At A Glance
Santa may have a sleigh, but marketers have something better: Experian Audiences, delivering accuracy, scale, and 25 new holiday-ready segments to help brands connect with the right shoppers at the right time.In this article…
If Santa used data to plan his holiday campaign, he’d call Experian. After all, how else could he deliver the right gifts to the right household?
From sleigh bells to savings alerts, the holiday season isn’t just about Christmas. Whether you’re celebrating Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali, Lunar New Year, or simply the season of giving, brands have one thing in common: a need to reach the right audience at the right time, with messaging that resonates.
Retail sales for 2025 are expected to grow 2.7–3.7% YoY, reaching nearly $5.48 trillion, with mobile commerce driving 75% of e-commerce growth. With so many brands vying for attention, delivering the right message to the right audience can be the difference between a one-time click and a lifelong customer.
In this article, we’ll unwrap Experian’s holiday shopping audiences, including 25 new audiences, designed to help you reach the most relevant shoppers for your holiday campaigns. These audiences are available for activation on-the-shelf of most major platforms, including TV, social, and programmatic. You can find the complete audience segment name in the appendix.
2025 Holiday spending trends and insights report
Download our latest report, in collaboration with GroundTruth, for data-driven insights you can use to refine your messaging and reach the right audience in their preferred channels this holiday season.
Deck the data halls: What separates Experian’s syndicated audiences?
Utilize Experian’s syndicated audiences to ensure your marketing messages resonate with shoppers.
- Experian’s 3,200+ syndicated audiences can be sent to 200+ leading social platforms, such as Meta and Pinterest, TV, 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.
Four audience categories to target this holiday season
Even Santa needs help organizing his list these days, especially with so many kinds of households to deliver holiday magic to. With the U.S. population growing by roughly 21.7 million people in the last decade, there are more holiday tables to set, more last-minute carts to fill, and more families hitting the road than ever before. Experian Audiences and Partner Audiences help Santa (and your brand) get the message just right.
New this season!
Experian now offers Consumer Packaged Goods audiences to help you reach consumers ready to get into the holiday spirit with seasonal baking, cooking, and other goods.
Here are four households on Santa’s sleigh route and how you can reach them with Experian:
- The merry makers
- The list-checkers
- The holiday hoppers
- The entertainers
Let’s unwrap the segments within each category.
This group isn’t just celebrating; they’re setting the stage. Whether they’re prepping for Friendsgiving or a cozy Diwali dinner, they’re fueling the season with food, décor, and hospitality. Holiday hosts and entertainers allocated more than $260 on food, candy, and decor alone in 2024, and according to GroundTruth, Saturday, December 7, 2024, was the busiest in-store shopping day across nearly every major category. Grocery store sales climbed 2.1% during the 2024 holiday season, and hosting Thanksgiving cost an average of $431.
Here are 10 holiday host audiences to target this holiday season and how you can reach them with Experian:
- NEW! Bakeries High Spend
- NEW! Caterers High Spend
- NEW! Chocolate Candy Box Bag Bar Shoppers 3.5oz Plus
- NEW! Chocolate Shoppers
- NEW! Cocktail Mix Shoppers
- NEW! Frosting and Frosting Mix Shoppers
- NEW! Marshmallow Shoppers
- NEW! Ready-to-Use Pie Crust Shoppers
- NEW! Sugar Shoppers
- Holiday Shoppers: High Spenders
How to use these audiences
Santa knows this household is hosting the holiday magic, so he loads his sleigh with gourmet cocoa, festive napkins, and extra marshmallows to make sure the party is stocked with seasonal favorites.
A consumer-packaged goods brand launching a new holiday baking product can reach Chocolate Shoppers, Holiday Shopping High Spenders, and Ready-to-Use Pie Crust audiences to connect with high-intent hosts prepping festive desserts.
This household isn’t just shopping; they’re creating the perfect gifts. In 2024, U.S. shoppers planned to spend more than $1,000 on holiday gifts as online purchases surged, totaling $241 billion between November 1 and December 31. Looking to 2025, according to our latest holiday insights, just 22% of consumers expect to spend more, while 27% anticipate cutting back. With consumer confidence still on an uneven footing and inflation having climbed up to 2.9%, shoppers are approaching holiday lists with greater caution. Experian’s purchase-based data shows mass retail remains a bright spot, with value-driven spending holding strong amid recent dips and rebounds, as shoppers cautiously resume purchases. That makes gift-focused households more deliberate with their choices and reinforces that brands emphasizing value and trust will earn lasting loyalty.
Here are 10 list-checker audiences to consider this holiday season:
- NEW! Precious Stones Metals Watches Jewelry High Spend
- Big Box/Club Stores Holiday Shoppers
- Black Friday Holiday Shoppers
- Cyber Monday Holiday Shoppers
- Heavy Buyer/Spenders Holiday Shoppers: In-Store or Online
- High Spend Gift Shoppers
- Holiday Shoppers: Apparel (Clothing)
- Luxury Gift Shoppers
- Online Coupon Users
- Post Holiday Shoppers
How to use these audiences
Santa knows this household goes big when it comes to gifting, so he makes sure their stockings are filled with trinkets, timeless watches, and the kind of treasures that twinkle under the tree.
A luxury jewelry brand launching a limited-edition holiday collection can activate Precious Stones Metals Watches Jewelry High Spend and Luxury Gift Shoppers audiences to reach buyers who believe in gifts that sparkle.
This household is on the move. From planes and trains to jam-packed highways, travel is back in full force. In 2024, a record 119.3 million Americans traveled during the holiday period, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Road trips remained the most popular mode, while air travel hit a new high with 7.85 million flyers.
Here are 10 holiday travel audiences to target:
- NEW! Bridge and Road Fees Tolls High Spend
- NEW! Hotel High Spend
- NEW! Lodging Hotels Motels Resorts High Spend
- NEW! Passenger Railways High Spend
- NEW! Timeshares High Spend
- NEW! Tourist Attractions and Exhibits High Spend
- NEW! Travel Agencies and Tour Operators High Spend
- Holiday Budget Savvy Airline Travelers
- Holiday Travel – Airline
- Holiday Travel – Train
How to use these audiences
For this household, Santa swaps his sleigh for the train car – booking them on a magical Polar Express journey complete with cocoa, carols, and a golden ticket to holiday wonder.
When brands want to deliver the same magic, a travel package could bundle tickets to a railway’s Polar Express immersive experience with air travel and lodging, activating the Hotel High Spend, Travel Agencies High Spend, and Passenger Railways High Spend audiences to reach travelers seeking an unforgettable holiday adventure.
This household knows how to celebrate from the couch. Whether it’s football, holiday movies, or once-a-year specials, the screen is their gathering place. On December 25, 2024, Americans streamed more than 50 billion minutes of content, making it the most-streamed day in U.S. television history. From dazzling halftime shows to nostalgic holiday classics, entertainment is the heartbeat of the season.
Here are 10 entertainer audiences to target:
- Cable and Streaming TV Service Subscribers
- Cable Satellite or Streaming Network Subscribers
- Co-Watchers
- Cord Cutters
- Holiday TV
- NFL Enthusiasts
- Paid TV High Spenders
- Screen Size – Large
- Sports Enthusiasts
- Streaming Video: High Spenders
How to use these audiences
Santa knows this audience loves flipping between a holiday classic and the big game. That’s why he delivers gifts for households craving the latest binge-worthy content. It could be a subscription or a big-screen update wrapped with a bow.
These audiences represent a golden opportunity to pair campaigns with highly engaged moments. A beverage brand can target NFL Enthusiasts during a holiday football broadcast with ads for limited-edition game-day packs.
Sleigh your campaign goals this holiday season with Experian Audiences
The holiday season is the busiest time of year for brands – and for Santa. That’s why he relies on Experian to make his list, check it twice, and be sure every sleigh stop is spot-on. Experian’s data, ranked #1 in accuracy by Truthset, allows brands to reach people based on demographic, geographic, and behavioral attributes (e.g., websites visited and purchase history). By using Experian Audiences in your holiday advertising campaigns, you can reach holiday hosts, gift-givers, entertainers, holiday travelers, and many more.
Where can you activate Experian Audiences?
Find our audiences available directly on over 30 platforms including:
Just as shoppers seek the perfect gifts, with the right strategy, your holiday advertising campaigns can capture the right shoppers. 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.
Want to activate an Experian syndicated audience on Meta, Pinterest, Snap, TikTok or on a platform not listed above? Contact us today.
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.
Activate holiday audiences today with Audigent
Planning a performance-driven push this holiday season? Audigent will build customized deals that combine premium Experian syndicated or Partner Audiences and inventory into a single, streamlined deal ID – tailored to your campaign needs. Plus, our powerful supply-side optimization ensures your campaigns deliver top marks in performance.
Connect with the Audigent team today at AudigentAgency_Brands@experian.com to get your holiday campaign wrapped and ready to go.
Let’s make your holiday campaigns magical
FAQs
Experian Audiences can be activated on 200+ leading platforms, including social media (Meta, Pinterest, Snap, TikTok), TV and streaming (DirectTV, Dish, OpenAP), programmatic platforms (The Trade Desk, Magnite, Nexxen), and directly within Audigent PMPs.
Experian offers over 3,200 syndicated audiences, ranging from demographic and geographic segments to purchase-based and lifestyle categories. These are ranked #1 in accuracy by Truthset for key demographic attributes.
This year, Experian has introduced 25 new holiday-ready audiences, including consumer packaged goods (CPG) segments like Chocolate Shoppers, Ready-to-Use Pie Crust Shoppers, and Cocktail Mix Shoppers, plus new travel audiences.
Yes. If you need something beyond syndicated segments, Experian’s team can help you build and activate custom audiences tailored to your campaign goals on the platform of your choice.
Latest posts
Strong Revenue Performance and Thriving Culture Contribute to Industry Recognition NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Tapad, the leader in cross-device marketing technology and now a part of Experian, was named a top company on Inc. Magazine’s list of the 5000 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. In addition, Tapad won the TMCnet 2016 Tech Culture Award. The exclusive Inc. 5000 ranking highlights the fastest-growing privately-held* companies in America. These distinguished companies have achieved success in strategy, service and innovation. TMCnet recognizes talented tech professionals who are committed to building a culture that prioritizes employee growth, collaboration and engagement. Tapad continues to broaden their presence into new markets, having launched in APAC earlier this year, as well as continuing their European expansion. Tapad’s proprietary technology, The Device Graph™ is leveraged by more marketers and brands to understand digital engagement across devices. The company’s rapidly expanding client base includes numerous Fortune 500 company brands as well as all four major advertising holding companies in the U.S. “We have an exceptional team of innovative people who are all working very hard to achieve the kind of results these publications are recognizing,” said Tapad CEO and Founder, Are Traasdahl. “Given that, we have an even greater responsibility to our talent to create an environment that fosters innovation and nurtures open communication. Ultimately, this is how we will continue to reach our very ambitious goals of becoming the world’s leading unified marketing technology provider.” Tapad’s award-winning work culture is defined by its gold-standard benefits which include a six-month parental leave policy, unlimited vacation time, company-sponsored meals and office space designed to facilitate collaboration and open communication. Tapad’s highly talented team has also received multiple customer service awards in 2016. These awards include the iMedia ASPY awards for Best Customer Service and Best Mobile Partner as well as recognition from The Communicator Awards of Excellence in Interactive Media. *Prior to Tapad’s acquisition by Telenor in February 2016. Contact us today
The Tapad Device GraphTM Had Twice the Precision and Three Times the Scale as Next Competitor New York, September 14, 2016 – Just-released findings of a Hotels.com® study revealed that Tapad’s (part of Experian) cross-screen marketing technology achieved the highest levels of precision and scale among competitors. According to the leading online accommodation booking website, after a rigorous, three-and-a-half month vendor analysis, Tapad achieved twice the precision of the next highest-scoring cross-screen offering and three times greater scale. The two other companies evaluated were not named. Said Helene Cameron-Heslop, Senior Manager of Analytics of the Hotels.com brand, “Our team implemented an extremely rigorous vetting of open, cross-screen technology vendors. At the outset, we assumed we would have to compromise on either scale or accuracy – particularly given the importance to our brand of operating in a privacy-safe setting. We were surprised to find a complete package, but Tapad’s Device Graph won out on scale, accuracy and privacy; making our choice of partners very clear.” In another metric critical to the Hotels.com brand, The Tapad Device GraphTM was eight times more “unique” than the next closest offering, meaning Tapad’s graph was found to have a much greater number of connections not seen in any of the other graphs. In addition to precision, uniqueness and scale, the Tapad Device GraphTM was found to have: ● 100% higher recall● 47% more incremental matches● 53% higher North American market coverage● 101% higher F-Score* “A valuable cross-device solution should enable partners to get everything they’re looking for from a single vendor,” said Tapad Founder and CEO, Are Traasdahl. “We are deeply impressed with how thorough Hotels.com was in their vetting, and we confidently tackle the complex challenges of the martech industry thanks to our superior technology. Everyone loves a bake-off, and Tapad is no exception – delivering best-in-class results in areas that really count.” *F-score is a statistical measurement that takes precision and recall together. The calculation is 2*(precision*recall)/precision + recall). It gives you one number instead of two numbers to look at and judge performance. Contact us today
Five Norwegian startups selected to establish U.S. presence NEW YORK, Aug. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Tapad, the leader in cross-device marketing technology and now a part of Experian, has announced its new entrepreneurial mentorship initiative, the Propeller Program. Five early-stage startups from Norway have been chosen by Are Traasdahl, native of Norway and Tapad’s CEO and founder. The selected companies will share Tapad’s New York City workspace, receive C-level guidance and help establish a U.S. presence. The following companies have been selected to participate in the inaugural Propeller Program – a 12-month program beginning September 19, 2016: Bubbly – Developers of a platform that enables in-store customer feedback with dashboards and tools that facilitate real-time store response BylineMe – A marketplace for freelancers, publishers and brands to connect for content creation and distribution services Eventum – A property-sharing group that digitally assists in securing venues for meetings and corporate events Xeneta – A database that organizes the best contracted freight rates in real time and on demand “We are supporting startups that we feel represent the future of service offerings,” said Traasdahl. “It is with incredible pride that we invite these entrepreneurial teams from Norway to join us in New York Citythis year. Mentorship opportunities for early-stage companies are so important, particularly for those based outside the U.S. I look forward to giving the Propeller Program participants access to the expertise of my seasoned team and to our wide network of resources. Hopefully, it will be a game-changing year for many of them.” Contact us today
Appendix
Here are the complete audience segment names (taxonomy paths) for all audience segments discussed in this blog post.
The merry makers
- Purchase Predictors > Shoppers All Channels > Bakeries High Spend
- Purchase Predictors > Shoppers All Channels > Caterers High Spend
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > CPG Engagement > Chocolate Candy Box Bag Bar Shoppers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > CPG Engagement > Chocolate Shoppers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > CPG Engagement > Cocktail Mix Shoppers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > CPG Engagement > Frosting and Frosting Mix Shoppers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: High Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > CPG Engagement > Marshmallow Shoppers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > CPG Engagement > Ready To Use Pie Crust Shoppers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > CPG Engagement > Sugar Shoppers
The list-checkers
- Purchase Predictors > Shoppers All Channels > Precious Stones Metals Watches Jewelry High
- Retail Shopper: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Big Box/Club Stores Shoppers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Black Friday
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Cyber Monday
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Heavy Buyer/Spenders: In Store
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Heavy Buyer/Spenders: Online
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Gift Shoppers High Spend Spenders
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Apparel (Clothing)
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Luxury Gift Shoppers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchased Based > Shopping Behavior > Online Coupon Users
- Retail Shoppers: Purchased Based > Seasonal > Holiday Shoppers: Post holiday
The holiday hoppers
- Purchase Predictors > Shoppers All Channels > Bridge and Road Fees Tolls High Spend
- Purchase Predictors > Shoppers All Channels > Hotels High Spend
- Purchase Predictors > Shoppers All Channels > Lodging Hotels Motels Resorts High Spend
- Purchase Predictors > Shoppers All Channels > Passenger Railways High Spend
- Purchase Predictors > Shoppers All Channels > Timeshares High Spend
- Purchase Predictors > Shoppers All Channels > Tourist Attractions and Exhibits High Spend
- Purchase Predictors > Shoppers All Channels > Travel Agencies and Tour Operators High Spend
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Budget Savvy Airline Travelers
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Holiday Travel – Airline
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal> Holiday Travel – Train
The entertainers
- Television (TV) > Household/Family Viewing > Cable and Streaming Service Subscribers
- Television (TV) > Household/Family Viewing > Cable Satellite or Streaming Network
- Television (TV) > Household/Family Viewing > Co-Watchers
- Television (TV) > Household/Family Viewing > Cord Cutters
- Publisher Derived > IAB Television > Holiday TV
- Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Activities and Entertainment > NFL Enthusiasts
- Television (TV) > TV Enthusiasts > Paid TV High Spenders
- Television (TV) > Viewing Device Type > Screen Size – Large
- Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Sports and Recreation > Sports Enthusiast
- Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Entertainment > Streaming/Video/Audio/CTV/Cable TV: Streaming Video: High Spenders