Department Store Christmas Awards 2022
Christmas is the most magical time of the year (besides the scorching temperatures Down Under). It’s an occasion for loved ones to reunite, overindulge in Christmas ham (and maybe beer and wine), tell bad jokes, and blast holiday jingles until someone cracks it. That about sums it up?! To help make the festive season even merrier (and easier on your sanity and budget), Canstar Blue has produced a guide to the best-rated Christmas products.
Canstar Blue surveyed 3,000 Australians for their feedback on the Christmas items they’ve purchased from a department store and used within the last year. This includes gift wraps & cards, Christmas decorations, lights, trees, and crackers & bon bons.
- The outcomes reported in these ratings are measured via accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics.
Respondents rate their satisfaction with their Christmas products and decorations (purchased from a department store) from zero to ten, where zero is extremely dissatisfied and ten is extremely satisfied. Brand satisfaction was rated by respondents on the following criteria:
- Overall satisfaction: measures consumer satisfaction with a Christmas product or decoration brand as an individual score NOT a combined total of all criteria.
- Quality: the quality was acceptable and the Christmas product or decoration was made from durable materials/fabric.
- Variety: the department store offered a wide variety of Christmas products or decorations, including various design options, sizes, and price points.
- Design: the Christmas product or decoration was equally functional and festive.
- Value for money: the Christmas product or decoration was reasonably priced given the quality/quantity.
The winning brand is the one that receives the highest Overall satisfaction rating once all the scores from the Overall satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.
- Overall satisfaction is asked as a specific question and represents an individual measure, not a combined total of all criteria.
- When we cannot determine a clear winner from the criteria for the Overall satisfaction rating, we will then look at the other criteria measured in the rating.
- The brand with the highest number of five-star ratings within the supporting criteria will become the five-star recipient in overall satisfaction, and thus win the award. If a clear leader still cannot be determined from the supporting criteria, joint winners will be declared.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The brands rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.
Our Department Store Christmas Awards feature popular retailers like Kmart, Big W, Target, Myer, as well as David Jones in some categories.
Find more detailed information on our ratings methodology.
Best-Rated Christmas Trees – Big W
Did you know one in ten Aussies (9%) buy a new artificial Christmas tree every year? If you’re in the market for a new centerpiece to impress your folks, our consumer ratings found Big W was rated best for Christmas trees for the second year running in 2022, achieving five-star reviews for quality, design, variety, value for money, and overall satisfaction. Target ranked second after rating best for value for money, design, and quality, while Kmart came in third with mostly four stars, leaving Myer behind on three stars overall.
Best-Rated Christmas Lights – Big W
Our research found that 18% of people struggle with untangling Christmas lights every year. To avoid getting twisted with your next festive display, our consumer ratings revealed Big W was rated best for Christmas lights with five-star reviews across all categories. These include quality, design, variety, value for money, and overall satisfaction. Kmart came in second with top marks for value for money and variety, while Target and Myer finished third and fourth respectively.
Best-Rated Christmas Decorations – Big W
Are you in the same camp as the 40% of people who decorate their Christmas tree and home interior every year? Our consumer ratings found Big W was rated best for Christmas decorations after receiving five stars for quality, design, variety, and overall satisfaction. Kmart managed to rate best for value for money and got top marks for variety, while Target performed well on the quality front alongside Myer. David Jones finished in second place despite not scoring any five-star reviews.
Best-Rated Christmas Gift Wraps & Cards – Big W & Kmart
With a third of consumers (30%) recycling gift wrapping, bags, bows, and ribbons from Christmas, it’s important to find the right packaging for your gifts if you want them to last past the season. Our consumer ratings revealed Big W and Kmart were jointly rated best for Christmas gift wraps and cards, both scoring five stars for design, variety, and overall satisfaction. However, Kmart was considered the best bang for buck, while Big W was the best for quality. Target ranked second with four stars across the board, while David Jones and Myer bottomed out with three stars overall.
Best-Rated Christmas Crackers & Bon Bons – Myer
A whopping 56% of Aussies we surveyed use and read jokes from Christmas crackers and bon bons, so finding the right ones to add to your place settings is important. Our consumer ratings revealed Myer was rated best for Christmas crackers and bon bons with five-star reviews for quality, and overall satisfaction. Kmart came in second place with top marks for design and value for money, while Big W scored third place with five stars for variety. Target landed in fourth place.
You may also be interested in:
How much do Aussies spend at Christmas?
Our survey revealed Aussies spend an average of $104 on festive decorations, roughly $266 on food and drinks at Christmas, and a whopping $599 on gifts for family and friends. Adding up all those costs means Aussie households are forking out nearly $1,000 at Christmas each year!
Here are some tips and tricks consumers who took our survey shared to help reduce their Christmas bills:
- A whopping 45% of households serve a mix of supermarket-branded and home-baked or cooked Christmas foods
- Two in five (42%) also ask guests to bring a plate of food and their own drinks
- One in three (35%) set a spending limit on gifts for each person
- 41% reuse the same Christmas decorations every year
Meet our consumer experts
Megan Birot: Home & Lifestyle Editor
Megan is Canstar Blue’s Home & Lifestyle Editor, leading the team that focuses on consumer products and services, ranging from supermarkets and groceries to home and personal appliances and retail stores. She interprets Canstar Blue’s bespoke research on the thousands of brands that we compare, rate and review, to help shoppers make better purchasing decisions.
Samantha Howse: Consumer Research Specialist
Samantha Howse is Canstar Blue’s Consumer Research Specialist, coordinating the consumer research program behind our customer satisfaction awards across Canstar and Canstar Blue in Australia and New Zealand. Sam has earned a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from Griffith University and, with seven years in market research and 2 years in marketing, she is experienced in survey design, implementation and analysis, coupled with an understanding of marketing principles and best practice.
Past ratings
Here are the previous winners of Canstar Blue’s Christmas product ratings:
2021
- Christmas Trees: Big W
- Christmas Lights: Kmart
- Christmas Decorations: Target
- Christmas Gift Wraps & Cards: Kmart
- Christmas Crackers & Bon Bons: Kmart
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