Circana: Holiday shoppers focusing on budgeting, planning, maximizing value
Holiday demand remains resilient, but shoppers will be stretching every dollar, according to a study on the purchasing intentions of holiday shoppers.
With their price expectations elevated, consumers’ holiday budgeting behaviors are widespread, with 74% of shoppers planning to change habits to save money, led by Gen Z (84%) and millennials (82%), according to Circana’s 22nd annual Holiday Purchase Intentions Study. Impulse buys are the biggest target: 23% of holiday shoppers plan to limit unexpected purchases.
Promotions lead the savings playbook, with rewards, loyalty, and store brands close behind. The study found that 30.2% of holiday shoppers plan to buy more on sale/promotion, 18.8% plan to use card points/rewards and 18.2% plan to buy more store brands.
Other ways shoppers plan to save money include using loyalty programs more (18%), substituting cheaper products (14.8%), buying bundled/value packs (14.3%) and setting price alerts (13,2%).
In addition, 12,2% plan to use gift cards already received. And 11.5% plan to use an AI tool to find best price.
Other findings from the Circana study are below:
•Mass merchants (46%) are the top in-store shopping destination, followed by warehouse clubs (26%) and dollar stores (25%). Other destinations include beauty specialty (22%), national chains (22%), off-price (22%) department stores (21%) and clothing specialty (20%).
•Online, pure players are the dominate favorite (76%), followed by mass merchants (30%). Eighty-three percent of consumers plan to do some online shopping this year.
•Social media drives purchase decisions, with 57% of consumers likely to make a purchase based on social media.
*YouTube, Facebook and Instagram remain the top social media platforms consumers use to research products. Nearly one-in-10 shoppers have used AI to buy a gift.
•Fifty-one percent of consumers will start shopping before Thanksgiving. But more than half (56%) won’t finish shopping until December.
•AI has entered the holiday toolkit: More than four-in-10 shoppers have used it, mostly for advice and finding items.
[READ MORE: Shoppers to use AI for holiday season]
•Shoppers plan to gift in the same categories as last year, but budgets per category are lower overall, with the largest declines in tech (15%), beauty (14%) and home (13%).
“Ultimately, holiday 2026 is expected to be price-led, front-loaded, and polarized,” stated Kiara Barrett, executive VP, head of global thought leadership, Circana. “Success will belong to retailers and brands that combine clear value with strong product discovery, reach consumers early in the shopping journey, and align assortments and experiences with the passions, priorities and budgets that matter most.”
