Top consumer trends for marketers this holiday season

This Q&A appeared originally on Gartner.com and is reprinted with permission.

As the consumer holiday shopping season begins, a Gartner consumer survey found the top trends influencing consumers' buying decisions that marketers should address include value, inspiration from family and friends, and expedited delivery.

Gartner conducted a Q&A with Kassi Socha, director analyst in the Gartner marketing practice, to discuss how marketers can adjust to the changing landscape in retail for not only this holiday season, but those in the future as well.

Q: What shifts are you seeing in consumer trends as they gear up for the holiday season?
A: As was mentioned earlier, we are seeing three main trends from consumers as they begin shopping for the holiday season — value, inspiration directly from friends and family, and expedited delivery.

A survey of 302 consumers conducted in June 2023 revealed price (57%) in the face of inflation continues to be the leading factor for purchase decisions, followed by free shipping (45%), value (35%) and promotions/deals (33%).

In terms of inspiration for gifts, the number one choice identified by consumers was friends and family's wish lists (31%), followed by Google Search (22%).

Almost one in three consumers intend to utilize hybrid services, same-day delivery or expedited shipping when shopping for winter holiday gifts this year. Fast shipping continues to be a key differentiator for retailers.

Q: How have retailer events, such as Amazon with Prime Day, Walmart+ Week and Target with Circle Week, affected holiday shopping?
A: The ability for friends and family to share wish lists on these platforms, as well as allowing consumers to monitor for deals and then receive goods quickly and efficiently, are modern conveniences normalized by these major retailers that aren't going anywhere anytime soon. In short, the synergy between these consumer trends and consumer participation in these retail events cannot be ignored.

Where we are seeing a major shift due to retailer events is in when consumers are holiday shopping. We are seeing a push for consumers to begin holiday shopping earlier. Nineteen percent of consumers will begin their shopping in October, 29% will start in November, and only 10% will wait to begin shopping until December. Another 19% of consumers reported that they have been shopping year-round, up from 16% in 2022. This is a trend that will continue to grow.

In fact, Gartner predicts 30% of consumers will shop for winter holiday gifts year-round by 2026.

Q: How can retail CMOs adjust their campaigns to be prepared for year-round holiday shopping from consumers?
A: This year, refining holiday marketing campaigns to meet the moment is critical. First and foremost, realigning promotions to consumers' preferred types of discounts is a prudent move. Given the increase in year-round promotions, retail CMOs should ensure that the type of promotion they execute will catch the attention of consumers.

Beyond just this year, consumers have ample opportunity to capitalize on year-round promotions to get the best price and value for winter holiday gifts. While retailers don't need to hang snowflakes in July to capture consumer attention, they should increasingly take holiday shopping into account beyond Q3.

Retail CMOs need to begin holiday planning earlier in the year. Successful CMOs begin holiday planning in January and revisit their long-standing promotional and holiday plans throughout the year. This allows them to take into account timely consumer insights and market considerations before their winter holiday marketing assets go live. This ensures that their hypotheses made earlier in the year will meet the expectations of their target consumers and achieve their desired business outcomes.

Retail CMOs should also create a permanent gifting category on the website. Adding evergreen "gifting" messaging to promotions outside of 3Q speaks to the customer thinking about gifting ahead of the traditional winter holiday season but prevents a feeling of holiday marketing happening too early.