2023 holiday spending trends: 

Retailers ring up sales as holiday spending starts early

As our 2023 Holiday Quick Take report indicates, evolving holiday  shopping trends make this season stand out. Many consumers began their shopping earlier, purchasing through hybrid and digital channels rather than traditional brick-and-mortar. Discount and off-price options are gaining ground as consumers face continuing inflation, high interest rates, and employment concerns. Meanwhile, retailers are responding with buy-now, pay-later options and hybrid shopping models, while experimenting with Gen AI to engage with consumers and improve personalization.

Consumers are increasingly using social media during their purchase journey, everything from identifying what they want to buy, maybe even doing a little bit more research, all the way sometimes through making that final purchase. Even though these direct sales through social media still represent a very small percentage of total sales, it's still a growing space, particularly with Gen Z consumers.

– Kate Christian, Senior Consultant, Deloitte Consulting

In this special holiday edition of the podcast, we explore the latest holiday shopping trends and how retailers are responding to the demand for value, flexibility, and personalization.

Deloitte Consulting retail professionals Jen Spadaro and Kate Christian join guest host Kianna Sanchez to discuss highlights from Deloitte's annual Holiday Quick Take report, including a shift in the holiday spending behaviors of consumers as the overall economic environment shifted. We’ll also explore interesting trends in holiday ecommerce and retailer strategies during the 2023 holiday season.

Disclaimer: All data points and high-level trends mentioned in this episode were pulled from the 2023 Holiday Quick Take. For more information access the quick take here - Unwrapping 2023 Holiday Shopping Results | Deloitte US