Consumers Aren’t Giving Up on 2025 Holidays Despite Uncertain Economy
A new consumer holiday shopping report from Salsify has determined that 75% of consumers will spend the same or more on gifts during the 2025 holiday season, with Gen Zers and Millennials leading the way.
Based on a consumer survey conducted in the United States and United Kingdom, the “2025 Consumer Holiday Shopping Report” – a first for the Boston-based business services firm – noted that amid ongoing economic and political turbulence, shoppers don’t intend to snap their wallets shut as the 2025 year-end festivities approach. Yet, Salsify added, shopping behaviors may vary from the past.
As they prepare for the holidays, 73% of shoppers said that they plan to participate in Black Friday this year, outpacing the 61% who intend to take part in Cyber Monday. As to destination, 11% of survey respondents said that they’ll shop exclusively in stores on Black Friday, while nearly one in four will seek both in-person and online deals. Younger consumers are fueling the shift toward mobile-first shopping, the preference of 46% of Millennial and 42% of Gen X consumers.
In the survey, half of all shoppers said that AI tools, such as chatbots and curated gift prompts, would improve holiday experiences, with 13% of Millennials and 11% of GenZers already using AI to shop, making it more influential than blogs, podcasts or print ads. Younger consumers expect AI shopping features, as 63% of Millennial survey respondents and 56% of GenZers said that artificial intelligence makes shopping easier and more personalized. Gen Z shoppers are more likely to use voice assistants or chatbots for gift-finding help than other demographics, according to Salsify.
The social media role in holiday discovery is fading, Salsify asserted. In 2025, only 28% of shoppers said that social media is their go-to channel for finding gifts, down from 35% a year earlier. When it comes to product discovery, search engines are important to 58% of consumers, online marketplaces to 48%, and retailer websites to 43%. Traditional communications, including television and streaming video ads, are influencing holiday shopping for 12% of Gen Xers and 10% of Millennials, outpacing blogs and podcasts.
Survey respondents ranked TikTok and Instagram lower in terms of discovery than marketplace ads, which are important for 38%, and email campaigns, significant for 34%, in their gift discovery influence.
Among gift givers, 61% want to purchase holiday gifts from brands that reflect their values, with Gen Z registering the highest preference for such gifts, at 75%.
