Holiday Readiness 2025: Trends We’re Tracking and How We’re Responding

The 2025 holiday season is shaping up to be somewhat of a paradox: shoppers are researching earlier, spending more cautiously and expecting brands to meet them wherever they wander—AI search, TikTok Shop, ranked gift guides, loyalty platforms and mobile feeds. Prices and tariffs are the top concern for 52% of U.S. adults, Gen Z is projecting a 22.5% YoY drop in holiday spend and overall consumers plan to spend about 5% less. So, for brands, showing up intentionally this holiday season is imperative.

To help prep you for the chaos of the holidays, our team pulled together a high-level breakdown of: what’s working in PR, affiliate, social media and paid media and how to capitalize on it.

Avoid spinning your wheels, and wasting your spend, this holiday season by showing up where, how and when it counts. If you want a second set of eyes on your holiday roadmap, our team is here to help fill in gaps and build the kind of scrappy, integrated strategies that actually move the needle. Reach out to us at yorygr@rygr.us.

 

Article References

Max Willens (2025). Affiliate Marketing 2025; As AI Disruption Looms, Affiliate Looks to Muscle Into a More Prominent Role. EMARKETER.

Peter Allen Clark (2025). Consumers get a head start on holiday shopping. EMARKETER.

Willens, M. (2025). Holiday shopping 2025: What to expect this season. EMARKETER.

PricewaterhouseCoopers. (2025). Holiday outlook 2025: Gen Z consumer trends. PwC US.

Pandey, K. (2025). Holiday shoppers to spend less amid tariffs and high prices. Axios.

Mills, C. (2025). Summer 2025 trend to watch: Last-minute bookings surge amid consumer uncertainty. Travel Weekly.

Carrillo, S. (2024). More than half of holiday tech shoppers are counting on Black Friday sales to save money, CNET survey finds. CNET.

PricewaterhouseCoopers. (2024). Holiday outlook trends 2024–2025. PwC US.