Consumer Shopping Trends to Look For in the 2022 Holiday Season

As the holiday season approaches and retailers prepare to attract customers, it’s important to know who is shopping, when they’re shopping and what their budget is.  

To get an idea of how people are approaching their holiday shopping this year, Rakuten Advertising surveyed 15,000 US consumers about their shopping plans and discovered these trends.

Shoppers are starting earlier 

Almost half of all the shoppers in the survey said they usually start holiday shopping in November, which is typically peak sale season. However, 18% said they plan to start in October, with another 10% starting as early as September. 

The early shoppers tend to be women, with 34% planning on beginning their shopping before the end of September, while only 13% of men plan on doing the same. Over half of the men in the survey reported starting their shopping in November, with another 16% waiting until December. 

Of the respondents who reported not planning on any holiday shopping at all, 14% were men and 7% were women.

Shoppers look to Black Friday for deals

Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year and consistently leads all of the Cyber Week sales in the Rakuten Advertising US network as the highest grossing, which could be primarily caused by shoppers’ perception of Black Friday sales.

Over half of the surveyed shoppers said they felt like Black Friday had the best deals during Cyber Week, with Cyber Monday coming in second, and Thanksgiving Day in third. 

Shoppers have varied budgets 

A variety of economic factors including supply chain issues, shortages, and inflation have complicated shopping plans for many shoppers, but a quarter of the survey respondents still plan on spending between $500 to $1,000 this season, with another 22% planning on spending between $250 to $500. Only a small percentage of shoppers plan to spend more than $2,000.

However, age is a determining factor in budget choices, with more than 50% of shoppers below 25 and over 65 leaning toward spending less than $500. 

Shoppers’ habits are changing with inflation

Price changes due to inflation are causing most shoppers to reconsider their holiday shopping plans and budgets, while some shoppers aren’t changing anything at all. 

Women shoppers were more likely to change their shopping plans by lowering budgets or buying fewer items, while many men plan to stick with their desired purchases despite price increases.

Overall, 36% of the shoppers surveyed don’t expect to make any changes to their budget or the number of items they plan on buying, which likely means they haven’t set a budget for their shopping at all. 

In July 2022, Rakuten Advertising surveyed 15,000 US consumers about their holiday shopping plans and expectations. Respondents were aged 18-70 and were equally split between men and women. 

Rakuten Advertising connects leading agencies, brands, and publishers to active and engaged consumers around the world. With access to Rakuten’s diverse media properties and audiences, combined with an award-winning performance network and proprietary consumer research, Rakuten Advertising creates the right conditions to reach new customers and sustain long-lasting loyalty. Its foundation of advanced technology, data, and strategic services positions Rakuten Advertising to offer a differentiated suite of marketing and advertising solutions while continually pushing the industry forward.