Sunshine Saturday: Savvy Brits using cashback savings to afford 2025 holiday

More than a quarter of Brits are planning to use their cashback savings on Saturday (January 4) to help fund a 2025 holiday.

Dubbed ‘Sunshine Saturday’, the first Saturday of each year is often the busiest day for holiday bookings for travel operators - a time when travellers plan their getaways and escape the gloom and doom with holiday companies unveiling big discounts.

Research with 2,000 adults and conducted by the UK’s largest online marketplace, OnBuy, reveals that Britons are gearing up to spend an average of £1,272 on holidays in the New Year.

The survey also shows that one in four people (27%) plan to use cashback savings to fund trips to new destinations.

Gen Z leads the charge, with over a third (34%), followed closely by 29% of millennials doing the same, intending to use cashback for exploring new places, while half of Boomers (51%) plan to treat family or friends with their savings.

Beyond traditional travel plans, some respondents aim even higher, with aspirations to fund space tourism (8%) or attempt a world record (9%) using their cashback savings. This highlights the diverse and ambitious ways cashback can enable extraordinary experiences in 2025.

Despite this enthusiasm, the average Briton estimates losing out on more than £1,800 in unused perks such as cashback, free insurance, and cinema tickets every year due to complex codes, third-party sites and difficulty claiming offers. Switching to the UK’s only instant cashback shopping platform, OnBuy, will help consumers maximise their savings and turn their dream holidays into reality.

Consumers typically spend around £1,574.30 annually on platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Shein.

By using OnBuy, which offers instant cashback on every single item - and additional cashback deals ranging from 2.5% to 15% - which also double for returning VIP shoppers, they could earn up to £78.72* in cashback each year, with younger shoppers potentially gaining even more – up to £95.95 annually.

This small boost could make a significant difference, adding an extra 6% to holiday budgets.

Rosie Fitzgerald, Head of Brand at OnBuy, said: “There’s truth in the old saying that if you look after the pennies, the pounds will take care of themselves.

"People are always on the lookout for ways to save, especially at the start of the year when financial goals are top of mind. Whether it’s funding that long-awaited holiday, treating friends, or even saving for an out-of-this-world trip to space, small savings like cashback can make a big difference.

"At OnBuy, we make it simple for shoppers to turn everyday purchases into extraordinary experiences.

"As the only marketplace offering our six million customers instant cashback on every product, OnBuy puts savings control in shoppers’ hands. Instant cashback can be redeemed, saved, or withdrawn to make 2025 holidays a reality”

*Based on OnBuy’s offering of an average of 5% cashback across millions of products onsite.