While consumers are planning to spend carefully in the 2025 holiday season, a survey commissioned by promotion-finding platform RetailMeNot revealed 54% of respondent said deep discounts could trigger higher-than-intended purchasing with 34% citing cash-back rewards and 30% easy-to-find promo codes.
The platform, which helps consumers find discounts and other promotional opportunities, observed budget pressure and pricing uncertainty have shoppers working out spending strategies to avoid holiday shopping stress, including getting an early start to allow for opportunistic spending throughout the year-end spending season. RetailMeNot pointed to a range of consumer shopping tactics as the holidays approach, with 58% of survey respondents setting a budget for the season and 26% vowing a strict alignment with their spending plans.
In the survey, consumers said unsettled macroeconomic circumstances have them spreading out purchases, watching for sales and shopping strategically based on their needs. As such, shoppers are pacing themselves, waiting for the right deals and tapping platforms that can hep them hold on to money. Moreover, 73% of shoppers said they plan to start start holiday shopping before Cyber Week, with 34% having begun in September or even earlier.
Consumers will use promotional occasions to seek savings opportunities through the holiday season, with 59% shopping Black Friday, 54% shopping Cyber Monday and 37% shopping pre-Black Friday events. The importance of retailer initiatives is exemplified by the 48% of survey respondents identifying Amazon’s October Prime Day as a chance to nail down deals on holiday merchandise they favor.
Although most consumers will do some shopping in stores, Retailmenot observed, online will be a critical resource for value-conscious shoppers. Some 45% said they will split shopping between online and in-store, 41% will do so mostly online and 14% plan to purchase mostly in physical stores.
As to influences, RetailMeNot identified key consumers advisors as being:
- Friends and family at 45%
- Social media at 33%
- Retailer apps/sites at 32%
- Deal platforms at 26%
- AI gift lists at 13%
The company added that 19% of GenZers will turn to AI gift lists.
The top holiday 2025 consumer holiday stressors were inflation-driven higher prices, for 53% of consumers; tariff-related charges, tor 45%; overspending, for 36%; shipping delays, for 35%; and trouble finding discount and code deals, for 33. Tariff-driven price increases may prove particularly disruptive, as 40% of consumers said increased could encourage brand switching, 31% said increases could result in earlier shopping and 30% increases could prompt a shift to domestic/local retailers.
