At A Glance
Holiday spending is starting earlier, shifting further online, and holding steady year-over-year. Experian’s 2023 Holiday spending trends and insights report shows promotions pulling demand into October and November, steady consumer intent across the season, and growing overlap between online and in-store journeys. For marketers, that means planning sooner, connecting channels more deliberately, and measuring performance across the full holiday window.Holiday shopping no longer starts in December. Consumers are responding to earlier promotions, moving fluidly between online and physical stores, and maintaining consistent spending despite economic uncertainty. Experian’s 2023 Holiday spending trends and insights report breaks down what’s changing and how marketers can respond.
Here are three holiday spending insights shaping the 2023 holiday season.
1. Holiday spending is starting earlier
Holiday momentum now builds well before December. Promotions tied to Cyber Week and early online deals are shifting spending into October and November, extending the window for planning and activation.
Holiday sales by month vs. holiday sales (October-December)
| October | November | December | |
| 2022 | 31% | 33% | 36% |
| 2021 | 30% | 32% | 38% |
| 2020 | 31% | 32% | 37% |
| 2019 | 30% | 33% | 38% |
Cyber Week alone accounts for 8% of total holiday spending. Early activity rewards brands that show up sooner with relevant offers and consistent messaging. Marketers that plan for earlier holiday spending stay visible throughout the entire purchase cycle.
How can you apply these holiday spending insights to your campaigns?
Reach the right shoppers with your promotions with sell-side targeting. This approach gives you control over where ads appear while supporting visibility through direct publisher connections across mobile, web, and connected TV (CTV). Earlier reach helps keep your brand present as shoppers move from browsing to buying.
2. Online holiday spending continues to grow
Shoppers are increasingly researching, comparing prices, and planning purchases online. Online holiday spending increased 1% year-over-year, while in-store activity saw a 1% year-over-year decrease.
Online vs. in-store sales in 2022 by month (October-December)
| October | November | December | |
| Online | 29% | 34% | 38% |
| In-store | 32% | 32% | 36% |
Online sales still represent about one-third of total holiday shopping, but growth opportunities remain strong, especially in categories like electronics, office supplies, and gaming. Even when purchases happen in-store, online activity often plays a role earlier in the journey.
How can you apply these holiday spending insights to your campaigns?
Support omnichannel shopping behavior with an agnostic identity graph. By connecting device and media signals, you can bring together online and offline activity, gain a clearer view of your audience, and make informed decisions about channel mix and budget allocation.
3. Holiday spending remains steady year-over-year
Holiday spending in 2023 is tracking closely with 2022, signaling consistent consumer intent throughout the season. Last year’s early promotional response in October was followed by steady spending through year end.
Year-over-year change on average consumer spending
| October | November | December | |
| 2020 vs. 2019 | 14% | 12% | 10% |
| 2021 vs. 2020 | 6% | 8% | 5% |
| 2022 vs. 2021 | 7% | 3% | 2% |
Overall holiday spending increased by 2% in 2022. That stability gives marketers room to focus on optimization and measurement, rather than reacting to short-term swings. When conditions remain consistent, it becomes easier to tie media decisions to meaningful business outcomes.
How can you apply these holiday spending insights to your campaigns?
Strengthen your strategy with data enrichment. Adding deeper insight into shopper preferences and behaviors helps tailor messaging and maintain consistency across channels, supporting stronger connections throughout the season.
Key takeaways
Get ready for the 2025 holiday season
2025 Holiday spending trends and insights report
Download Experian’s 2025 Holiday spending trends and insights report, in collaboration with GroundTruth. Inside you’ll find:
- When shoppers plan to buy
- Why stores still drive results
- Where marketers are placing their bets
- How AI is shaping discovery
Access our full set of predictions and plan your next holiday season now.
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FAQs
Experian’s 2023 holiday spending analysis shows shoppers starting earlier, engaging more through digital channels, and maintaining steady year-over-year spend. These behaviors extend the season and reward brands that activate sooner. For marketers, this creates a longer runway to influence demand and measure impact.
Experian uses identity as the foundation to connect digital exposure with in-store and online purchase behavior. This approach allows marketers to see how holiday spending unfolds across channels rather than treating each interaction separately. The result is a clearer view of how media drives outcomes throughout the season.
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In our Ask the Expert Series, we interview leaders from our partner organizations who are helping lead their brands to new heights in adtech. Today’s interview is with Georgia Campbell, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Kontext. What types of audiences does Kontext provide, and what are some top use cases for these insights in marketing strategies? Kontext leverages its 1st-party, deterministic shopping data to generate real-time online audiences. What sets Kontext apart is our ability to see the entire consumer journey, from shopping interest to intent and purchases, at a SKU-level. This comprehensive visibility allows us to create purchase-based audiences across various consumer verticals, such as frequent online shoppers, consumers shopping for beauty, segments using Mastercard, or Black Friday enthusiasts. Our data engine, built on a foundation of approximately 100 million consumer profiles and over 10 billion full-funnel, real-time shopping events, enables the creation of precise audience segments. This real-time 1st-party shopper data is invaluable for partners aiming to understand and engage with consumers more effectively. Whether a brand wants to activate past shoppers in a specific category or reach new audiences with a propensity to buy, Kontext provides the insights needed to make informed decisions. Some examples of audience types include these (and hundreds more): In-Market Shoppers: Consumers showing high intent to purchase specific categories, like skincare or electronics, based on recent online behavior. Past Purchasers: Shoppers who have made verified purchases within specific time frames, such as beauty products in the last 18 months. Frequent Shoppers: High-frequency buyers identified through repeated purchasing behaviors. Seasonal Shoppers: Consumers active during key shopping seasons, like Black Friday, Mother’s Day, Valentine's Day, etc Premium Buyers: Shoppers who used a premium CC (eg. Amex) and a higher AOV (average order value) Beauty Buyers: an audience that has indicated intent to purchase beauty products (deterministic past purchasers also avail) By using Kontext data, brands can identify the right audiences across multiple verticals, such as retail, CPG, health & wellness, auto, business, energy & utility, financial, and travel. Additionally, our collaboration with Experian allows further refinement of these audiences through layered data from specialty categories like demographics, lifestyle & interests, mobile location, and TV viewing habits. How is Kontext’s data sourced, and what differentiates it from other data providers? Kontext’s data is unique because it is deterministic, 1st-party, and collected as transactions occur. We capture the entire path-to-purchase, down to the SKU-level product detail, across 100 million consumer profiles and more than 10 billion real-time shopping events. Our proprietary technology, embedded in widgets across our 5 million premium online destinations, tracks the full consumer journey—from reading an article of interest to clicking on our dynamic commerce modules, adding items to cart, and completing purchases. This real-time data collection ensures there is no lag between digital events and their connection to consumer profiles. Unlike other providers, we do not aggregate data from multiple platforms; instead, we focus on building our models and insights based on authentic online consumer behavior. Our data stands out due to its: Deterministic Nature: We capture 1st-party data as transactions occur (all in real time) Full-Funnel Coverage: We capture consumer journeys from awareness to purchase, providing a complete view of consumer behavior. Real-Time Insights: Our data engine processes events in real-time, enabling timely and relevant marketing actions. How does Kontext ensure the accuracy and reliability of its audience data? Kontext ensures accuracy and reliability through our unique technology and direct data sourcing. By not aggregating data from other platforms, we maintain control over the quality and integrity of our insights. Our continuous investment in refining our models around online consumer behavior further enhances the precision of our audience data. What types of brands or verticals might resonate the most with Kontext audiences for activation? Any brand looking to understand and activate online shopping behavior – informed by 1st-party transaction data – will resonate with Kontext audiences. Essentially, any vertical that benefits from understanding real-time shopping behaviors, such as retail, health & wellness, auto, and financial services, will find our data invaluable. We have particularly strong insights in beauty, hair care, health & wellness, and values-based online shopping habits, as well as the food & beverage space. Retail & Consumer Goods: Leveraging shopping behavior data for targeted campaigns. Health & Wellness: Identifying consumers with specific health and wellness interests. Automotive: Targeting potential buyers of electric vehicles or eco-friendly products. Financial Services: Engaging high-value shoppers with premium credit card usage. And many more How does Kontext’s data help advertisers navigate the challenges posed by the deprecation of third-party cookies? As third-party cookies become less reliable, Kontext’s 1st-party data becomes invaluable. Our deterministic data engine, which does not rely on cookies, offers: Direct Consumer Insights: Accurate and consented data directly from consumer interactions. Privacy Compliance: Our data collection methods are fully compliant with privacy regulations, ensuring secure usage. Cross-Device Coverage: We use verified digital identifiers, allowing seamless unification and targeting across multiple devices. What measures does Kontext take to maintain data privacy and compliance, and how does this benefit advertisers? Data privacy and compliance are fundamental to Kontext. We meet or exceed all privacy compliance and security standards, ensuring that our data sourcing and usage are transparent and comply with regulations (CCPA, CPRA, VCDPA, etc). Kontext prioritizes data privacy and compliance through: Consented Data Collection: All data is collected with explicit consumer consent. Robust Security Protocols: Data is encrypted and secured with industry-leading practices. Compliance with Regulations: We adhere to global privacy laws, including GDPR and CCPA. User Control: Consumers have the ability to opt-out and manage their data preferences. Can you share success stories / use-cases where advertisers significantly improved their campaigns using Kontext’s data? To give you a sense of how Kontext data can be applied, here are two use-cases: Beauty Brand Campaign: An agency hoping to activate an audience of beauty purchasers for a Major Beauty Brand could utilize Kontext's custom audience of high-value beauty product purchasers. By targeting those consumers who had bought similar products in the last 12 months and had an average cart size of over $50, the campaign would significantly increase performance and ROAS. Electric Vehicle Launch: For a major auto manufacturer’s EV launch, Kontext could be used to identify eco-friendly consumers who had not yet purchased an EV but had shown interest in sustainable products. This precise targeting could lead to higher engagement and conversion rates for the campaign. Thanks for the interview. Any recommendations for our readers if they want to learn more? For those interested in learning more about Kontext, reach out for a personalized consultation. Contact us About our expert Georgia Campbell, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Kontext In her current role as Head of Strategic Partnerships at Kontext, Georgia plays a pivotal role in shaping the company's strategic direction within the data space. With a deep-seated expertise in leveraging data to drive impact for companies, Georgia has been forging key partnerships that enhance the effectiveness and reach of Kontext's offerings. Georgia comes from a background in emerging technology, where she has been focused on cultivating partnerships and employing data-driven approaches to spearhead market expansion efforts. She started her career in finance, managing investments across equity, debt, and alternative assets at Brown Advisory. In this Q&A, Georgia shares her insights on Kontext's Onboarding partnership with Experian, offering perspective on how Kontext's unique insights can unlock new opportunities for advertisers and brands alike. Latest posts
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