Data-backed insights into consumer spending patterns, channel performance, and audience targeting opportunities that drive holiday retail success
The holiday shopping season represents one of the largest annual revenue opportunities for many retailers and brands, yet capturing your share requires precise audience targeting and timing. U.S. online holiday sales reached $257.8 billion during November and December 2025, marking 6.8% year-over-year growth. For marketers planning 2027 campaigns, understanding these consumer behavior patterns is essential for building the right retail customer data audiences and maximizing campaign ROI across direct mail, email, and digital channels.
Key Takeaways
- Holiday spending continued strong growth – U.S. online sales hit $257.8 billion in 2025, with 25 days exceeding $4 billion in daily spending
- Middle-income consumers drove results – Shoppers earning $40k to $150k outperformed all other income brackets, making audience segmentation critical
- Mobile dominates online spending – Smartphones generated 56.4% of U.S. online holiday spending during November and December 2025
- Ecommerce merchants gained wallet share – The merchant category covering catalog and major ecommerce retailers captured 22.6% of measured holiday spending in 2024, up from 11.9% in 2016
- Record shopper participation – 202.9 million consumers shopped during the 2025 Cyber 5 weekend, creating massive audience reach opportunities
- AI agents accelerated sales growth – Retailers using their own AI agents recorded 59% higher year-over-year sales growth than retailers without them
- Black Friday remained the top day – 85.7 million consumers shopped online on Black Friday 2025, making it the peak online shopping day
Holiday Spending Market Size Statistics
1. U.S. online holiday sales reached $257.8 billion in 2025
American consumers spent $257.8 billion online during the November 1 through December 31, 2025 holiday season. This 6.8% year-over-year growth demonstrated sustained consumer confidence despite economic uncertainty. For marketers, this spending volume validates the importance of holiday campaign investment.
2. Global online holiday sales topped $1.29 trillion
Worldwide ecommerce reached $1.29 trillion during the 2025 holiday period, representing 7% year-over-year growth. This global expansion creates opportunities for brands with international reach to capture additional market share through targeted audience campaigns.
3. NRF forecast U.S. holiday retail sales to surpass $1 trillion
NRF forecast that retail sales during November and December 2025 would grow between 3.7% and 4.2% over 2024, reaching between $1.01 trillion and $1.02 trillion. The forecast covered both online and in-store purchases, highlighting the scale of the holiday opportunity across channels.
4. Twenty-five days exceeded $4 billion in daily online spending
The 2025 holiday season featured 25 days when U.S. consumers spent a combined $4 billion or more online. This represented a significant increase from 15 such days in 2024. The extended high-spending window gave marketers more opportunities to reach active buyers through well-timed campaigns.
Consumer Behavior and Participation Statistics
5. Record 202.9 million consumers shopped during Cyber 5
A record 202.9 million consumers shopped during the five-day holiday weekend from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday 2025. This unprecedented participation created massive audience reach opportunities for brands with properly segmented consumer data targeting strategies.
6. 91% of consumers planned to celebrate winter holidays
Consumer participation remained exceptionally high, with 91% of consumers planning to celebrate the winter holidays in 2025. This near-universal participation ensured a broad addressable market for holiday campaigns across virtually all demographic segments.
7. Black Friday drew 85.7 million online shoppers
Black Friday 2025 attracted 85.7 million online shoppers, maintaining its position as the top online shopping day of the season. This concentrated buying activity makes Black Friday campaigns essential for maximizing holiday revenue capture.
8. In-store Black Friday shopping reached 80.3 million visitors
Physical retail remained strong with 80.3 million shoppers visiting stores on Black Friday 2025, making it the top shopping day for in-store purchases. This demonstrates the continued value of direct mail campaigns driving store traffic.
9. Cyber Monday attracted 75.9 million online shoppers
Cyber Monday 2025 drew 75.9 million online shoppers, making it the second most popular day for online shopping. The concentrated digital activity makes this day particularly valuable for email and social media activation campaigns.
10. Super Saturday expected to draw 158.9 million shoppers
An estimated 158.9 million consumers planned to shop on Super Saturday (the last Saturday before Christmas) in 2025. This last-minute surge creates final campaign opportunities for marketers with accurate, deliverable audience data.
Mobile Commerce Dominance Statistics
11. Mobile captured 56.4% of online holiday spending
Mobile revenue share hit a record 56.4% during the 2025 holiday season, keeping mobile above half of U.S. online holiday spending. This mobile majority fundamentally changes how marketers must approach audience engagement and campaign delivery.
12. Mobile share grew from 54.5% in 2024
The 56.4% mobile share of online spending in 2025 increased from 54.5% in 2024. This accelerating trend indicates marketers must prioritize mobile-optimized creative and landing pages across all channels.
13. Buy now, pay later reached $20 billion in holiday spending
U.S. consumers used buy now, pay later (BNPL) for $20 billion in online spending during the 2025 holiday season, representing 9.8% growth over 2024. This payment flexibility influences consumer purchasing decisions and average order values.
Direct Marketing and Channel Performance Statistics
14. Ecommerce and catalog merchants captured 22.6% of holiday wallet share
Consumers spent 22.6% of their measured holiday wallet in the “Direct Marketing – Catalog Merchants” category between November 1 and December 31, 2024. The merchant category includes major ecommerce businesses such as Amazon and Temu and increased from an 11.9% share in 2016.
15. Ecommerce and catalog merchant spending grew 6.7% year-over-year
Spending in the “Direct Marketing – Catalog Merchants” category, which the report describes as mostly ecommerce, grew 6.7% year-over-year during the 2024 holiday shopping period. The increase shows continued spending growth among major online and catalog merchants.
16. Cyber 5 spending increased 5.7% year-over-year
The Cyber 5 period (Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday) spending increased 5.7% year-over-year in 2024. This concentrated spending window represents the highest-value campaign period for marketers with properly timed audience activation.
17. Over half of holiday online sales occurred by December 1
More than half (51%) of U.S. online sales during the 2025 holiday season occurred between November 1 and December 1, totaling $137.4 billion. This front-loaded spending pattern emphasizes the importance of early campaign deployment with accurate, campaign-ready data.
Income Segmentation and Audience Targeting Statistics
18. Middle-income shoppers outperformed all brackets
Shoppers making between $40k and $150k outperformed high and low income shoppers in 2024 holiday spending. This insight is critical for audience targeting strategies, as middle-income households represent the highest-growth opportunity segment.
19. High-income shopper spending grew 1.7%
Spending among shoppers earning over $150,000 grew 1.7% year-over-year in 2024. Although that trailed both middle-income groups, shoppers earning under $40,000 recorded the slowest growth for the year at 0.3%.
20. Holiday consumer spending grew 2.5% overall
Holiday consumer spending in the U.S. grew 2.5% year-over-year between November 1 and December 31, 2024, according to credit card transaction data. Understanding these growth patterns by segment helps marketers allocate campaign budgets more effectively.
Retail Category Performance Statistics
21. Wholesale clubs grew 8.4%, leading all categories
Wholesale Clubs grew 8.4% year-over-year during the 2024 holiday season, the highest growth among major retail categories. This value-seeking behavior indicates consumer price sensitivity that marketers should address in messaging and offers.
22. General merchandise held 18.4% market share
General Merchandise retailers (including major big-box stores) controlled 18.4% of holiday spending in 2024, down slightly from 18.9% in 2016. This modest decline indicates increased competition from ecommerce and specialty retailers.
23. Department stores grew only 0.2%
Department Stores grew only 0.2% year-over-year during the 2024 holiday season. This stagnation highlights the ongoing challenges facing traditional retail formats and the need for differentiated marketing approaches.
AI and Technology Impact Statistics
24. AI influenced 20% of global retail sales
AI and agents influenced 20% of global retail sales during the holiday period, representing $262 billion in revenue.
25. Retailers with AI agents saw 59% higher growth
Retailers using their own AI agents saw a 59% higher growth rate, averaging 6.2% year-over-year sales increase versus 3.9% for those without. This performance gap emphasizes the value of data-driven personalization in holiday campaigns.
26. AI search referrals converted 9x better than social
Shoppers referred to retailer websites from AI-powered search channels converted nine times more often than those from social media referrals. This conversion differential suggests marketers should diversify beyond social advertising to capture high-intent buyers.
27. AI traffic to retail sites grew 693.4%
Traffic from AI sources (large language models) to retail sites rose 693.4% from the 2024 holiday season to 2025. This explosive growth signals a fundamental shift in how consumers discover and research products.
Fulfillment and Returns Statistics
28. Global returns reached $181 billion (14% of purchases)
More than $181 billion in returned purchases made during the 2025 holiday season globally have been returned, accounting for 14% of all purchases. Understanding return patterns helps marketers identify high-value customer segments less prone to returns.
29. U.S. holiday returns declined 1.2%
Adobe reported that U.S. online holiday returns declined 1.2% year over year during the 2025 season, even as global returns increased according to Salesforce.
30. Curbside pickup peaked at 39% on December 23
Curbside pickup usage reached 39.0% of online orders on December 23, 2025, the peak day for this fulfillment option. This last-minute buying behavior creates opportunities for targeted campaigns driving store visits through new mover data and local audience segments.
Planning Data-Driven Holiday Campaigns
The 2025 holiday season data reveals a marketplace in transition, where traditional patterns persist alongside emerging behaviors that will shape 2027 campaign strategies. The $257.8 billion in U.S. online spending, 202.9 million Cyber 5 shoppers, and mobile’s commanding 56.4% revenue share establish a foundation of continued digital growth. Yet beneath these headline numbers, critical shifts in consumer segmentation and channel performance demand strategic recalibration.
Middle-income households earning $40,000 to $150,000 emerged as the highest-growth opportunity, significantly outperforming affluent segments that grew just 1.7%. This income-based performance gap suggests marketers may achieve superior ROI by reallocating budget from premium-only targeting to broader middle-market activation. Similarly, the 9x conversion advantage of AI search referrals over social media signals that channel diversification beyond social advertising will be essential for capturing high-intent buyers in increasingly fragmented digital environments.
The merchant category data showing ecommerce and catalog retailers capturing 22.6% of measured wallet share nearly double their 2016 proportion reflects sustained consumer comfort with online purchasing. Combined with the 25-day extended window of $4+ billion daily spending, this creates longer campaign activation periods and more touchpoint opportunities. Marketers planning 2027 holiday programs should prioritize early deployment with accurate, deliverable direct mail marketing data, mobile-first creative across all channels, and audience segmentation strategies that emphasize middle-income household targeting to maximize campaign performance during this critical revenue period.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the total U.S. online holiday spending in 2025?
U.S. online holiday sales reached $257.8 billion during November 1 through December 31, 2025. This represented 6.8% year-over-year growth and included 25 days exceeding $4 billion in daily spending, compared to just 15 such days in 2024.
Which income segment showed the strongest holiday spending growth?
Middle-income shoppers earning between $40k and $150k outperformed all other income brackets during the 2024 holiday season. High-income shoppers earning over $150,000 recorded 1.7% year-over-year growth, trailing both middle-income groups. Shoppers earning under $40,000 recorded the slowest growth in 2024 at 0.3%.
How many consumers shopped during the 2025 Cyber 5 weekend?
A record 202.9 million consumers shopped during the five-day holiday weekend from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday 2025. Black Friday alone attracted 85.7 million online shoppers and 80.3 million in-store visitors.
What percentage of online holiday spending came from mobile devices?
Mobile devices accounted for 56.4% of U.S. online holiday spending in 2025, up from 54.5% in 2024. This marked the first full year that mobile commerce exceeded 50% of total online holiday spending.
How did ecommerce and catalog merchants perform during the holiday season?
The “Direct Marketing – Catalog Merchants” category, which primarily reflects ecommerce merchants, captured 22.6% of measured holiday spending in 2024, up from 11.9% in 2016. Spending in the category grew 6.7% year-over-year, compared with 0.2% growth for department stores.