Looking for the biggest holiday shopping trends for 2024? Advertisers in the US will invest over $350 billion this holiday season, bringing customers in-store for the most important retail period of the year.
After 12 months of tight spending due to cost-of-living concerns, retailers and advertisers can enter the end-of-year sales season with hesitant optimism. While shoppers are still looking to save, they are also expected to spend the same amount as in 2023.
According to a PWC report, 77% of consumers intend to spend the same or less than last year. Deloitte also predicts an optimistic holiday season, with retail spending increasing between 2.3% and 3.3% from 2023. While consumers are still wary about rising costs, it seems they aren’t willing to sacrifice their annual holiday celebrations.
Top 6 holiday shopping trends in 2024
Some of the biggest trends impacting retail for the 2024 holiday season include Gen Z, travel, and frugality, just to name a few. Here they are in detail.
Young shoppers looking to treat themselves
According to a recent survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, 41% of consumers want to spend on themselves this holiday season. Even with strict budgets, self-love is a priority for many Gen Z and millennials with 47% of Gen Z and 56% of millennials planning to participate in this trend in 2024.
Travel takes flight
Travel is taking over holiday budgets in 2024. While gift spending is expected to rise between 2.3% and 3.3% as mentioned, the average total spending on gifts, entertainment, and travel combined is expected to rise by 13% (an average total of $1,853).
While gifts and entertainment are steady sources of spending during the holidays, travel is making a huge comeback. In 2020 and 2021 travel took a huge hit with lockdowns worldwide. Years later, it seems the travel industry is picking up the pace – and this holiday season is shaping up to be an ideal time for launching campaigns and attracting those travel-bug-bitten customers.
Big on gifts, not on spending
Even with optimistic predictions for the 2024 holiday season, shoppers are still looking to save wherever possible. In a recent survey, 46% of consumers said they intended to hold true to their budget this year and spend less on holiday gifts.
This means sales are a critical part of remaining competitive this holiday season. Savvy shoppers will be on the lookout for good deals.
The same survey showed that 38% of shoppers are most interested in deals and discounts that will make holiday celebrations more affordable and 56% think that the holiday season is a good time to shop because of the prevalence of sales and discounts. Shoppers have their eyes out for good prices, and not just on gifts. Shoppers also want to shop more locally, with 27% of respondents looking to hear about local deals when consuming advertisements.
If you have last-minute budget to spend or some extra space on your social calendar, now is the time to push sales and get the attention of savings-hungry shoppers.
Early sales are effective
Shoppers are looking to start early this year; retailers can take advantage by launching campaigns early. While not every customer is keen to make their holiday purchases on their first outing, enticing sales and promotions can draw them in. Customers who start early tend to do so for two reasons: to avoid crowds and to find sales.
As mentioned in the previous point, sales will be key this holiday season and early sales will make the difference in November. eMarketer reports that 62% of consumers will begin their holiday shopping in October or earlier this year, 30% of shoppers plan to start in November, and only 8% plan to start in December. While too late for this shopping season, take this lesson to heart and start planning in Q3-2025 for your holiday campaigns (if not earlier).
Another key point to consider is that certain demographics are more likely to shop early than others. Parents, in particular, are more likely to shop early, with 31% of parents doing most of their shopping in or before October.
Food budgets are tight
It is apparent across industry predictions that customers are conflicted between saving money and spending to get the most out of their holidays. This is especially true when it comes to parties, events, and food. In a recent survey, 56% of hosts expressed having mixed feelings about saving and spending for this year’s special events.
But even with this conflict, saving looks to be winning out. 66% of respondents in this survey expressed looking to save as much as possible. For those who are willing to spend – they aren’t willing to spend as much as they did in 2023. Millennials in particular are predicted to spend less with 64% of millennials stating that they would spend more than their original budget on food for a holiday event – down 8% from 2023.
December is still a big shopping month
According to data from Google, 36% of holiday shopping happens after Cyber Monday, making December a key month for retail. 43% of shoppers even enjoy shopping in the December period.
As December hits, many shoppers still have at least half of their shopping left. In 2023 eight shopping days in December surpassed Cyber Monday in sales volume. 2024 will see the same or better sales figures during the last month of the year. Availability and convenience are top of mind for last-minute shoppers.
Need help with any last-minute ad strategies? Illumin’s platform is uniquely equipped to hit the ground running for brands and agencies looking to make the most impact with their ad spend in these last few weeks of the holiday season. Request a demo below to find out how.
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