about undesired presents and will thank the giver enthusiastically, according to the survey.
Just 10% of people will admit they do not want the gift and ask for a receipt, and only 4% will be completely honest about what they think of the offering.
Hamish Stone, from Gumtree.com, said: “From our research it’s clear that despite many people’s best efforts, homes across the UK are going to be cluttered with lots of unwanted Christmas presents this year.
“Rather than letting them take up valuable space in cupboards and garages, we’d encourage people to sell the unwanted presents online and convert the bloopers to cash.”
Anton Gething, Co-Founder & Product Director at nToklo, the social commerce and recommendations experts, believes that, by using the power of social media, retailers can make Christmas a happier experience for both giver and receiver.
“Many people did their shopping online this Christmas and would agree that it’s easier to shop for someone if you know what they want,” Anton Gething said.
“It may sound simple, but the ability to recommend and share products you like is something many retailers are missing out on. Through social media integration, and providing social discovery features, retailers can allow consumers to truly understand what each other wants and what would make a good gift. For retailers, being more social could make for higher customer approval and retention rates, while also making the consumer experience more fun and a little less stressful. This could be more than just a Christmas win for the often maligned retail industry, as well as gift givers and receivers across the UK.”