Many consumers to shop for holidays early with omnichannel approach

Bazaarvoice’s 2024 Global Holiday Season Consumer Behavior Report found that almost a quarter of shoppers (23%) will start gift shopping by August or earlier.

More than half of consumers start their holiday shopping before fall arrives, according to a new survey.

Bazaarvoice’s 2024 Global Holiday Season Consumer Behavior Report, based on insights from more than 8,000 global consumers, found that almost a quarter of shoppers (23%) will start gift shopping by August or earlier. More than a third of people (37%) will start by September, and more than half (55%) will start by October.

Most customers (62%) told Bazaarvoice that October or earlier is too early for stores to showcase holiday items and sales, although a quarter (26%) said it’s never too early.

Going to the mall is still popular for people to start their holiday shopping (28%). Gen Z was the most likely across all generations to say they started by going to the mall (35%). The most popular places to begin holiday shopping are researching search engines (24%) and looking directly at brand and retailer sites (24%).