For many retailers, the 2025 holiday shopping season is shaping up to be more complex than ever. To better understand this complexity, we expanded our annual Global Holiday Shopper Report to include a wide international sample of 6,000 shoppers across the U.S., U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. This year’s insights offer a broad view of regional differences and a clear picture of the themes that unite holiday shoppers everywhere.
Our findings reveal how shoppers are searching, spending, and making decisions this season. Big themes include both stress and generosity. Fully 86% of respondents say they’re concerned about holiday shopping, but 73% plan to give as much or more than last year.
PwC projects that the average U.S. consumer will spend roughly $1550 on holiday gifts in 2025, down 5.3% from last year. While still a hefty budget, it’s the largest drop since the pandemic, when holiday spending averaged about $1200 per person.
Our survey also shows that shoppers, particularly younger demographics, are embracing AI along the buying journey. Seventy-two percent of shoppers said they would use a GenAI shopping assistant (85% among Gen Z and Millennials.) In this post we’ll break down some of the report’s key takeaways, including:
- A look at shopper sentiment as we head into the holiday season
- How GenAI is moving from curiosity to practical use in shopping journeys
- The influence of search engines and retail websites on discovery and decision-making
- The enduring focus (and importance) of omnichannel commerce
It won’t be long before retailers face yet another Black Friday weekend, with millions of shoppers on the hunt for their perfect holiday gifts. Let’s unpack how shoppers are feeling as we head into this final stretch of retail sales for 2025.
To see the full picture and prepare for the holiday season, download Coveo’s 2025 Global Holiday Shopper Report.
Shopper Sentiment: Stressed but Generous
Shoppers are feeling the pressure this year, with tighter holiday budgets, overall gifting anxiety, and decision fatigue. The challenge of navigating endless online options adds to shopper stress, so making online shopping easier and providing a top-notch customer experience service is a clear draw for consumers.
People want their shopping experiences to be easy. Consumers will reward brands that reduce the overall effort it takes to find and purchase gifts. When we asked respondents what would make them more likely to shop directly on a brand’s website versus a marketplace of social platform, answers were focused on good customer experience.
The top answer was “more accurate product information” followed by trust—in product quality and seller reputation. Other top reasons include access to exclusive deals or loyalty rewards, and payment security.
Poor shopping experiences are stressful for shoppers and this can be compounded when consumers navigate their shopping journeys across different devices, touchpoints, and channels.
This year, 86% of respondents say they plan to shop online, 61% will shop in-store, and 44% plan to split purchases evenly between both. The reality is that navigating between search engines, AI assistants, marketplaces, retailer sites, and physical stores is far from fun when time is short and the right gift feels elusive.
So, while the holiday magic is very much alive, winning wallet share in 2025 requires a thoughtful approach to earning trust and creating good experiences. Shoppers want reassurance that the experience will be easy, relevant, and inspiring. You’ll need to meet customers exactly where they are, with the right tools and guidance to reduce stress and keep the spirit of giving intact.
GenAI Curiosity is Heating Up
It’s clear from our survey results that GenAI factors largely into holiday shopping trends for 2025. We asked respondents some pointed questions about how they interact with and view GenAI tools. The real headline here is that shoppers like using GenAI on their buying journeys, so it’s sure to influence holiday purchases and consumer behavior around gift buying. Here’s what we learned:
GenAI is more than a passing trend
Shoppers are more interested in GenAI than ever, with 63% saying they’re curious about using a ChatGPT-style assistant for gift discovery, guidance, or product questions, up from 31% in 2024. Younger consumers are even more open to smart assistants, with 85% of Gen Z and Millennials saying they’re open to using GenAI while shopping.
Shoppers who try GenAI want more
The majority (72%) of respondents said they’re open to GenAI guidance, and among the 35% who’ve already tried it, 91% say they’d use it again. When asked what would be most useful from a GenAI assistant, 41% said easy product comparisons, 35% said budget-based recommendations, and 31% want product information/education. Others, particularly younger respondents, said they’d welcome personalized gift ideas, curated lists, and sparks of inspiration.
From hype to utility, with one caveat (usefulness)
Holiday shoppers no longer view GenAI as a gimmick, but trust is a deciding factor in whether they’ll use it. And while curiosity is high, utility is often a deciding factor for many shoppers. Nearly one in five respondents in this year’s Holiday Shopper Report say they’d use a GenAI assistant primarily to save time, while 23% say they’d try it for better gift ideas, and 20% want to see how well it works before relying on it. Together, these motivations paint a picture of shoppers looking for practical support that feels safe and useful.
Search, Discovery, and the First Click
For many shoppers, the buying journey begins at the search bar. This year’s Holiday Shopper Report shows that:
- 34% of consumers start their holiday shopping on a search engine or AI assistant
- Another 34% go directly to a marketplace or retailer website.
- Only 7% begin on social media
- Just 2% initiate their search from online ads
The reliance on search, AI assistance, and marketplaces sends a clear signal to retailers that shoppers are looking for relevance and intent-matching, not interruption. AI is beginning to reshape the first-click dynamic, with GenAI shopping assistants introducing a new layer of complexity.
As these tools mature, they they’ll shop on behalf of consumers, searching, comparing, and adding items to carts. That means retailers need to optimize product data for both human shoppers and AI agents to stay visible.
What this means, in practice, is:
- Optimize for zero-click journeys. Make sure search results provide rich product content, quick views, personalized recommendations, and clear calls-to-action.
- Incorporate AI-driven product discovery that suggests relevant recommendations earlier in the journey, even when shoppers aren’t sure what they want.
- Disclose product availability by showing real-time stock details directly in search results, helping shoppers build trust and avoid dead ends.
- Structure data for both humans and AI tools. Consistency in product titles, descriptions, and reviews helps ensure your brand shows directly in search results as well as in AI-generated recommendations.
The most successful online retail experiences blend traditional search and AI-powered discovery. Search connects shoppers to what they already know they want, while intelligent discovery inspires them with relevant recommendations and gift ideas they may not have considered. This also happens to be a great recipe for serving overwhelmed and stressed-out holiday shoppers.
Omnichannel Is the Norm
While this year’s report leans heavily into the online shopping journey, holiday shopping is now fully omnichannel.
Channel preferences shift by generation and region, with younger consumers leaning more heavily online and older generations gravitating toward stores. Regional differences are clear too. U.S. and U.K. shoppers tend to favor online-first journeys, while Australians and New Zealanders are more likely to prioritize in-store shopping.
Shopping also varies by category, with fashion and electronics dominated by online journeys, and home goods, DIY, and big-box retailers skewing more toward in-person experiences.
So much for a traditional funnel. The buying journey has evolved into a nonlinear process where online and offline channels constantly feed each other. Retailers that ensure the experience feels consistent—wherever it happens to begin or end—stand a much better chance of keeping customers engaged from the very start of the journey through to purchase.
Focus on bridging online and offline shopping by making it easy for customers to find in-store what they viewed online, through tools like QR code and barcode scanning. Localize digital experiences so shoppers can see accurate inventory and nearby store availability, which helps convert discovery into foot traffic. And, finally, eliminate hidden inventory by ensuring that all items, even those in-store only, are visible online, since shoppers are more likely to visit a store if they can confirm availability.
BFCM: Still a Seasonal High Point
Our survey results demonstrate that Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) continue to represent the biggest shopping spike of the season. Globally, 88% of shoppers plan to participate in BFCM 2025, including:
In markets like the U.S., BFCM is a cultural fixture, a moment when consumers actively plan their calendars around deals. Shoppers in the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand treat BFCM as one of many deal-driven days during the season, but still show high levels of participation.
For retailers, this means the playbook needs to evolve. Blanket discounts aren’t enough since shoppers now want curated deals, smart timing, and painless checkout experiences. Think “fast and easy” when it comes to holiday shopping. When expectations are this high, clunky purchase flows or irrelevant offers can push shoppers to competitors in seconds.
BFCM sets the tone for the rest of the holiday season. You have an opportunity to turn this high-traffic moment into a confidence-building experience—don’t squander it. Build momentum with accurate product availability, fast delivery, meaningful deals, and a sprinkle of joy.
Holiday Shoppers are Ready for Smarter Experiences
This year’s shoppers are open to inspiration and ready for smarter experiences. They want discovery to feel effortless, guidance to be intelligent, and results to be trustworthy. Generative AI shopping assistants are moving quickly from novelty to necessity, omnichannel is now a given, and Black Friday/Cyber Monday still set the tone.
And while consumers may be tightening spending a bit, discounts no longer carry the day. Shoppers expect curated offers and meaningful results across their increasingly complex buying journeys.
Retailers Who Get it Right are Winning
LCBO, a crown-agency of Ontario, is one of the largest alcohol retailers. LCBO serves both online and offline shoppers seamlessly. Customers can check inventory and explore options online before making a purchase at one of its 1,000+ locations.
Freedom Furniture, a leading home retailer in Australia and New Zealand, has adopted a “never lose a sale” mindset that boosted online sales from 5% to 25%. Shoppers can try products in-store, get a personalized quote, and complete their purchase online, with sales associates still receiving commission credit.
Shoppers are also telling us exactly what builds confidence. Better product information and quality lead 61% of consumers to a brand’s site over a marketplace, while secure payments and exclusive loyalty rewards strongly influence where they choose to buy. These are the moments where trust is either earned or lost.
With strong search experiences and intelligent AI tools in place, omnichannel becomes baked into the total buying journey. It also becomes a competitive differentiator that ensures the first touchpoint, no matter where it happens, carries through seamlessly to the final purchase.
To explore these consumer insights in more depth and apply them to your holiday strategy, download the full report.