More than half of Hungarian households buy fondant candy during the Christmas season. Jelly versions have been the most popular for years and typically we buy our fondant candy pre-packaged in bags: two thirds of sales are realised like this and only one third is sold in bulk or in boxes. Fondant candy in bulk is the cheapest – 1kg cost HUF 700-800 last season, while the average fondant candy price was HUF 1,336/kg.

However, the proportion of more expensive and better quality fondant candies keeps growing from year to year. What about bejgli and its ingredients? In December we buy much more baking ingredients than in other months: we purchase one third more margarine, butter, pudding and dessert powder, we buy 50 percent more cocoa powder, vanilla sugar and cream, plus twice as much baking powder than the monthly average. However, not all households are affected by this ingredient buying frenzy. All in all, we can say that the average spending by household is higher in the Christmas season and they do not only spend more on consumer durables but also on FMCG products. For instance 2006 was an exceptional year from this point of view, with households spending 25 percent more than in the average month. Since 2008 Christmas spending has been losing momentum even though 2010 brought a small change in this negative trend. As regards clothing and fashion products, GfK Hungária’s FashionScope study revealed that a significant share of Hungarian households’ clothes acquisitions are scheduled for the last two months of the year, although this ratio has been lowering in the last three years. The Christmas season is really strong when it comes to buying accessories and sports clothing.