Designer Home Accessories Should Down a Treat This Christmas

At this time of year, consumers are on the lookout for thoughtful presents to hand over to loved ones and many may opt to give designer home accessories to their friends and family members. After all, people always need products to help ensure their homes look the part and there are plenty of superb items on the market. House proud Brits Research conducted recently by Helpucover suggested that accessories for the home could be a particular hit among house proud Brits. The organisation polled a total of 5,800 adults and found that more than eight in ten had spent up to £5,000 doing up their homes over the last four years. Despite the fact that UK national and household incomes have fallen by more than 13 per cent this year compared with 2008, 84 per cent of respondents had invested in alterations to their properties.

Kitchens are key It’s often said that kitchens are the heart of homes and the study by Helpucover emphasized this point. It revealed that 21 per cent of property owners had installed a new kitchen. There are lots of different accessories available for these areas that can help ensure they look and function perfectly. From luxury coffee making machines to stylish dishwashers, dinnerware, ornaments and much more, there is no shortage of choice. Other priorities Of course, kitchens were not the only areas consumers were eager to enhance. Just over a fifth (21 per cent) of respondents had installed new bathrooms within the last four years, while half had replaced flooring or carpets. In addition, seven per cent had painted the outside of their abodes, while five per cent had added an extension or loft conversion.

This was despite the fact that more than 50 per cent of the individuals polled did not expect their currents houses or flats to be their homes for life. Still spending Commenting on the findings, Sarah Potter from Helpucover said: “Despite 56 per cent of us wanting to move on from where we’re living and the UK having been in recession, our survey shows that we’re still spending money on home improvements.” Making the most of the web Increasingly, consumers are using the web to source luxury home accessories, whether for themselves or as presents for others. Highlighting this trend, Visa Europe recently predicted that the third of this month would be the busiest in terms of e commerce in the UK’s history.

It suggested that around £320 million would be spent on its cards alone, which would represent a rise of more than a fifth compared with the same day last year. Because of the high volume of traffic it expected, Visa Europe dubbed the occasion Mega Monday. A significant proportion Dr Steve Perry, commercial director at Visa Europe, remarked: “On Mega Monday, people across the UK will go online and use their Visa cards to make 6.8 million transactions, the most in a single day in UK history. That’s 21 per cent more than in 2011, signalling that consumers are becoming increasingly accustomed to the advantages of shopping online for everyday purchases and special items, especially in the lead-up to Christmas. “Online shopping now accounts for a significant proportion of all retail spend. This reflects the confidence that shoppers feel about the security of using their Visa cards for online transactions.”