This holiday shopping season may seem like every other, but marketers reading the tea leaves may notice that things aren’t quite as they seem — and a new holiday shopping survey of consumers backs that up.
As household budgets remain tight, planning around holiday purchasing has shifted. A recent consumer survey conducted by Omnisend shows that shoppers are starting their holiday shopping earlier, scrutinizing their spending, and leaning on flexible payment options. Marketers who understand these changing behaviors will be the ones to win big this season.
Three questions I’m asking about the holiday season:
- When do consumers plan to shop?
- How do they plan to spend?
- How can brands appeal to consumers?
When are consumers planning on shopping this holiday season?
Each year, the holiday shopping season seems to start earlier and earlier. When Amazon began running its Prime Day event in early October, it either intentionally or not, created a new, unofficial start to the shopping season. Since then, retailers like Walmart and Target have launched their own sales events to overlap with Prime Day.
Let’s be clear: people are doing their holiday shopping during these sales events. Though these sales are happening in early October, could it be that people are shopping even sooner? It appears so.
Nearly a quarter (23%) of shoppers in the U.S. stated that they plan to start their shopping before October. This makes sense. There is no shortage of news stories about the challenges tariffs have placed on the supply chain, and warnings from retail executives about the possibility of limited inventory this holiday season. This creates a sense of urgency for shoppers to buy and buy early.
Waiting until Black Friday and Cyber Monday to execute holiday promotions is no longer a successful option. Brands should begin marketing in late September or early October and be ready for a fast-paced marathon by the second week of October.
How much are consumers planning on spending this holiday season?
When belts get tightened, gift-giving typically gets reined in, and this should be expected. Nearly three of every four shoppers surveyed said they’ll spend less on gifts this year than last, with most spending between $250 and $499.
Spending less doesn’t necessarily mean buying fewer items. Shoppers may be looking for the best bang for their buck this season — aka spending less on individual gifts rather than cutting gifts altogether. This has a couple of implications for brands.
First, there’s a likelihood of consolidated purchases, meaning shoppers may choose fewer stores to shop with while spending more at the ones they do. Retailers saw this last year, with fewer total orders but a 55% higher average order value.
Second, 45% of American shoppers either plan to use or are considering using Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) this season, and more than half plan on carrying debt from this year’s holiday purchases. For brands, offering BNPL at checkout supports the trends of consolidated purchases and higher average order values.
But there’s a catch.
Roughly 20% of shoppers who used BNPL last holiday season still carry balances from those purchases. This may have a compounding effect, as some may think twice before using BNPL again. Brands should position BNPL as a convenience and consider coupling it with bonus loyalty points, special discounts, and other incentives that make shoppers feel like they’re getting full value from their orders.
How can brands engage shoppers this holiday season?
While all marketing channels should be used, first-party channels like email and SMS, especially automated ones, will have an outsized advantage this season. These channels are staples in the shopping journey, show increasing performance metrics year over year, and have lower costs than paid social and search.
Automated emails are especially effective, making up 37% of all email marketing orders and only 2% of sends. The three automations every brand should use during the holiday season are welcome messages, product abandonment, and shopping cart abandonment.
Each of these messages is sent at high-intent moments in the shopping journey. For example, a shopper who browsed a makeup kit two hours ago likely still intends to purchase. An automated product abandonment message can deliver customer-centric messaging that nudges them to come back and buy. These messages convert 15 times better than scheduled emails.
Regardless of the type of message being sent, there are a few types of messaging brands can use to appeal to shoppers. These include:
- Emphasizing value-adds such as shipping and returns policies, product quality, customer service, and other competitive differentiators. Each helps customers see the value they are getting by choosing your brand.
- Focusing on product pricing, such as with bundles or lower-priced product recommendations. Product bundles are a great way for consumers to get more for less while protecting margins. Showcasing product recommendations with lower price points can appeal to shoppers’ budgets, especially if there’s a free shipping threshold they’ll want to reach.
- Reinforcing a sense of urgency. Using messaging like “these items won’t last long” or “almost sold out” can motivate shoppers to act, even without a deep discount. This can be especially effective in product and cart abandonment messages.
Final thoughts
Early holiday shopping is the new normal. Alone, this isn’t a big deal, but brands also need to adjust to the economic realities of the current geopolitical environment. That’s not easy. To succeed, marketers need to adapt by striking early and appealing to what the majority of consumers want most this season: value.
Brands that anticipate these needs will be the ones that find the most success this holiday season.
For more expert articles and industry updates, follow Martech News
Greg Zakowicz, Ecommerce and Retail Advisor, Omnisend
Greg is a strategic marketer with a proven track record of driving growth for high-growth SaaS companies through content strategy, lifecycle marketing, and go-to-market execution. With deep expertise across ecommerce, retail, and MarTech, Greg has helped brands capture market share, strengthen customer relationships, and accelerate revenue by aligning impactful content with buyer intent and core business objectives.
Known for blending creativity with analytical rigor, Greg excels at transforming complex ideas into compelling narratives that resonate with audiences and deliver measurable results. His approach centers on customer-centric storytelling and building scalable marketing programs that fuel long-term brand value.
As a leader, Greg champions clarity, collaboration, and team development. Whether developing a brand story, building a high-performing content engine, or launching a new product narrative, he remains focused on meaningful outcomes and sustainable growth.
