Holiday spend, international transactions, and non-card payments boosted growth

With the holiday season in the rearview mirror, our analysts are already looking ahead to what the rest of this year—including the 2025 holiday season—will look like. This year will be defined by unpredictability, as President Trump begins his second term during a time of mixed consumer sentiments. Here are four trends our analysts expect will continue in 2025.

A lot can happen in a week. Rue21’s customer overlap with TikTok Shop could position the brand to benefit from a potential TikTok ban. Meanwhile, Gen Z consumers are increasingly choosing alcohol-free lifestyles, reflecting health-conscious preferences. Cost-consciousness drives brand switching, but convenience remains key in purchase decisions. Here are five stats that caught our eye this week.

Christmas Day is less than a week away, but some consumers are still chipping away at their lists. That’s why Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Dollar General are announcing last-minute holiday deals for consumers seeking the perfect gift.

There's no shortage of lessons for retailers, advertisers, and brands to learn from an eventful 2024, where many sectors of retail thrived even as economic anxiety affected consumer habits.

Consumers spent a record-breaking $314.9 billion online globally during this year’s Cyber Five, according to Salesforce. But there’s lots more to learn beyond top-line sales numbers—from Target's Taylor Swift-fueled Black Friday surge to Gen Z's big spending habits. Here are five key stats on Cyber Five performance you may have missed and what they mean for the rest of the holiday season.

But fraud still remained rampant across the holiday weekend, showing payment providers have more work to do to step up their protections

But the payment method’s volume grew slower than overall retail sales, suggesting providers need to do more to amp up growth

The company used its two-sided network to capitalize on the holiday weekend

The buy button has been on a growth tear since Shopify opened it up to enterprise customers outside of its ecosystem

Gap’s momentum continues into the holiday season: Weather-related headwinds notwithstanding, the retailer’s brand reinvigoration efforts are resonating with shoppers and driving sales.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss what the arrival of SearchGPT means for the search universe, the best ways to market through emotion, what the November holiday shopping season storyline will be, what happens now we have reached “peak media”, the most suitable post-pandemic work arrangement, and more. Tune in to the discussion with Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Vice Presidents of Content Suzy Davidkhanian and Paul Verna, and Senior Analyst Blake Droesch.

TikTok Shop is entering its second holiday season, when it will rely on big brands and livestream commerce to maintain the momentum it's gathered since launching a little over a year ago.

Ahead of this year’s highly competitive holiday season, retailers like Dollar General, Neiman Marcus, and Amazon are releasing print versions of their holiday catalogs, focusing on curation, inspiration, and showcasing the best deals.

Retailers face unprecedented challenges this year. From extreme weather events to political uncertainty, brands must prepare for disruption while still meeting consumer demand for value, our analysts said on a recent episode of the “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast.

We expect social commerce sales in the US to reach $101.38 billion this year, driven by existing buyers increasing their spending. While social commerce plays a smaller role in holiday shopping, it's popular among Gen Z, who are more likely to make purchases influenced by creators. TikTok and Facebook are the top platforms, with apparel brands poised to benefit the most.

Sweater weather has arrived, meaning pumpkin spice-flavored everything will flood retail shelves. But consumers’ price consciousness could make it difficult for retailers to encourage spending on discretionary purchases. That’s why Amazon, Target, and Albertsons are expanding their private label brands, leaning on fun, seasonal flavors and small indulgences to get consumers to splurge beyond their normal groceries.

Consumers are starting their Halloween shopping earlier, but they are expected to spend slightly less than last year, indicating that while excitement is high, consumers are more budget-conscious. Retailers can capture this early and cautious spending by offering competitive prices, prioritizing in-store promotions, and creating a one-stop Halloween shopping destination.

This holiday season, retailers can stand out in the crowded ecommerce landscape by using retail media. This approach enhances the shopping experience while creating new revenue streams to offset the challenges of online shopping.

Search ads launch on TikTok: The keyword-based feature enables brands to reach users during searches, aligning ad efforts with user intent and behavior.