Holiday Shoppers Change the Game Every Yea🛍️

Welcome to MarketMaze. Holiday shopping is now a marathon, not a sprint. Gen Z and Millennials are spending for themselves and turning every season into self-gifting season. Meanwhile, speed and experience are changing how—and why—we buy. Let’s get into the numbers and what they mean for your business.

Maze Story
🛍️ Holiday Shoppers Change the Game Every Year
💸 Millennials & Gen Z Power UK Festive Spending

Insights🧠
🚀 Fashion’s Real Fast Lane: Instant Delivery or Nothing
📉 E-commerce’s Bad Quarter: Wish, RiteAid, More
💡 Why Brands That Stand Out Can Charge More

LET’S ENTER THE MAZE!
- Artur Stańczuk, MarketMaze Founder

The holiday shopping season no longer follows one predictable script. According to Mailchimp and EY data, both timing and consumer behaviors have shifted, forcing brands to rethink their playbooks. Each chart below unpacks a different piece of the new holiday puzzle… from shifting shopping phases to global spending peaks.

Shoppers are no longer waiting for December. The buying window now stretches from early October all the way through New Year’s, with each phase catering to different moods and motivations. Brands push early, but most shoppers only get serious as peak sales approach, and even then, many wait until the last minute. The era of the single holiday rush is over—expect a marathon, not a sprint.

The data show that spending hits two major peaks: mid-November’s sales and the final last-minute sprint before year-end. While only 43% shop early, a staggering 75% dive in during peak sales, and another 76% make purchases at the last minute. Even after the holidays, 70% keep buying into January. The lesson: brands must stay visible and relevant at every phase or risk missing out when wallets finally open.

Globally, shoppers are ignoring early hype and saving their purchases for November or even December. In countries like Germany, Brazil, and Mexico, well over 40% start shopping in November, while China and India remain outliers with most consumers kicking off early. If you’re marketing before Halloween, you’re likely talking to yourself; November is the new global kickoff for festive sales.

Christmas Day is the top spending moment in nearly every region, but big spikes also hit on Halloween in the US and UK, Epiphany in Spain, and New Year’s across Benelux and Scandinavia. The chart reveals a patchwork of local highs: brands that ignore these country-specific surges are missing the real moments when shoppers are ready to splurge. Knowing exactly when your market’s wallets are open is now the real holiday advantage.

Sources: 🔒 Available for MarketMaze+ subscribers

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Holiday shopping in the UK is being rewritten by Millennials and Gen Z. According to the latest eBay Advertising Festive Playbook UK (July 2025), the study used a robust national survey of over 2,000 consumers to chart new patterns for self-gifting and multichannel buying. We match this data with EY study. The result? Younger shoppers are driving up budgets, with in-store experience still anchoring festive journeys.

Brits are spending more, but the real surge comes from Millennials (56%) and Gen Z (51%), who plan to outspend last year by a wide margin. eBay shoppers are 15 points more likely than non-eBay users to boost budgets, showing marketplaces are the engine of festive growth. The generational gap is striking: only 33% of all Brits say they'll spend more, but among Millennials and Gen Z the urge to splurge is now mainstream.

Self-gifting is no longer a taboo. 29% of UK shoppers now admit they’ll spend more on themselves this Christmas than on friends or family, and this jumps to 50% among Millennials. Men (33%) are twice as likely as women (14%) to self-gift, and nearly half of Londoners say most of their budget is for themselves. The gifting market has fundamentally shifted: brands must market to “me shoppers” as much as to the Santa crowd.

Globally, self-gifting is dominated by the youngest groups: 78% of Gen Z and 74% of Millennials plan to buy clothing & accessories for themselves. Food, electronics, beauty, and experiences all see over 60% self-gifting rates for these cohorts, compared to just 41–58% for Boomers. The implication is clear: for Gen Z and Millennials, treating themselves is a central part of holiday spending, and retailers need to serve this trend across every major category.

UK shoppers are omnichannel, using social, websites, and brand comms for research and ideas, but 39% still say physical stores are where the magic happens for experiencing products. Social media leads for inspiration (28%), while brand and retailer comms remain key for learning about products and tracking promotions. The real action happens at the intersection: digital drives the journey, but in-person experience closes the sale.

Globally, stores remain king—over 70% of UK, Canada, and Mexico shoppers still prefer brick-and-mortar. But China is rewriting the rules: 50% of Chinese consumers now shop directly via shoppable social, compared to just 8–24% in Western markets. For brands, this is a wake-up call: while physical retail wins today, social commerce is the rocket fuel powering tomorrow’s growth, and nowhere is this shift faster than in China.

Sources: 🔒 Available for MarketMaze+ subscribers

This holiday season, top publishers are actively sourcing brands to include in their gift guides, newsletters, listicles, reviews, and more to drive high-intent shoppers straight to Amazon storefronts.

Here’s why it matters:

Levanta is working directly with these publishers to introduce them to a small number of 7–9 figure brands.

If you qualify, your products could be featured in high-traffic placements that deliver predictable CAC and directly measurable sales.

See if your brand qualifies

Today’s fashion shoppers don’t just want new looks, they want them now. A Menulog Go study shows 28% expect same-day delivery, 19% want it in an hour, and 15% accept two hours. That’s 6 in 10 shoppers chasing instant gratification. If your brand can’t keep up, they’ll move on faster than a TikTok trend. Brands using flexible, branded delivery can win loyalty, reduce cart abandonment, and grow share. 👉 Menulog Go Post

July 2025 was brutal for big e-commerce names. Wish.com dropped -67% YoY, hit by poor quality and fierce rivals like Temu and TikTok Shop. US icons Gamestop and RiteAid saw double-digit revenue losses. Europe’s Leroy Merlin and Westfalia, plus China’s 111.com.cn, also slid. The takeaway: Innovate fast or risk joining the list of has-beens. 👉 ECDB Market Analysis

Price isn’t king if you’ve got brand power. Kantar’s latest research shows that brands seen as different and memorable boost “willingness to pay” — making price less of a deal-breaker. A skincare brand lifted prices 14% and still grew sales by 7% thanks to smart video ads. Video works: YouTube drives 41% awareness, 24% consideration, and 35% intent (Nielsen). Invest in brand, not just discounts, to keep margins healthy. 👉 Kantar x Google Effectiveness Report

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