How Consumers Will Shop in the 2021 Holiday Season | Criteo

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How Consumers Will Shop in the 2021 Holiday Season

What will holiday shopping look like in 2021? We surveyed 3,900 consumers globally to get a pulse on their shopping plans.

Updated on April 4, 2024

Even in the most challenging times, consumers have shown that they will honor holiday shopping and gift-giving traditions. But the way consumers discover and buy gifts has changed forever.

  1. Holiday Shopping Trend #1: Consumers consider their gift purchases months ahead of the holiday season.

    • In June, more than one-third of consumers are already considering gifts to buy. By September, this grows to over half (55%).

  2. Holiday Shopping Trend #2: Most Gen Zers will spend more in-store this year.

    • Most consumers (86%) will shop for gifts online, but 77% plan to shop in-store.

  3. Holiday Shopping Trend #3: Experience will drive in-store shopping.

    • 76% of Gen Z consumers cite the experience of shopping in-store as key to their decision.

  4. Holiday Trend #4: Convenience drives online shopping.

    • 68% say shopping online saves time. Younger consumers believe they will find better prices online.

  5. Holiday Trend #5: Gift discovery starts in stores, on search engines, and on retail websites.

    • 46% plan to start looking for gifts in physical stores, followed by search engines (45%) and retail websites/apps (31%).

At a time when consumers are driving shifts in global commerce, marketers need to take a new approach for the new seasonal shopper.