2025 Holiday Shopping Preview: Consumers Will Spend Carefully, Shop Earlier, Buy Via Social Media, and Scrutinize Brand Values

Data from Basis Technologies Reveals How U.S. Consumers Will Navigate the Holiday Shopping Season

CHICAGO – June 26, 2025 – Basis Technologies (https://basis.com), the industry’s leading advertising automation platform, today announced survey results showing that 35% of U.S. consumers expect their holiday gift spending this year to increase from last year. However, half of respondents (49%) want to spend the least amount of money as possible on gifting. The majority of those who will increase spend (62%) say that it is because of inflation driving up prices of gifts. Additionally, 41% of consumers say they will stop buying from a retailer that doesn’t align with their personal values.

The Basis Technologies’ annual holiday shopping study unveils data about what influences people, when and where to reach them, and what they plan to spend on for the 2025 holidays. The study also reviews how certain behaviors in 2024 compare to this year’s projections. It was conducted with audience research firm GWI and completed in May using responses from more than 2000 U.S. consumers age 16+. The report, ‘2025 Holiday Shopping and Advertising Trends,’ is available at: https://basis.com/reports/2025-holiday-shopping-advertising-trends-report.

Below are additional highlights.

Influence:

• 41% of respondents say that recent political changes have changed their outlook on holiday spending
• Among respondents who say they plan to spend less for gift giving, 55% of them say it is because they are worried about the economy.
• 42% of respondents believe brands should have clearly stated values.

Timing:

• Less than half of respondents (48%) participated in Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping events last year. A little over half (51%) predict they will participate this year.
• The top reasons shoppers will start early for the 2025 holidays are to avoid shipping delays (66%), to finish as fast as possible (63%), and because they shop throughout the year to take advantage of sales (57%).  

Reach

• In 2024, 90% of respondents purchased gifts online.
• 35% of Gen Z and 26% of Millennials say they will buy gifts directly through social media.
• Overall, 18% of respondents say they will buy gifts through social media. Among these respondents, the top channels they would purchase through are Instagram (52%), Facebook (51%), TikTok (47%) and YouTube (40%).

Spend

• In 2025, 25% of respondents said they would purchase more gifts from low-cost online retailers such as Temu or Shein – a jump from the 19% who said they did this in 2024.
• 60% of shoppers say they like to support small/local businesses and 55% say they are more likely to buy from a retailer that shows they care for employees.
• 83% believe time with people they love is the best gift – a percentage that has been slowly growing the past two holiday cycles.

“For the holidays, shoppers want more than deals. Influence will come from both social platforms and social values as U.S. consumers will approach the shopping season with careful planning and deeper purpose,” said Maggie Nemoy, VP of research and insights, Basis Technologies. “Although budgets are top of mind for many shoppers, they are also thinking about emotional connections and values alignment for their commerce. To make this season truly memorable for their customers and businesses, brands must meet practical needs while tapping into emotional drivers like connection, culture, and principles.”

To win in the 2025 holiday marketing cycle, Basis Technologies offers this guidance for brands:

• Early and consistent: Meet shoppers where they are with extended, always-on campaigns. Target early buyers with curated gift guides and save urgency tactics for late-season shoppers.
• Authenticity: Emotional connection matters. Brands should reflect diverse traditions and values while offering thoughtful, joy-filled experiences that resonate across cultures.
• Digital discovery: Invest in native, shoppable ad formats across social and search platforms, especially for Gen Z and Millennials. Social commerce is growing fast.
• Value and purpose: Combine pricing flexibility (bundles, free shipping, loyalty perks) with clear messaging that highlights brand values and community impact.
• Simple path to purchase: Address shopper pain points by improving fulfillment, product availability, and seamless digital experiences across devices.

Basis Technologies provides omnichannel advertising automation to help marketers to reach customers on any site or app on any digital device.

About Basis Technologies

Basis Technologies is a global provider of programmatic advertising and media automation software and services for enterprises. The Basis platform improves omnichannel marketing performance by unifying programmatic and direct media buying, workflow automation, cross-channel campaign planning, universal reporting and business intelligence. It delivers a comprehensive selection of buying methods across all channels and devices, utilizing all major creative types and formats. Delivered through a world-class media services team or a SaaS model, Basis solves digital media complexity and drives profitability through a single system of record, seamless team collaboration, and actionable data-driven insights. Headquartered in Chicago with offices servicing North America, South America, and Europe, Basis Technologies has received numerous accolades for its commitment to employees and workplace culture. Learn more at https://basis.com.

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Contact:

Anthony Loredo

917-573-4157

anthony.loredo@basis.com