Second-hand gifts to be given by one in four this Christmas
Charity Shops in Salisbury are seeing an increase in shoppers
One in four people are likely to give a second-hand gift to relatives or friends this Christmas according to research by Royal Mail.
A survey of 2,000 adults found that half said they would be happy to receive a second-hand or re-gifted present, with only one in four taking offence.
Most of the one in four respondents who plan to give second-hand gifts said they would tell the recipient with the most popular items including books, toys, jewellery and clothes.
Reducing costs and environmental concerns were the biggest motivators for giving second-hand gifts.
Jo King from the Salisbury based charity Alabare said:
"Lots of people say they go to a supermarket or somewhere, take something off the shelf that they've bought for ages and put it back because it's too expensive. I think that happens with children's clothes and all kind of things. I also think there is a younger generation coming into our charity shops now who are more aware of things like landfill."
Nick Landon, chief commercial officer for Royal Mail Parcel Collect, said:
"Many people own items they don't use that someone else would love."
A separate study by online giant Amazon found that half of adults say they enjoy hunting for deals on second-hand items.
The survey of 2,000 people suggested that one in three refused to pay full price for anything.
Only one in five respondents said they would mend an appliance if it breaks, preferring to throw away.
The most common reasons for giving up on a repair were not knowing where to start and worrying that attempts to repair something would make it worse.
Amazon said it sold four million returned and refurbished products in the UK last year online through its Second Chance service.