With four weeks to go until Christmas, the 2025 Bad Santa Delivery Survey reveals we’re a nation of crappy gift givers, with more than two-thirds (68%) of Australians receiving unwanted or disappointing gifts during the festive season.
Aussie women are bearing the brunt of dud Christmas presents (72%), compared to Aussie men (64%).
The new consumer survey from Australia's largest logistics company, Team Global Express, means Aussies are getting set to regift and return millions of underwhelming gifts this December.
Top 5 Gifts Most Likely to be Returned
Leading the list of Christmas catastrophes most likely to be returned is fashion, including the wrong fit and style in clothing (65%), followed closely by ill-fitting footwear (56%).
Older physical media like CDs, DVDs or video games for the wrong console still plague Aussie gift-givers (48%), while cheap perfume or aftershave (44%) and novelty items (42%) round out the top five most regrettable presents.
Last Minute Bed and Bathroom Panic Shopping to Blame
The nationwide survey exposed some eyebrow-raising last-minute shopping habits. Nearly half (46%) make eleventh-hour online gift decisions from their beds, while two in five (41%) panic buy at the supermarket.
More surprisingly, around one in ten Aussies (10%) are making online gift purchases from the toilet, with South Australians leading the nation in bathroom browsing (20%).
Aussie men (13%) are almost twice as likely than women (7%) to make their last-minute purchases from the loo.
"We've discovered some truly crappy gift decisions are being made from the toilet," said Andrew Wildblood, Chief Commercial Officer at Team Global Express.
"Ten percent of people are literally flushing their money away on presents which'll end up regifted or returned. Whether you're shopping from bed, the supermarket or the bathroom, slow down and think about what the person actually wants."
Gen Z and South Australians Most Likely to Regift
Gen Z lead the regifting generations at 58%, quickly followed by Millennials at 55%, compared to just 34% of Baby Boomers.
Nearly half (46%) of Australians surveyed said they have regifted a festive season present, including 10% who admit to doing it multiple times.
State rivalry heats up in the regifting stakes, with South Australians most likely to regift at 56%, followed by New South Wales residents (51%) and Queenslanders (40%), while Western Australians are least likely to regift (36%).
"We'll be moving millions of parcels across the country this Christmas, delivering the good, the bad and sometimes the very ugly," said Andrew Wildblood.
"Our mission is to help Aussies spend more time giving and receiving this festive season, instead of returning and regifting. "
In-Store Shopping Dominates
The survey also highlighted some good news for retailers, with nearly nine in ten Australians (87%) still preferring to shop in-store for festive gifts, with 72% heading to shopping centres and 54% supporting local independent stores.
However, three in five (60%) also shop online, with New South Wales leading the digital charge at 68%, compared to other states.
"Whether shopping in-store or online, a little extra thought at the checkout could save your gift from Santa’s sad sack and making the long-haul return journey in January,” said Andrew Wildblood.
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NOTE: Spokesperson Andrew Wildblood, Chief Commercial Officer, is available for interviews.
Media Contact
James Rickards
james.rickards@teamglobalexp.com
About the research: The research was conducted by YouGov on behalf of Team Global Express with an online survey of 1,025 Australians aged 18 years and older. Data was weighted by age, gender and region to reflect the latest ABS population estimates.
About Team Global Express: Team Global Express is Australia’s largest logistics solutions company, utilising trucks, aircraft and rail to offer unparalleled scale, reach and speed across Australia and New Zealand. We employ over 8,500 people and work with more than 5,000 delivery partners domestically and overseas.
