Consumers have doubts about holiday shipping
Only one-in-three consumers has a high degree of confidence they will receive holiday packages by the delivery date.
While more than half (53%) of consumers across Australia and New Zealand, France, Germany, the Middle East, the U.K., and the U.S. expect holiday packages to arrive within two to four days, only 34% are very confident about the delivery date.
As a result, 78% of respondents to the Blue Yonder 2025 Global Consumer Holiday Shipping Survey are planning to shop at least three to four weeks in advance.
[READ MORE: Leading consumer delivery issues include…]
Other key findings from Blue Yonder’s 2025 Global Consumer Holiday Shipping Survey include:
- 86% of respondents prefer to ship gifts for those outside of their households directly from retailers. Gen Z and millennials significantly favor direct shipping (91%) over Gen X (83%) and baby boomers (76%).
- Many respondents in the U.K. (43%) and the U.S. (40%) aren’t willing to pay any additional cost for expedited shipping, compared to those in Australia-New Zealand (32%), Germany (28%), France (24%) and the Middle East (11%). Across generations, with almost half of baby boomers (49%) expressed unwillingness to pay any additional cost, followed by lower percentages of Gen X (34%), millennials (22%) and especially Gen Z (15%) respondents.
- More than half (53%) of respondents are willing to use in-store pickup to receive their online purchases faster, followed by locker pickup (42%). These are also the top two alternative methods for consumers seeking free shipping, with 49% of those respondents willing to utilize in-store pickup and 38% opting for locker pickup.
- 56% of respondents are willing to bundle purchases to minimize the environmental impact of shipping, while 34% are open to slower shipping options to reduce emissions. In addition, 23% of respondents are willing to pay a fee for carbon offsets.
“The shipping and logistics industry has faced a variety of challenges this year, and our reveals how these disruptions are reshaping consumer behaviors,” said Ann Marie Jonkman, VP, global industry strategies, Blue Yonder. “Consumers across regions and generations are entering the holiday season with higher expectations around speed, affordability and sustainability. These shifting priorities could have major impacts on retailers and logistics service providers as we enter peak season—with the potential to influence year-end sales performance significantly.”
The Blue Yonder 2025 Global Consumer Holiday Shipping Survey was fielded by a third-party provider in October 2025. Blue Yonder surveyed over 6,000 consumers across Australia and New Zealand, France, Germany, the Middle East, the U.K., and the U.S. to gather insights on how shipping is impacting consumer shopping behaviors this holiday season. Responses were collected from consumers who confirmed they plan to purchase gifts for the holiday season.
