5 Consumer Trends From the Holiday Season

During Cyber 5 (or Cyber Week) – the five-day shopping window between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday – US online sales grew 8.2% year over year exceeding expectations, according to Adobe Analytics data. Both Thanksgiving and Black Friday broke records for US online sales growing at 9% and 10% year over year.

Overall, the numbers are consistent with the responses to Goldman Sachs Research’s survey of 1,000 US consumers on their 2024 holiday shopping plans. About 59% of survey respondents say they expect to spend the same amount or more on holiday purchases.

Goldman Sachs Research expects the overall holiday ecommerce sales for the final two months of the year to modestly accelerate compared to last year. Our analysts also expect the online consumer to remain resilient but selective with their purchases in the months ahead.

Ahead, we’ll take a closer look at how consumer shopping behavior is evolving in the digital age. 

5 emerging trends in holiday shopping

Even though about 70% of holiday shopping still took place at a brick-and-mortar store, shoppers are turning to online platforms and mobile apps for promotions. Here are five trends that are shifting consumer behavior.

1. Shoppers seek value

Many consumers are focused on sales and discounts, with some choosing to slow shop for deals, but their perception on price inflation is improving and the data reflects it.

According to Adobe data, consumers are five times more sensitive to price during promotional days (e.g., Prime Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day) and are more receptive to sales events in 2024. For every 1% decrease in price during promotional events there is an increase of 1.025% in demand compared to 2023.

Retailers have taken note and are finding ways to extend promotional events including bumping up holiday sale events.

Goldman Sachs Research notes that online prices have indeed declined year-to-date in the US, mainly driven by discretionary goods.

2. Earlier start to holiday shopping

In recent years, Goldman Sachs Research has seen leading online and omnichannel (online, mobile, and brick-and-mortar) retailers introduce promotional events in October to lengthen the promotional calendar.

This was particularly pronounced in 2024 as there were fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas compared to 2023. Retailers started their promotions earlier and raked in record sales, even as the early promotions chip away the share of sales from Cyber 5.

However, there’s a flipside to more promotional days – our analysts note that consumers are pulling back spending outside of sales events. Estimates suggest weaker consumer spending trends for the first two weeks of November in 2024.

3. The growing significance of social influencers

There are currently 50 million content creators worldwide, and Goldman Sachs Research expects the number to continue to grow at a 10% - 20% compound annual growth rate over 5 years from 2023 to 2028.

Social media influencers are gaining prominence as part of brand marketing strategies. In fact, influencers are converting shoppers (individuals making a purchase after seeing influencer content) six times more than non-influencer social media posts overall, according to Adobe data. About 20.3% of revenue on Cyber Monday came from “affiliates and partners,” which include influencers; this is up an impressive 6.8% year over year.

Goldman Sachs Research believes the total addressable market of the creator economy could roughly double in size to $480 billion by 2027 from $250 billion in 2023, which is roughly in line with estimates for growth in global digital advertising spend over that period.

4. More focus on customer loyalty and retention

Several ecommerce platforms saw their paid membership and loyalty programs grow during promotional events. Expanding on benefits that include access to various services, free delivery, discounts, early access, and cashbacks helped fuel purchases on their platforms. Some platforms also saw more membership reactivations than net-new joiners.

5. AI chatbots as shopping assistants

During the holiday season, shoppers are turning to generative AI-powered chatbots to help with their shopping journey. Adobe data showed traffic to retail sites from chatbots (where shoppers click through a link directing to the retail site) increased by 1,950% compared to the same period in 2023.

While Adobe notes that the base of users is still modest, this increase of use shows shoppers are seeing the value of using chatbots as their shopping assistants to help find deals or quickly locate products.