
With over one billion shoppers eagerly preparing to shop for gifts, decorations, and seasonal essentials, now is the perfect time to refine your marketing tactics and connect with these shoppers. With holiday retail sales set to reach $1.37 trillion, it’s time to unwrap holiday spending insights to ensure that your holiday advertising campaigns light up the festive season. The holiday shopping frenzy offers marketers and retailers a chance to capture attention, drive sales, and build lasting customer relationships.
In this blog post, we’ll reveal holiday shopping audiences, including 19 new audiences, designed for you to reach the most relevant shoppers for your campaigns. These audiences are available for activation on-the-shelf of most major ad platforms, including TV and programmatic. You can find the complete audience segment name in the appendix.
2024 Holiday spending trends and insights report
Download our latest report for data-driven insights you can use to refine your messaging and reach the right audience in their preferred channels this holiday season.
Download nowWhat separates Experian’s syndicated audiences
- Experian’s 2,400+ syndicated audiences are available directly on over 30 leading television, social, programmatic advertising platforms, and directly within Audigent for activation within private marketplaces (PMPs).
- Reach consumers based on who they are, where they live, and their household makeup. Experian ranked #1 in accuracy by Truthset for key demographic attributes.
- Access to unique audiences through Experian’s Partner Audiences available on Experian’s data marketplace, within Audigent for activation in PMPs and directly on platforms like DirectTV, Dish, Magnite, OpenAP, and The Trade Desk.
Holiday shopping styles

It’s important to understand how your holiday shopper “shops,” with individual shopping styles varying from a last-minute dash to the store to the one-stop shopper. One in three consumers anticipate beginning their holiday shopping before October this year, with Millennials and Gen Xers being the most proactive, due to concerns about items running out of stock. In contrast, 42% of Boomers are generally less inclined to shop early, wanting to start their holiday shopping in November or December. All generations are motivated to shop early by discounts.1
By choosing and activating the right audience segments, you can deliver messages that resonate with the consumer’s preferred shopping style, ensuring your holiday campaign will align with their shopping preferences and behaviors.
Here are five audiences that you can activate based on shopping style:
- Last-Minute Holiday Shoppers
- One Stop Holiday Shoppers/Power Shoppers: In-Store or Online
- Impulse Buyers
- eCommerce Diehards
- Brick & Mortar Diehards
Discount-seeking shoppers

The holiday season is a time of giving, but also saving! Consumers are driven to shop early by discounts and early sales — 52% of consumers said discounts are their biggest motivator to shop early. Price is another crucial factor — 47% of consumers said price is the most important factor when deciding where to shop during the holiday season. Major holiday shopping events, such as Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, are expected to attract a significant portion of consumers this upcoming year.2
Here are eight audiences you can activate to reach discount-seeking shoppers:
- NEW! Discount Holiday Shoppers
- NEW! Cyber Monday Holiday Shoppers
- NEW! Black Friday Holiday Shoppers
- NEW! Big Box/Club Stores Holiday Shoppers
- NEW! Online Coupon Users
- TrueTouch: Online Coupon Site
- Department Store Deal Shoppers: In-Store or Online
- Post Holiday Shoppers
Gift givers

Holiday shoppers are torn between saving and splurging. Nearly a third of consumers anticipate spending more on holiday shopping this year, while the same number of consumers say they’ll be spending less. Boomers anticipate spending the most on gift cards, Gen Z on clothing, and Millennials on toys, electronics, and experiences.3
Given holiday shoppers’ varied spending habits, it’s important to target the right audience segments to maximize your impact. Targeting specific audience segments allows advertisers to better reach those most interested in their products.
Here are six audiences you can activate to target gift givers:
- NEW! Luxury Gift Shoppers
- NEW! Holiday Shopping High Spenders
- NEW! Holiday Shopping Moderate Spenders
- NEW! Holiday Charitable Donations
- High Spend Gift Shoppers
- Heavy Buyer/Spenders Holiday Shoppers: In-Store or Online
Holiday travelers

In 2023, nearly three million travelers passed through airports on the Sunday after Thanksgiving alone. Take advantage of the busy travel season with our audience segments. By targeting specific travel preferences and behaviors, you can capture the attention of individuals planning trips this holiday season.
Here are seven audiences to tailor your campaign according to travel preferences:
- NEW! Holiday International Travelers
- NEW! Holiday Travel-Train
- NEW! Holiday Budget Savvy Airline Travelers
- Vacation/Leisure Travelers: Domestic Trips
- Air Travel (FLA/Fair Lending Friendly)4
- Vacation/Leisure Travelers: Frequent Spenders
- Hotels: Frequent Spend
When you work with Experian, you work with a single data provider that gives you access to audiences across multiple verticals and categories, such as travel and retail.
Targeted advertising this holiday season with Experian audiences
The holiday season is the busiest time of the year for advertisers. Experian’s data, ranked #1 in accuracy by Truthset, allows advertisers to reach people based on demographic, geographic, and behavioral attributes (e.g. websites visited and purchase history). By using Experian’s audiences in your holiday advertising campaigns, you can reach last-minute shoppers, discount-seeking shoppers, gift-givers, and holiday travelers.
Just as shoppers seek the perfect gifts, with the right strategy, your holiday advertising campaigns can capture the right shoppers this holiday season. Need a custom audience? Reach out to our audience team and we can help you build and activate an Experian audience on the platform of your choice. Additionally, work with Experian’s network of data providers to build audiences and send to an Audigent PMP for activation.

You can activate our syndicated audiences on-the-shelf of most major platforms. For a full list of Experian’s syndicated audiences and activation destinations, download our syndicated audiences guide.
Explore our other seasonal audiences that you can activate today.
Contact us
Footnotes
- Online survey conducted in June, 2024 among n=1,000 U.S. adults 18+. Sample balanced to look like the general population on key demographics (age, gender, household income, ethnicity, and region). n = 204 Gen Z, n = 234 Millennials, n = 270 Gen X, n = 272 Baby Boomers.
- Online survey.
- Online survey.
- “Fair Lending Friendly” indicates data fields that Experian has made available without use of certain demographic attributes that may increase the likelihood of discriminatory practices prohibited by the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”). These excluded attributes include, but may not be limited to, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, disability, handicap, family status, ancestry, sexual orientation, unfavorable military discharge, and gender. Experian’s provision of Fair Lending Friendly indicators does not constitute legal advice or otherwise assures your compliance with the FHA, ECOA, or any other applicable laws. Clients should seek legal advice with respect to your use of data in connection with lending decisions or application and compliance with applicable laws.
Appendix
Here are the complete audience segment names (taxonomy paths) for all audience segments discussed in this blog post.
Holiday shopping styles
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Last-Minute Holiday Shoppers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchased Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: One Stop Holiday Shoppers/Power Shoppers: In-Store
- Retail Shoppers: Purchased Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: One Stop Holiday Shoppers/Power Shoppers: Online
- TrueTouch: Communication Preferences > Purchase Behavior > Impulse buyers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase behavior > Shopping Behavior > In-Store vs. Online: eCommerce Diehards
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase behavior > Shopping Behavior > In-Store vs. Online: Brick & Mortar Diehards
Discount-seeking shoppers
- NEW! Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Cyber Monday
- NEW! Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Black Friday
- NEW! Retail Shopper: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Big Box/Club Stores Shoppers
- NEW! Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based >> Discount Holiday Shoppers
- NEW! Retail Shoppers: Purchased Based > Shopping Behavior > Online Coupon Users
- TrueTouch: Communication Preferences> Purchase Behavior > Online Coupon Site
- Retail Shoppers: Purchased Based > Shopping Behavior > Department Store Deal Shoppers Online Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchased Based > Shopping Behavior > Department Store Deal Shoppers In-Store Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchased Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Post holiday
Gift givers
- NEW! Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Luxury Gift Shoppers
- NEW! Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: High Spenders
- NEW! Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Moderate Spenders
- NEW! Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Charitable Donations
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Gift Shoppers High Spend Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Heavy Buyer/Spenders: Online
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Heavy Buyer/Spenders: In Store
Holiday travelers
- NEW! Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday International Travelers
- NEW! Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal> Holiday Travel-Train
- NEW! Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Budget Savvy Airline Travelers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Travel > Vacation/Leisure Travelers: Domestic Trips
- Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Travelers > Air Travel (FLA/Fair Lending Friendly)
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Travel > Vacation/Leisure Travelers: Frequent Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Travel > Hotels: Frequent Spend
Latest posts

Supply-side platforms (SSPs) are expected to deliver more than inventory—they’re being asked to support sell-side targeting strategies, campaign results, and proof of performance. To meet that demand, SSPs need more than access to inventory. They need better data, better tools, and a way to bring it all together. Experian’s solutions for SSPs We built Experian’s solutions for SSPs with that demand in mind. By combining identity resolution, audience targeting, and third-party measurement, we help platforms move beyond basic transactions. Whether you’re doing sell-side targeting, supporting direct deals, or looking to support campaign validation, our tools make it easier to create value for buyers—and keep them coming back. Our solutions that help SSPs: Resolve identity across digital touchpoints using our industry-leading Digital Graph Build differentiated audiences using over 2,400 Experian Audiences and Partner Audiences in Audience Engine Support advertiser-direct relationships with tools to create, activate, and host custom segments Measure real outcomes like in-store visitation and sales through Outcomes, our third-party validated reporting suite Together, these capabilities allow SSPs to produce data-driven deals, increase addressability, and meet buyer demand for smarter, more measurable media. Campaign snapshot: Yieldmo + Experian Yieldmo, an advertising platform known for its creative formats and data-informed approach, has already put this solution to work. Here’s how they built a custom strategy for a major athletic retail client using Experian\’s joint solution for SSPs. The challenge: Drive in-store traffic and reach new buyers Yieldmo supports a leading athletic retailer’s seasonal campaigns focused on in-store traffic. This advertiser wanted to reach new buyers—specifically those who might otherwise shop with a competitor. To do this, they needed access to strong audience segments with reliable data and the flexibility to act quickly across channels. This was the first time Yieldmo applied Experian Audiences to this retailer’s campaigns. The stakes were high: the client was looking for better in-store outcomes and a more streamlined activation workflow. The solution: Experian\’s activation solution for SSPs Using Experian’s Audience Engine, which includes our proprietary and third-party data marketplace, Yieldmo built a flexible, high-performing media plan that spanned display inventory and included both conquesting and primary in-store shopper segments. The team selected and activated: Apparel and footwear audiences built from Experian and partner data providers In-store shopper segments targeting retail behavior signals Competitive purchasers to capture likely buyers from other athletic brands Our data marketplace allowed Yieldmo to combine Experian Audiences with Partner Audiences from providers like Alliant, Circana, Sports Innovation Lab, and Webbula—all in one place. Manual audience creation used to take days. Now, Yieldmo can build and activate campaigns through a streamlined, self-serve workflow. By working in the Audience Engine platform, Yieldmo was able to avoid multiple contracts and manual requests. They filtered audiences by brand, tailored segments to their goals, and launched without delays. “Experian’s data marketplace in Audience Engine fills a critical gap—letting us quickly search by brand, build smarter conquest segments, and activate custom audiences fast.”Abby Littlejohn, Director of Sales Planning, Yieldmo The results: Expected lift in store visits While final in-store lift results are pending, the early performance metrics are promising: Click-through rates are at and above historical benchmarks across both conquesting and primary shopper segments. Using Audience Engine’s self-serve tools, Yieldmo created audiences faster and more easily. They reduced their workload by minimizing the need for manual data wrangling. “We include Experian audience segments in 80% of formal RFPs. Between contract simplicity, data quality, and campaign results, Experian has become our go-to for third-party audience targeting.”Nelson Montouchet, AVP, Strategic Partnerships, Yieldmo Download the full case study Bring this to your platform Whether you’re looking to monetize more effectively, build deeper advertiser relationships, or stand out with sell-side targeting offerings, we designed Experian’s solutions for SSPs to do exactly that. With our industry-leading Digital Graph, over 2,400 syndicated audiences, partner data, flexible self-serve tools, and outcome-based measurement, SSPs can now move faster and go further—without compromising scale or precision. Get in touch with our team Latest posts

After another week under the sun at Cannes Lions 2025, one thing is abundantly clear: our industry is done talking about possibilities — it’s ready to act. From speaking engagements to packed suite meetings, and even stateside through our “Can’t Cannes” activations, the appetite for change was real — and we were right at the center of it. A front-row seat to innovation Experian made a powerful impact across the Croisette, partnering with Audiostack, Basis, Infillion, IQVIA, Magnite, NextRoll, Odeeo, OpenX, The Female Quotient, and the Unplugged Collective x The Digital Marketer, to contribute to some of the week’s most insightful conversations. Our thought leaders were everywhere—on stage, in studio interviews, at executive roundtables—offering a clear voice on retail media growth, pharma advertising disruption, AI innovation, and identity-driven personalization. Three themes that defined the week 1. AI gets real If 2024 was the year of AI buzz, then 2025 is the year AI found its footing. Conversations shifted from “what if” to “what now.” While the promise of AI was front and center, conversations with clients and partners highlighted that we’re still in the foundational phase. Real-world applications—from creative optimization to predictive segmentation—are gaining traction, but long-term value will depend on robust data architecture and trustworthy identity frameworks. MiQ and PMG debuted AI-integrated platforms that demonstrated how AI can automate creative, optimize budget allocation, and personalize media in real time. AI has moved from sidekick to strategist. \”Last year it was all about AI, but in a very general sense. This year, it’s about specific applications — a clear sign AI is evolving from a talking point into product.”Budi Tanzi, VP, Product 2. Outcomes > impressions Outcomes may have been a buzzword at Cannes, but as several industry leaders pointed out, simply saying “we drive outcomes” isn’t enough—it risks sounding like table stakes. In today’s performance-driven environment, what matters is how companies define and deliver those outcomes in unique ways. The most compelling conversations weren’t about generic promises, but about clear strategies: challenging assumptions, leaning into strengths, and making specific choices that tie data, media, and technology to measurable impact. \”By using consistent identity across planning, activation, and measurement, marketers can connect ad exposure to real-world outcomes—whether that’s an online conversion, an in-store visit, or a new customer relationship.\”Chris Feo, Chief Business Officer 3. Curation isn\’t just a tactic Curation is quickly becoming the industry’s preferred approach to cutting through complexity. As marketers contend with signal loss and inconsistent inventory quality, the shift from broad access to intentional activation is gaining momentum. At Experian, we see curation not just as packaging, but as strategic alignment—where identity, data, and inventory come together in purpose-built environments that reduce waste, enhance safety, and drive performance. \”Supply-side data activation and optimization, aka “curation,” is an alternative to the traditional approach to data activation. Unlike the traditional DMP-to-DSP activation flow, curation allows buyers to leverage supply-path data more directly. The upshot? Improved performance and pricing for media agencies and brand advertisers.\”Drew Stein, Managing Director, Audigent Bringing the Cannes experience stateside Not everyone can make it to the South of France—so we brought Cannes to them. Our “Can’t Cannes” events in the U.S. offered local clients a first-class experience filled with insights and networking, minus the jet lag. Final takeaways This year’s festival made one thing clear: real progress requires more than innovation; it requires integration. And that’s where Experian is focused—connecting identity to activation, and data to outcomes, in ways that are practical, scalable, and privacy-resilient. If I had to sum it up? AI is progressing from abstract to application Curation beats clutter Partnership is power And everyone’s aligned around performance We’re grateful to have been part of these conversations and even more excited about where they’ll lead next. Let’s continue the conversation If you\’re exploring how to connect identity to performance, or simplify the way you activate, measure, and grow, we’d love to talk. Latest posts

Originally appeared in AdExchanger Google’s decision not to deprecate cookies in the Chrome browser after all caused a stir across the industry. Companies invested heavily in developing solutions aligned with the Privacy Sandbox as a survival tactic for the post-cookie landscape. At first glance, Google’s about-face may appear to undercut those efforts. It’s easy, and perhaps even satisfying for some – but inaccurate – to say “all that effort was for nothing.” Given Chrome’s dominance among browsers, AdTech companies had no choice but to prepare for “what if” scenarios. The same goes for cookie deprecation. Google’s plan to end support for third-party cookies would have removed a mechanism that has been a cornerstone of addressability for the past 15 years. To be clear, those efforts have not been wasted. They spurred innovation across the AdTech landscape, driving progress in privacy-first targeting, alternative identifiers, supply-path data activation, and real-time data enrichment – all of which will pay dividends for years to come. Whether born directly from Privacy Sandbox participation or inspired by the broader trend toward privacy reform, industry-wide preparation for cookie loss and browser disruption has yielded tangible benefits. Pressure from Google, Apple, and evolving regulations served as a catalyst for modernization that could shape the next decade of advertising technology. An industry anchored in product innovation AdTech is a fundamentally product-driven industry defined by short innovation cycles and the imperative to build and test rapidly. This DNA enables companies to stay resilient, evolve and deliver innovation. Change is good. Disruption can be even better – but only for those who embrace it. Google’s evolving stance on cookies and Privacy Sandbox doesn’t negate what’s been learned. If anything, it underscores the need to keep innovating. The next wave of disruption is likely right around the corner. The payoff While some may argue that the time and effort spent preparing for cookie loss was wasted, those efforts have functioned as a forcing mechanism for several innovations in data activation. Supply-side data activation and optimization, aka “curation,” is an alternative to the traditional approach to data activation. Unlike the traditional data management platform (DMP) to demand-side platform (DSP) activation flow, curation allows buyers to utilize supply-path data more directly. The upshot? Improved performance and pricing for media agencies and brand advertisers. As curation continues to evolve, it’s poised to play a central role in how advertisers and publishers transact. Real-time data enrichment is another area that has benefited from this period of accelerated innovation. Many companies were compelled to improve their tech stacks to align with Sandbox protocols. These updates, particularly in real-time data enrichment capabilities, are now laying the groundwork for future data activation strategies across both the buy and sell-sides. Exiting out of tunnel vision Over the past five years, the AdTech industry has invested deeply in planning for a future without cookies. Still those investments have been well worth it. While cookies are not going away, the broader deprecation of signal continues. The work that was done to prepare will inevitably inform the next evolution of our industry. Contact us Latest posts