SHOPPERS in the south have been warned to avoid panic buying in order not to blow their budget this Christmas.
Equifax said 8 per cent of people in the south leave their gift buying until Christmas Eve.
This comes from a new survey conducted the global organisation and it has said leaving seasonal shopping until the last minute increased the risk of overspending.
It has warned consumers to plan ahead to avoid having to pay off unnecessary Christmas debts in 2017.
Londoners and the Welsh (16 per cent) are the most likely to hit the shops in a panic, compared to just 6 per cent of consumers from the East of England.
Shoppers in the North (12 per cent) are the next region most likely to do their festive gift buying late, but people in the Midlands are far more organised, with only 7 per cent still buying five or more gifts on Christmas Eve.
When asked if they would be buying five or more presents on Christmas Eve, men (11 per cent) were slightly more likely to be last minute shoppers than women (10 per cent). Perhaps surprisingly, the over 55s are less organised than younger shoppers with 12 per cent gift buying on Christmas Eve, compared to 8 per cent of 18 to 24 year-olds.
“Planning ahead is likely to ensure that you can bring Christmas in on budget,” explains Lisa Hardstaff, Equifax credit information expert.
“There’s no use bagging a few bargains on Black Friday, only to blow the budget in a panic on Christmas Eve. Leaving gift buying to the last minute means there’s a temptation to spend more and put it all on credit card.”