Searches for "where to buy" peak on Dec. 23 as last-minute shoppers grab their final gifts and stocking stuffers
Google Data, U.S., Nov.-Dec. 2016.
In the 2022 holiday season, U.S. consumers spent over $47 billion in retail (excluding auto, grocery, and restaurants) in the two weeks after December 25, according to a Mastercard credit card analysis conducted by BCG.
The search volume for gift-related queries, like “gifts” and “presents,” remained high in January 2023 — a 45% and 15% increase compared to the early holiday months of September and October 2022, respectively.
45% of consumers say they enjoy shopping during the time after Christmas.
Shoppers were shopping for themselves during 50% of occasions from December 26, 2023 to January 3, 2024. They wanted to take advantage of sales and discounts (28%), wanted to buy themselves a treat (27%), and needed it or needed a replacement (26%).
Shoppers use more digital resources to make purchases after the height of the holiday season, with the average number of digital resources used increasing post-holiday. This includes Google properties like Search, Maps, and YouTube whose already high usage increases significantly after December 25.
In January 2023, we observed a 50% surge in search interest regarding loyalty programs, including searches for terms like “reward program” and “loyalty points,” compared to December 2022.