The 2025 holiday season is already in full swing, and shoppers are ready to spend! For Rio Linda businesses, this is the critical moment to act decisively and capture immediate sales.
While consumers are entering the season cautious about the economy, they are decisive in their purchasing intent. Initial forecasts are strong: American spending is expected to remain stable, with consumers planning to spend an average of $1,007 on gifts. This historically elevated figure could translate to robust holiday sales growth of 4% to 5%.
The most important signal? Demand is queued up and ready to convert. As of mid-October, 40% of shoppers are “absolutely certain” about the gifts they need to buy—a significant leap from 32% last year. Every moment of hesitation now means a potential sale handed directly to a competitor outside our community.
Based on real-time data, here are three immediate, actionable steps local retailers can take to ensure these ready-to-buy shoppers choose your brand.
1. Win the ‘Research Race’ to Close the Sale
Today’s customer journey is deliberate, not spontaneous. Research is paramount: 83% of early October holiday purchases were researched beforehand, a significant increase from 77% last year. Customers are double-checking prices, reviews, and product details before they commit. They are using search engines and video platforms to build the confidence they need to finally click “buy,” or walk through your doors.
💡 Your Immediate Move: Be the Source of Confidence
- Be Always-On: Holiday shopping spans from October through January. Don’t limit your outreach to just Black Friday. Maintain a consistent presence to capture sales whenever a shopper decides to buy.
- Remove Friction (Online & In-Store): 71% of U.S. holiday shoppers are omnichannel (jumping to 79% for Gen Z). Ensure the path from seeing your product online to purchasing it—either via your website or in your physical store—is seamless and simple.
- Build Trust with Search and Video: Search is the number one way shoppers confirm facts like quality, good reviews, and brand reputation. Utilizing platforms like YouTube for product reviews and demonstrations is key, as 82% of viewers in the U.S. agree that YouTube has the most trusted creators for product information.
2. Rely on Proven Channels that Drive Growth
In a volatile economy, your advertising budget needs to deliver proven, measurable results. You need scale and stability to hit your numbers.
- It’s Where Shoppers Are: Consistently, 4 out of 5 holiday shoppers use Google and/or YouTube at some point during the season. This stability has held true for the past five years despite the emergence of new platforms.
- It’s Where Gen Z Shops: Despite buzz around newer channels, 91% of Gen Z use Google and YouTube for their holiday shopping, making it their number one resource.
- It Drives More Sales: Holiday shoppers using Google or YouTube are 1.6X more likely to make a purchase.
💡 Your Immediate Move: Optimize Your Offers
- Own the Final Decision: Customers are at their most valuable when making a final choice. Make sure your best offers, from discounts to delivery guarantees, are clearly aligned with the precise moment they are comparing products or watching a final review.
- Attract New Demand: Invest in high-quality, visually appealing ads and content across proven channels. Leverage your data to bid more aggressively for high-value prospects who are likely to become long-term customers.
3. Plan for the Bonus Round: The Profitable ‘Q5’
A common and costly mistake is winding down operations after Christmas. The two-week period from December 26 to January 8—often called “Q5″—is one of the most profitable windows of the entire year.
During this window, shoppers are not casual browsers; they are high-intent buyers actively searching for deals and seeking to treat themselves with gift cards and holiday money.
- Shoppers Are Ready to Buy: After the holidays, shoppers are most likely to convert: 87% of their shopping occasions result in a purchase.
- Higher Average Transaction Value: This is the real prize. In the U.S., 61% of shoppers spend more than the gift card’s value when redeeming, adding an average of $31.75 above the card’s value. This “top-off” spending significantly boosts sales and margin.
💡 Your Immediate Move: Stay Live and Accessible
- Don’t Go Dark: Plan now to maintain or even increase your budget during Q5 to capture the wave of high-intent buyers and reconnect with your loyal customers.
- Remove Post-Holiday Friction: Ensure your mobile checkout is flawless and highlight fast shipping. Most critically, make sure your Google Business Profile is updated to show accurate local inventory, hours, and policies for post-holiday returns and exchanges, making it easy for shoppers to complete their purchase or transaction with you.
The demand is there. The holiday shoppers are ready. The clock is ticking. Will your Rio Linda business be there to meet them?
This is incredibly helpful information, and we sincerely thank Google U for providing these valuable insights into the 2025 holiday shopping season. The data—particularly the early readiness of consumers and the critical importance of being “always-on” across both digital and physical channels—offers a clear, actionable roadmap for our local businesses. We appreciate the proprietary signals and the three strategic moves that will help Rio Linda retailers capture high-intent shoppers and maximize sales well into the profitable post-Christmas period.