Consumer Behavior

Shoppers gearing up for holiday season

Photo: Adobe Stock

July 10, 2024

It may only be early July but consumers are getting ready to start shopping for the holiday sales season with 23% kicking it off by August or earlier.

That's a top finding from Bazaarvoice's 2024 Global Holiday Season Consumer Behavior report which polled more than 8,000 global consumers.

More than a third of consumers, 37%, will start holiday shopping by September and more than half, 55%, will start by October, according to a press release on the study's findings.

In the U.K., the holiday buying starts by July or even earlier, compared to 13% of U.S. shoppers who begin by July.

The most popular places to begin holiday shopping are researching search engines (24%) and looking directly at brand and retailer sites (24%).

When asked what type of content is preferred on social media during the holiday season (user-generated, brand-created or influencer-created), shoppers are split. 46% of consumers prefer brand-created content. 44% prefer user-generated content, with 10% who prefer influencer-created content.

"In today's market, it's crucial for brands to create authentic and engaging content at the consumer's preferred place and moment of engagement. With 82% of shoppers emphasizing the importance of seamless experience across multiple channels, leveraging 'waterholes' across the journey and integrating online and in-store experiences is crucial for an effective omnichannel strategy," Zarina Stanford, CMO, Bazaarvoice, said in the release.