Due to the constantly rising costs of living, more and more Poles refuse to participate in weddings and other family events. This news comes as Poles increasingly back out of getting married altogether.
Santander Consumer Bank commissioned a study to verify the approach of Poles to participating in family celebrations that involve spending money. The IBRiS study, conducted between April 2 and April 10, involved 1,000 adult respondents.
It turns out that as many as 40 percent of respondents do not plan to attend weddings due to financial constraints. In the case of participation in communions, the figure is 32 percent, and christenings, 29 percent.
However, there are simply fewer weddings overall to attend. Poles are increasingly not getting married, often postponing marriage for financial reasons, which holds back fertility decisions and may partly account for the record-breaking drop in births.
The data shows that the marriage rate per 1,000 people dropped to a near record-low in 2022, at 3.9 per 1,000 people, which nearly hit the previous record set in 2020 of 3.8. However, that previous low was in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, there is no pandemic excuse, just a country increasingly abandoning marriage.
As research shows, “children in Poland are mainly in married couples – they account for 41.8 percent of all families. Unmarried couples with children make up just 2.8 percent of families.”
As Poles increasingly turn away from marriage, often due to financial reasons, the fertility rate is crashing.
How much do Poles spend on gifts?
Beyond the cost of actually planning a wedding, Poles simply attending a wedding are balking at the costs. Those looking to go to a couple’s nuptials gave IBRiS different figures for what they would spend on gifts. The most frequently chosen amount is from PLN 401 (€94) to PLN 750 (€177), which was indicated by 28 percent of respondents. Other popular ranges are PLN 201-400 (24 percent) and PLN 751-1,000 (13 percent). For gifts for communion and a child’s christening, most respondents want to spend between PLN 401 and PLN 500, says PAP.
The youngest respondents aged 18-29 and people over 60 most often declare spending on gifts in the range of PLN 401-750. In turn, people aged 40-49 and residents of large cities more often choose higher amounts, from PLN 751 to PLN 1,000. The study shows that Poles’ financial decisions are strongly dependent on their life situation and location.
A more modest Easter
As with family events, this past Easter was also a time of belt-tightening. Reducing spending on Easter food – year-over-year – was announced by 41.9% of respondents this year, compared to 47.5% a year earlier, while 36.2% of consumers do not foresee such cuts (31% a year ago). This is the conclusion of the BLIX Group study.
The survey showed that 24.9% of those determined to reduce costs indicated a level of 10%-15% (versus 23.5% last year), 24% of consumers indicated the range of 15%-20% (versus 23.7% last year), and 15.5% of respondents indicated the range from 20%-30% (16.7% last year).
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