Almost half (47%) of UK adults plan to reduce their screen time over the festive period, a new IPA study has found.
According to The 2025 Christmas Consumer, this is even more pronounced among young people: 64% of Gen Z and 57% of millennials say they intend to spend less time on screens.
Notably, 37% of adults plan to take a break from social media during the Christmas season. Again, a higher percentage of Gen Z and millennials feel this way, at 51% and 44% respectively.
Almost two-thirds (65%) of respondents say Christmas is the time to put phones away and “be more present”, the study found, while 62% believe too much screen time “takes away from what Christmas should really be about”.
The IPA’s TouchPoints survey in June found that Brits now spend seven hours and 27 minutes per day on screens across mobile, TV, laptops, tablets and gaming consoles — up from six hours and 36 minutes a decade ago.
UK now spends longer on phones than watching TV
Wider Christmas trends
The IPA’s latest research also explored shopping habits and advertising trends for the festive season.
November and the first week of December is the peak shopping period: half (53%) of participants will buy their presents during this time frame.
In contrast, 3% have done all their Christmas shopping by June, while 1% do it during the final week leading up to Christmas.
Almost a third (31%) now do their shopping either mostly or exclusively online and 47% split their shopping between online and in store, indicating opportunities for the high street yet.
For the ad industry, Christmas is often referred to as “the UK’s Super Bowl”. The IPA has identified the top features consumers look for — although this is perhaps too late for the 2025 crop of ads.
The most sought-after features are: a Christmas setting (40%), nostalgic feeling (37%), humour (34%) and an engaging story (29%).
People seem less concerned with brand characters (15%), products and services (15%) and celebrity appearances (9%).
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For Eric Kreis, insight manager at the IPA, amid the increase in screen time as shown by TouchPoints, it is “perhaps no surprise” that consumers will be looking to digitally detox during the Christmas holidays.
“In an environment where capturing attention may therefore prove more difficult, brands will have to work even harder to stand out through relevant, resonant and emotionally engaging advertising, for which these latest insights point to a clear opportunity,” he said.
“For brands navigating the upcoming restrictions on less healthy food advertising, these findings may prove pertinent.”
The 2025 Christmas Consumer is based on a survey of 2,000 UK adults that was conducted by Opinium.
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