Holiday 2025 Consumer Trends & Retail Marketing Strategies

For retail marketers, the 2025 holiday season is about quality over quantity. Inflation and tariffs mean that while consumers may spend more dollars, they buy fewer items. Winning the season requires building loyalty with high-value customers instead of relying on one-off bargain hunters.

According to Optimove Insights, holiday shopping in 2025 brings both opportunities and challenges.

Here are some of the findings:

• Price and Value Dominate – 81% of shoppers rank price as their top purchase factor. Consumers will spend more overall, but their baskets will be smaller.
• Early Shopping = Loyalty – Purchasers active in October, especially in the first week, remain engaged longer and deliver higher lifetime value throughout the season.
• Omnichannel is Expected – Customers expect a seamless blend of online, in-store, and BOPIS (Buy Online, Pick Up In Store). Retailers who deliver fluid journeys win trust.
• Marketing Fatigue is Real – By October, 55% of shoppers report fatigue; by November, that number jumps to 71%. Overpromotion risks churn and unsubscribes.

See the complete report: Pre-Holiday 2025 Shopping Report: The Power of Purchasers

Key Insights for Retail Marketers

Optimove’s Pre-Holiday 2025 Consumer Holiday Retail Shopping Report uncovered a defining pattern: customers who make a purchase in early October are the most valuable throughout the season. These “Purchasers” remain active longer, buy more often, and generate higher lifetime value than those who shop later. Analysis of more than 5.3 million purchasing customers across two prior holiday seasons confirms the power of early action. So, for retailers, October is no longer a warm-up period; it is the time to get marketing campaigns in full swing.

Complementary data from the same Optimove Insights 2025 shopping report reinforces this behavior: Nearly two-thirds of consumers (64%) plan to start shopping before Halloween, with almost half beginning in October or November. Discounts (66%) and item availability (30%) are the primary motivators, though many still reserve their biggest purchases for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

For retail marketers, this means the balance has shifted. Winning retailers are not those who send the most promotions, but those who engage loyal customers early, communicate transparently about pricing and availability, and avoid wasting marketing dollars on one-time bargain hunters. Sustainable results come from acquiring new customers while consistently nurturing those with the highest long-term value.

Tune into The Future Commerce podcast, featuring Mosh, SVP of Global Revenue at Optimove, to hear more about the 2025 Holiday Shopping season:

The Positionless Marketing Advantage

Traditional assembly-line marketing slows retailers down when speed matters most. Deal-seeking behavior peaks in October and shoppers make decisions in real time. So, waiting for cross-functional teams can mean missing the window of opportunity and potential sales.

Positionless Marketing empowers every marketer with three key capabilities. With Data Power, marketers can instantly identify high-value segments like early Purchasers. With Creative Power, they can quickly generate campaign assets personalized to these audiences without waiting for design teams. With Optimization Power, campaigns can self-adjust based on performance data, retarget wait-and-see shoppers, and adjust offers accordingly, in real-time.

The outcome is agility. Enterprise brands gain efficiency, and smaller brands scale faster with fewer resources. Marketers deliver personalization at the speed of the customer.

In Summary

The 2025 holiday season is not about one-off bargain hunters. It is about moving faster and smarter.

Retailers who embrace Positionless Marketing this holiday season can:

• Engage high-value customers early in October to maximize lifetime value.
• Use AI-driven personalization to deliver relevant, real-time offers.
• Reduce holiday stress and build trust (Manage expectations with loyal customers via early access to sales, clear communication on discounts, etc.)
• Avoid workflow bottlenecks by empowering marketers to act independently.
• Balance acquisition and retention to drive sustainable growth balance… keeping margins while giving loyal customers a reason to stay loyal.

For more insights on retail marketing this holiday season, contact us to request a demo.