Circana: Holiday shopping insights shows in-store spending up

GaryPageau
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Circana posted a preliminary holiday sales report. The early signals from Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025 reveal a significant shift in spending behaviors. Unlike the consistency of previous years, income disparity is driving distinct patterns this season.

  • Spending Diverges by Income: Unlike last year’s consistent spending across demographics, Black Friday and Cyber Monday levels diverged significantly this year. Lower-income households are pulling back spending relative to upper-income households.
  • Trip Value Shifts: Spend-per-trip increased 4% in-store to $47.24, while online basket sizes decreased 3% to $62.11. Notably, Mass and Home Hardware were the two largest channels to experience decreases in in-store trip value.
  • Overall Season Outlook: While receipt data is still incomplete, early indicators suggest the season is tracking toward an overall decline in spending levels compared to last year, which benefited from heavier pre-Black Friday activity.
  • The Final Stretch: Expect online sales to remain relatively strong through the current week. In-store and BOPIS (Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store) trips will likely heat up this weekend and into the final shopping week, with lower-income groups expected to drive late-season traffic.

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Gary Pageau is principal of InfoCircle LLC, continuing his marketing communications career. InfoCircle LLC is a marketing and communications consulting firm, specializing in business-to-business markets. For nearly 25 years, he was with PMA International, serving most recently as Publisher, Content Development and Strategic Initiatives. His primary responsibilities included overseeing the Association’s editorial department, marketing research unit, education and corporate relations department.