Survey: Consumers to shop earlier, hunt online for holiday deals
Holiday shoppers are expected to get an earlier start this year, while also searching for more deals and discounts.
Most consumers (65%) plan to start shopping for holiday gifts by Thanksgiving, with 22% beginning in September or earlier and 20% beginning in October, according to a report from performance marketing agency Tinuiti. By generation, 57% of Gen Z and 52% of millennials say they will complete about half or more of their holiday shopping before Thanksgiving.
Almost a quarter (22%) of Gen Z respondents say they will be holding out until Black Friday to start making holiday purchases, whereas just 8% of baby boomers plan to do the same.
When asked how tariffs will impact their holiday spending plans, 25% of respondents said they will search for more promos and coupon codes, while 24% say they will shop around more. Twenty-one percent say that tariff-induced price hikes are what will push them to start shopping for holiday gifts earlier, while 20% said they will buy more American-made products to avoid higher prices. Nineteen percent said they will buy fewer products this year, and 16% said they will buy cheaper brands.
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Only 9% of holiday shoppers said they don’t believe tariffs will impact their holiday shopping, while 18% said they are unsure. Younger shoppers are more confident in how tariffs will impact holiday spending, with just 12% saying they are unsure, compared to 24% among baby boomers.
Roughly a third (32%) of holiday shoppers expect to spend more overall this year compared to last, with 20% planning to spend less. Younger shoppers (Gen Z and millennials) are the most optimistic about their holiday spending with 44% expecting to spend more and only 14% expecting to spend less.
Among all shoppers, almost four-in-10 (37%) are expecting to ramp up online shopping, while 25% are planning to do the same in physical stores. Over 90% of all shoppers are expecting to do at least some online shopping this year, with 41% anticipating doing most or all of their holiday shopping online. This rises to almost half of Gen Z (46%) and millennials (44%).
Additional insights from the Tinuiti report include the following:
- More than three-quarters (78%) of Gen Z shoppers plan to use AI tools for their holiday shopping, along with 71% of millennials. This compares to 55% of Gen X and 35% of baby boomers.
- More than four-in-10 (43%) holiday shoppers said they have purchased a product after seeing an influencer endorse it. This jumps to 68% among Gen Z and 54% among millennial holiday shoppers, but is just 39% among Gen Z and 20% among baby boomers.
- When asked to identify what influences holiday purchase decisions the most, respondents were most likely to select price (72%) as one of the three most important influences. This was followed by free shipping (70%) and sales/discounts (64%).
- Only 10% of consumers chose sustainability or ethical sourcing as a top characteristic for holiday gift purchases.
Tinuiti’s report is based on survey results of 1,000 U.S. gift buyers.
