Christmas is approaching and some consumers do not lose the old habit of leaving everything for the last hour. A survey conducted by the Credit Protection Service (SPC Brazil) and the National Confederation of Shopkeepers (Cndl) estimates that 14.6 million people left to buy gifts only one week before Christmas, which corresponds to 13.2% of Consumers who are intent on gifting someone this year-end.

Among those who left for the last hour, the main justification is the waiting for promotions with the goal of saving (39.2%), 16.8% claim that they will only receive salaries and payments close to Christmas and 12.6% because they are expecting the second installment of the 13th. Other 10.0% reveal that the reason is the laziness of shopping, leaving to buy at the limit of the commemorative date.

For the chief economist of SPC Brazil, Marcela Kawauti, leaving Christmas shopping for the last hour is not a wise choice for those who want to save mainly in times of crisis as the current one. "Many consumers leave to buy the gifts this week because of the receipt of the second installment of the 13th salary. But if the consumer leaves to buy a lot on time, it ends up not having time to search for prices or find cheaper product options and consequently spends more, compromising the budget, "says Kawauti.

SPC Brazil's financial educator, José Vignoli, agrees: Haste is the enemy of planning. "In the rush to guarantee all the items on the list and not leave anyone without a present, the consumer ends up giving less importance to the details, yielding to the impulsive purchases," he says. "The ideal is to make a list of all the gifts, define how much you can spend and take the money counted. In this way, there is no danger of exceeding the predicted value with the purchase of other gifts, "he advises.