A NEW study has revealed that Wrexham is the one of the best towns in Wales to shop for second-hand gifts this Christmas.

Carried out by sustainable living experts, Bower Collective, the study factors in the number of vintage, second-hand and charity shops, as well as the number of table-top sales per capita, to find the best places to go thrift shopping ahead of Christmas.

As much as £42 million worth of Christmas gifts are unwanted and sent to landfill each year.

To break the taboo around second-hand gifting this festive season, Bower Collective have released a study looking at the number of vintage stores, second-hand shops and vintage and second-hand events per capita across UK towns and cities to find the top places to find pre-loved presents.

Considering all factors, the study found that Swansea is the ‘thrifty-gifting’ capital of Wales.

However, Wrexham has the most second-hand shops per capita.

The town has 21 shops to explore - or 34 second-hand shops per 10,000 people, the most per capita in the UK.

The town's markets are a good place to find a unique pre-loved gift, with shops such as vintage computer game shop House of Retro in Tŷ Pawb and Mad4Movies in the Butcher's Market.

Since 2018, searches for ‘sustainable gifts’ have increased by 989% in the UK, ‘kilo sale’ by 167%, and ‘charity shops’ by 95%

Overall across the UK, Norwich, Worthing, Newcastle and Worcester are the best places to buy a pre-loved present.

From looking at Google search trends, the study also found that people in Britain are searching for ‘sustainable gifts’ 988% more than they were three years ago.

The study can be found at https://bowercollective.com/pages/the-uks-best-thrifty-gifting-spots