PayPal: Here's how holiday shopping is changing
With financial concerns top of mind, holiday shoppers are starting earlier, seeking more value and prioritizing flexibility.
Those are some of the findings of PayPal’s 2026 Holiday Shopping Survey, which found that while holiday shoppers aren’t aren't necessarily spending less this year, they are changing how they shop. More than half (58%) plan to shop before Thanksgiving, while 67% are more likely to shop with a retailer that offers rewards or cash back.
READ MORE: Study: Pre-Thanksgiving share of total Cyber Week sales continues to rise
The study found that 58% of Americans feel greater financial concern heading into the holidays, yet 64% still expect to spend the same or more than they did last holiday season. Setting and sticking to a budget (36%) is the top way consumers plan to manage their holiday spending, followed by comparing prices (32%) and waiting for sales or promotions (31%).
In other findings, 67% of Americans are willing to use all their saved rewards to help purchase the perfect gift, and 55% have saved rewards they could use for holiday shopping.
Other findings from PayPal’s holiday survey are below.
•More than half of consumers (55%) have used or considered buy-now-pay-later. Among those consumers, three-quarters plan to use or are considering using BNPL for holiday shopping.
•Forty-two percent say they would be more likely to make a purchase if BNPL were available, 56% value BNPL's ability to help them manage the cost of a higher-value gift, and 57% say it would help them manage the cost of gifts for several people.
•Seventy percent are willing to visit multiple stores, while 63% would spend hours searching online for the perfect gift.
•Clothing (52%), toys and games (38%), and beauty, personal care and fragrance (32%) are the top categories where they plan to buy this holiday season.
•Consumers would cut back on dining out (39%) and gifts for themselves (35%) to make room for holiday spending.
"What's changing isn't consumers' desire to spend during the holidays, but how they're going about it," said Frank Keller, president of checkout solutions & PayPal. "Shoppers are starting earlier and taking a more intentional approach, looking for deals, rewards and cash back to make every purchase count while still prioritizing the gifts and moments that matter most.
About the survey
PayPal commissioned Morning Consult to survey a nationally representative sample of 2,005 U.S. adults from Sept. 2-4, 2026. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
