• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, August 2, 2024

Online shopping is flat as we move toward the 2024 holiday season. And seasonal sales in general may have slowed, judging by 2024 Holiday Trends and Insights, a study by Experian. 

Monthly spending dipped at the end of Q1 following a strong follow-up to the 2023 holiday cycle. 

Moreover, consumers are increasingly seeking discount items and private labels, while choosing buy now, pay later options. 

Those findings are roughly in line with Fiserv’s report issued earlier this week. However, while using coupons, consumers surveyed instead to spend more than last year.  

Experian reports that online purchases constituted 34% of all sales in the October-December 2023 period, compared to a total of 33% in the same period in 2022.

Millennials in the 30- to-39-year-old age cohort did 38% of their shopping online, compared to 36% for GenZ, 34% for GenX and 31% for Baby Boomers.  

Last year, 35% of all holiday shopping was done in December, with 9% occurring the week before Christmas. 

The study also reports these general behaviors: 

- Consumers worried about inflation increasingly favor discount stores and mass retailers. 

- Shoppers ranging in age from 23 to 44 are highly focused on savings and are avid coupon users. Boomers are more driven by convenience when choosing retail options.  

- Among coupon users, 64% have children. 

The three top channels for reaching holiday shoppers in all demographics are CTV, digital newspapers (e.g., WSJ.com, CNN.com) and mobile. 

Experian analyzed purchase-based data from May 2022–May 2024, looking at credit and debit card usage across 800 top merchants. It defines the holiday shopping season as October–December.