Spanish festive and sales shopping behaviour revealed: What and how we buy

SANTA Claus or the Three Kings? Now the festive season is finally over – Spain celebrates all 12 days – and the post-Christmas sales are into their second week, researchers into shopping habits, family traditions and other features of household economics have released some fascinating findings, some of which come as quite a surprise.

One unique aspect of the winter holidays in Spain – found elsewhere in the world, but still uncommon – is that gifts to adults and children alike have long been opened on the night of the Magi's arrival in Bethlehem, or January 5, following a colourful parade through towns and with the next day as a bank holiday.

The Three Wise Men are Kings in Spanish folklore, or Reyes, and the notion of their bringing the presents is a little more in keeping with the original biblical tale than the northern European Saint Nicholas custom – in The Netherlands, for example, the mythical Sinterklaas delivers the gifts much earlier in December, and Christmas Day itself is merely a family meal, so the Dutch effectively have two Christmases with the first of them being the main event.

Santa Claus has increased dramatically in presence in Spain in the past decade or so – in the early 2000s, he was practically unheard of and considered a foreign concept – but for practical reasons, Father Christmas' visit on the night of December 24 has become more widespread among families with young children: If you get your new toys within three or five days of breaking up from school, you have a whole fortnight to play with them and keep you occupied and out from under your parents' feet, rather than just one day or, at most, three, if January 6 falls on a Friday.

Traditionalists in Spain, especially devout Catholics, have often had difficulties accepting the Santa trend – in the same way as many decry Hallowe'en, an equally 'new' feature for Spanish society, believing it hijacks the genuine and more Holy celebration of All Saints' Day on November 1.

Now, credit card provider American Express has revealed what Spanish families really think of the festive ritual, how polarised or otherwise they are, and who is more likely to stick to what they know or to embrace the new.

Presents on Christmas Eve or Twelfth Night? Depends upon your age

The Three Kings – Twelfth Night and the Epiphany – continues to be the main present-giving time for families in Spain, but the past year or so has seen a dramatic rise in Christmas Eve gifts, although this differs considerably depending upon where you live.

Those based in, or originally from, the provinces of Málaga or Sevilla, for example, are far more likely to open their presents over the Three Kings, whilst those in the provinces of Valencia, or in Vizcaya in the Basque Country – the capital of which is Bilbao – tend to focus more on Christmas Eve night, when Spain as a whole celebrates a big family meal with the King's speech on the TV.

Perhaps surprisingly, it is the younger generations who lean more towards the Three Kings tradition, whilst those aged 50 and over are more in favour of Christmas Eve gifts, with one in three giving or opening theirs on this date.

Whether they believe in Santa Claus or the Three Kings, the latters' parade on the night of January 5 still holds promise of colour, excitement and joy – one in three adults, with or without children, told American Express during the interview that they intended to go along to the processions 10 days ago, a figure that may have been higher if it were not for the pandemic, and which was at its highest in the provinces of Barcelona and Sevilla.

If you're new to or visiting Spain: Three Kings parades typically start at around 17.00 or 17.30 on January 5, using floats – even though the Magi ride donkeys rather than camels in Spanish festive custom. January 6, as well as January 1 and December 25, are all public holidays, but if they fall on a weekend, you will not get an extra day off to compensate. Boxing Day, or December 26, is a normal working day, but businesses may close early on Christmas Eve ahead of the main family celebrations, and on New Year's Eve.

Even though some large public-facing businesses in big towns or cities may open on certain national or regional holidays, you can pretty much guarantee nobody will be trading on Christmas Day or New Year's Day.

What people buy in the sales tells us why they buy it

And once the Christmas season is over, and all the presents bought before or during it are now priced at anything from 70% down to 20% of their cost a few weeks back, the decision as to whether or not to hit the January sales typically depends upon how skint you are after the festive period, how much of a shopaholic you are, or whether you calculate you could genuinely be saving money by buying now what you think you are likely to need or want in a few months' time.

According to the American Express study, though, it would seem shopping for pleasure is more prevalent during the January sales than buying what you know you'll need whilst the prices are lower: Clothes and accessories are the overwhelming 'Kings' of discount season, especially among the younger generations, and are the most likely to be advertised on social media.

Residents in the province of Barcelona typically spend the most money on clothes in the sales; Sevilla-province residents splash their cash on cut-price electronics and similar technology items, whilst those in the province of Málaga focus more on health and beauty.

If you're new to or visiting Spain: Or, indeed, if you live here and are planning on some serious retail therapy before the sales end, you need to be aware of your rights as a consumer – luckily, shops are also aware of these, so you should not run into too much trouble, but it is worth doing your homework by reading up on them here.

Refund, exchange or store voucher: How often 'unwanted' gifts are returned

It's sad but true that people continue to return gifts to the shop if they are not to their taste, rather than being grateful for the thought and considering the items given to them as a token of a loved one's personality and their regard for the recipient; there is normally a good reason why someone gives you a certain present, like a book, film, record, or item of clothing or jewellery – generally because they thought it was 'very you' or believed you would like it. Wearing, reading, watching or listening to it can help push you out of your comfort zone and try something different, or, at least, in doing so, will be a reminder of that person every time.

Still, if you receive six identical items from as many different people, you might decide to talk to them all and see what they think you should do; perhaps they'll 'buy' it back off you and give you something else, or they might tell you to get a refund or an exchange voucher and then tell them what you spent it on.

The so-called Generation Z – those born in or after the Millennium year, meaning they are now a maximum age of 22 (not to be confused with Millennials, who were born between 1980 and 1999, and often called Generation Y), are more likely to want a refund than a store voucher or replacement item.

Those older than Generation Z tend to prefer an exchange or a voucher – the former can be an option if someone buys you an item of clothing which you love but which doesn't fit, especially if the same article is still on sale in your size.

In fact, across the board, 68% of respondents agreed with Generation Z and would prefer a cash reimbursement, especially residents in the provinces of Málaga and Madrid, compared with between 12% and 13% who would rather have an exchange or store voucher.

Happily, as many as 72% of those interviewed said they never returned presents received and were happy with everything given to them, so the American Express research concluded that those agonising doubts most of us suffer when gift-buying are generally unfounded – we're very likely to get it right, after all.

If you're new to or visiting Spain: You might not realise that, during festive shopping periods and, in many cases, at all other times of the year, you can ask for your purchases to be gift-wrapped, generally for free. This might be a 'fancy' bag rather than paper wrapping, but is guaranteed to save you money on rolls of what will only be ripped straight off anyway. Wrapping paper and sellotape can be recycled in Spain, as well as all other types of plastic, paper, cardboard and aluminium. Also, if you tell retail staff your purchase is a gift, they will normally ask if you want a 'blank' receipt in it, with the price not shown, in case the recipient wants to return it.

Remember that small retailers, and most retailers in small towns, will be shut for several hours over the middle part of the day, typically from around 13.00, but open in evenings until about 20.00; other than a few exceptions, they are nearly always shut on Sundays and public holidays – even supermarkets – and small-town shops may also be closed on Saturday afternoons.

Generally, in covered shopping centres, big towns or cities, and supermarkets or department stores, there will be no midday closure and premises are often open to the public up to around 21.00 or even later, but Sunday trading remains very much in the minority, so make sure you buy what you need between Monday and Saturday.

Up-front or on credit, cash or plastic: How we prefer to pay

Ongoing studies from various quarters, including actual financial statistics, have shown that non-cash payments in shops are gradually overtaking notes and coins across Europe and, despite Spain having long been assumed to be a mostly-cash economy on the high street, the ratio of physical versus virtual money changing hands has typically been around the EU average.

This has, of course, changed with the pandemic, as now, the vast majority of establishments accept card or mobile phone payments for almost any amount – small bars now taking cards for just one coffee are commonplace, whereas prior to 2020, they were rarer than the proverbial hen's teeth.

Payment habits in Spain appear to have changed for good, and almost overnight, according to the American Express study – the most-used method over the Christmas shopping and January sales periods so far has been contactless, either phones, or cards that do not have to be slotted into a card-reader.

A total of 60%, or three in five consumers have been opting for contactless methods since early December, and over half, or 56.6%, say they now use these far more than they used to before Covid.

Credit-card use, as opposed to debit cards, has increased; anecdotal evidence shows that until very recently, a credit card was thought of as an emergency resource, and indeed, banks would historically review the customer's account 'performance', income and job stability before granting one in the same way as they would with a personal loan, whilst minimum payments would be upwards of 10% of the balance each month with maximum payments of 50% sometimes imposed.

This means Spain has never had a tradition of using a credit card for literally everything and then paying off 100% of the balance at the end of the month, as is the custom in some more northern countries, such as the UK, where 'cashback', discount and free-gift options come with credit-card use and make it financially viable; in Spain, a credit card does exactly what it says on the tin and very rarely, if ever, does their use work out cheaper in the long run than a debit card or cash.

But credit cards as a mainstream payment method have risen by 6.1 percentage points, American Express finds, compared with the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021.

Again, it is not the youngest of adults who are leading the change – those aged 50 and over were more likely to use a credit card rather than debit card or cash for ordinary purchases, with more than half of them saying this was their default method.

Younger adults interviewed largely said they only used a card at all, debit or credit, because it was 'rare' to find 'alternative payment methods' they would rather use, such as mobile phone banking Apps, or Bizum.

If you're new to or visiting Spain: Nowadays, you will not often be forced to resort to cash unless you want to, so need not carry more than a couple of notes at the most in your purse as long as you have a credit or debit card. 

Mobile phone payment acceptance remains in the minority – it is gradually catching on, but bring a card with you just in case.

Cheques are almost never accepted, and cashing one or paying it into a bank account involves a fee – Spanish people, when sending money to people, use transfer methods, so it is not uncommon to give someone your bank account number, even as a trader to a customer. Make sure you keep a note of your IBAN and SWIFT or BIC code if you ever need to receive non-physical money, even if both the payer and your account are in Spain.

But cash is accepted anywhere in the Eurozone if this is your preferred method – under EU law, notes and coins in current circulation are legal tender and cannot be refused.

This said, notes of €100 or above may not be accepted in many establishments, particularly smaller ones, as retailers and bar-owners are not obliged to be able to guarantee change for them.

All establishments in Spain are required by law to accept non-cash payments for transactions of €30 or over, but these days, most will for very small amounts; if a minimum purchase is necessary, this will tend to be around €5 or €10.