In 2025, holiday retail sales in the United States were forecast to reach over************* U.S. dollars. This figure was given as a conservative estimate; retail sales over the holiday season were projected to be between ****** billion U.S. dollars and *******billion U.S. dollars in 2025. Holiday retail sales have risen substantially since the turn of the century, reaching approximately 416 billion U.S. dollars in 2002. Holiday retail sales are a fraction of total retail sales in the United States, which were around ************** U.S. dollars in 2023. Holiday season e-commerce is also on the rise, with increasing numbers of retailers and consumers going digital. What makes up the winter holiday season in the United States? The winter holiday season includes shopping occasions such as Thanksgiving weekend - which is made up of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, Super Saturday – the last Saturday before Christmas, and Christmas itself. Thanksgiving weekend is a very popular time for consumers to partake in holiday shopping. In 2022, over *** million U.S. consumers shopped on Black Friday. Leading companies in U.S. retail The domestic retail market in the United States is very competitive, with many companies recording substantial retail sales. Walmart, a retail chain offering low prices and a wide selection of products, is the leading retailer in the United States. Amazon, The Kroger Co., Costco, and Target are a selection of other leading U.S. retailers.

In the United States, holiday season online retail sales grew by 8.6 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year. Forecasts suggested that this growth would decrease in 2025 to 5.3 percent. The new normal in holiday shopping In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted many U.S. consumers to do their holiday shopping online. A year later, although the situation once again allows for physical shopping, e-commerce is still gaining relevance. According to estimates, holiday season online retail sales in the United States were to reach new heights in 2024, amounting to 241 billion dollars. As in previous years, Cyber Monday and Black Friday would remain the most relevant holiday shopping days in 2025, expected to generate approximately 14 billion and 12 billion U.S. dollars in sales, respectively. A preference for online With Cyber Monday expected to generate 2.5 billion dollars more than Black Friday in 2025, it comes as no surprise that most holiday shoppers reported that their preferred type of retailer for holiday gifts were online-only retailers. Over six in ten consumers prefered to buy holiday gifts from e-commerce only merchants, while department stores only only preferred by about 24 percent of seasonal shoppers.

This statistic shows the year-over-year growth of holiday retail sales in the United States from 2000 to 2024. In 2024, holiday retail sales were forecast to grow by approximately 2.5 percent compared to the previous year. This was given as a conservative value. Forecast holiday season retail growth was expected to be within 2.5 and 3.5 percent range. Holiday season in the United States The holiday season is just around the corner and it’s truly the best time of the year for both consumers and retailers of all shapes and sizes. Since the recession in 2008, Christmas holiday retail sales in the United States have grown steadily. In 2022, Christmas retail sales reached 929.5 billion U.S. dollars. Furthermore, the amount of money that U.S. consumers plan to spend on gifts has fluctuated year to year. Gift shopping In the United States, consumers were more likely to select online stores when shopping for gifts for their loved ones. More than half of consumers in 2022 said that they were more likely to visit online retailers for holiday gifts. Mass retailers were also popular with half of respondents to the same survey. Most U.S. consumers would already begin their holiday shopping before Thanksgiving. Only a small fraction of consumers (nine percent) said they would start their holiday shopping in December.

Based on Statista estimates, the total value of retail sales over the holiday shopping season is forecast to reach 973 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. This marks a 4.8 percent increase on the previous year's value, which accounted to about 929 billion U.S. dollars.

During the 2025 holiday season, 47 percent of American shoppers planned to buy exclusively or mostly online. Only 9 percent of shoppers intend to buy everything in stores, while 24 percent plan to divide their holiday purchases equally between online and offline purchase channels.

During the 2025 holiday season, 60 percent of the budget designated to buy toys and hobby products and services is expected to be spent online in the United States. Most of the spending on electronics and accessories (58 percent) is also expected to happen online, while over 80 percent of food and beverage spending is planned in-store.

In the United States, electronics is forecast to be the most lucrative product category for retail e-commerce sales during the 2025 holiday season, expected to generate about 57.5 billion U.S. dollars. Apparel was forecast as the second highest earning category at 47.6 billion U.S. dollars.

Social media has played an increasingly important role in holiday shopping in the United States in recent years. A survey revealed that, in 2025, approximately ** percent of shoppers planned to use these platforms to search for or purchase holiday products. Social media as a source of inspiration With roughly **** out of ten internet users on social media, these platforms have become an increasingly powerful channel of communication and inspiration in the United States. That is especially true when seeking gift ideas for friends and family during the holiday season. In a 2021 survey, ** percent of U.S. consumers reported using at least one social network for holiday shopping inspiration, with this usage proving particularly strong among younger generations of shoppers. While YouTube was the most influential social network among male-identifying shoppers, *** platforms from Meta (formerly Facebook Inc.) - Facebook and Instagram - were a leading source of inspiration and information in U.S. consumers' holiday purchase process regardless of gender. A trend transcending the holiday season Beyond the euphoria of year-end shopping, the use of social media as a source of inspiration and shopping platform has recently taken off. China has led the way in adopting this trend, but the United States is now following in its footsteps. In 2021, an estimated ** percent of U.S. internet users engaged in social media shopping, which translates to about ** million people buying on at least one of these platforms. Prospects look bright for social commerce in the U.S., as its growing popularity is forecast to see the number of social shoppers hit the 100 million mark by 2023.

In the United States, holiday season online retail sales grew by *** percent in 2023 compared to the previous year. Forecasts suggested that this growth would increase in 2024 to *** percent. The new normal in holiday shopping In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted many U.S. consumers to do their holiday shopping online. A year later, although the situation once again allows for physical shopping, e-commerce is still gaining relevance. According to estimates, holiday season online retail sales in the United States were to reach new heights in 2023, amounting to *** billion dollars. As in previous years, Cyber Monday and Black Friday would remain the most relevant holiday shopping days in 2023, expected to generate approximately ** billion and *** billion U.S. dollars in sales, respectively. A preference for online With Cyber Monday expected to generate *** billion dollars more than Black Friday in 2023, it comes as no surprise that most holiday shoppers reported that their preferred type of retailer for holiday gifts were online-only retailers. Over six in ten consumers prefered to buy holiday gifts from e-commerce only merchants, while department stores only only preferred by about ** percent of seasonal shoppers.

In 2025, ** percent of U.S. consumers planned to shop online for the holiday season. Still, ** percent of consumers planned to do their holiday shopping at a department store that year.

According to the results of a recent survey conducted among U.S. consumers, getting the best bang for your buck was the most important factor when shopping during the holiday season in the United States. Quality ranked *****, valued the most by just under ** percent of respondents.

In the United States, almost **** of consumers intended to start their holiday shopping in October or November 2025. Over ** percent planned to begin shopping for the holidays during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, while only * percent intended to do it the week before Christmas.

In 2025, mobile devices were responsible for the majority of revenue (56.1 percent) generated during the U.S. holiday sales season. However, the percentage generated by desktop and other devices remained close, reaching 43.9 percent.

In 2024, most U.S. shoppers preferred to shop **************** for the holidays. ***************** was only forecast to dominate ****** channels during the weekend after Thanksgiving and after Christmas until the New Year.

In 2022, more shoppers were planning to integrate in-store and online retail technologies into their holiday season shopping in the United States. About ** percent of consumers said they were planning to use cashier-less stores. VR and AR-enabled shopping was selected by a small share of respondents.

In 2023, holiday shopping season will start a little later for many consumers in the United States. According to the findings of a recent survey, half of U.S. consumers were intending to start their holiday shopping in October in 2023. This share was at 56 percent the previous year.

Holiday season in the United States The holiday season is just around the corner and it’s truly the best time of the year for both consumers and retailers of all shapes and sizes. Since the recession in 2008, Christmas holiday retail sales in the United States have grown steadily. The amount of money that U.S. consumers plan to spend on gifts has, however, fluctuated. A 2022 survey revealed that U.S. consumers expected to spend, on average, 867 U.S. dollars in 2022; an increase from 794 dollars in 2018.

Black Friday For millions of people, Black Friday is the time to do some serious Christmas shopping — even before the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone. It is the Friday after Thanksgiving, and it's one of the major shopping days of the year in the United States, falling anywhere between November 23 and 29. While it's not recognized as an official US holiday, many employees have the day off — except those working in retail. Ever since the start of the modern Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been known as the unofficial start to a bustling holiday shopping season.

According to a 2025 survey, ** percent of U.S. consumers were influenced by YouTube when purchasing holiday gifts. Instagram was the second most influential social network for holiday gift shopping, as ** percent of respondents said they made a purchase after seeing content on that platform.

As of September 2025, survey respondents in America expect to spend approximately *** U.S. dollars on gifting experiences for the holiday season, such as restaurant meals and concert tickets. They prioritize these experiences over retail purchases, including nongift purchases such as home furnishings and holiday decorations.

In 2024, consumers in the United States planned to spend an average of just under six weeks shopping during the holiday season. This is about the same as the previous two years, but a decrease compared to 2019, for example. That year, Americans expected to complete their holiday shopping in about seven and a half weeks on average.

During the holiday season in 2025, ** percent of gift buyers in the United States planned to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to find product deals to shop or to compare products. Over ** percent of shoppers intended to use AI-powered tools to summarize product reviews or product information, while ** percent were not planning on using AI tools for their holiday shopping.