Coventry ranked third in list of “most stressful” UK cities to do Christmas shopping

Coventry has been ranked the third most stressful city in the UK to do Christmas shopping in 2024 due to an abundance of factors.

Experts at Moneyboat have conducted research to identify the most stressful cities in the UK for Christmas shopping based on numerous variables. These variables include parking availability, train station volume, international visitors, number of bars and restaurants, and number of shopping centres.

Coventry has approximately 19 car parking locations in the city, which is considered low according to Moneyboat. The limited number of car parking spaces makes it overwhelming to do Christmas shopping in bulk or for a family and is thus deemed to make the shopping experience more stressful.

A key factor that Moneyboat uses to identify how stressful it is to do Christmas shopping, is the quantity of international visitors. Coventry has 133,000 international visitors annually, which may add to the overwhelming nature of Christmas shopping in the city.

In contrast to Coventry, Nottingham has received the award for the least stressful city to do Christmas shopping, with 44 car parking locations and fewer international visitors than other major urban centres.

Overall, Coventry received a score of 3.12 when it comes to how good a city is for Christmas shopping, which is considered low

Another key factor that led to Coventry being classified as a “stressful city” for Christmas shopping is the lack of bars. Coventry only has 15 bars, which is considered below the standard that Moneyboat holds when measuring how “stressful” shopping is during the festive period.

Moneyboat scored UK cities based on the selected variables, with each factor rated on a scale from 0-1 and these ratings then added together to provide a total score.

Overall, Coventry received a score of 3.12 when it comes to how good a city is for Christmas shopping, which is considered low. Nottingham, on the other hand, received an impressive score of 5.8.

Another West Midlands city that has been classified as one of “the UK’s most stressful shopping cities” is Birmingham, which was ranked as the fourth most stressful city for Christmas shopping, right below Coventry.

This is mainly due to Birmingham’s high quantity of international visitors (over 803,000), a factor which may make it overwhelming for those doing their Christmas shopping especially when the city’s annual Christmas market is on.