Holiday demand remains resilient despite economic pressures. Shoppers are reallocating their spending to key categories.

Our latest SheSpeaks Consumer Pulse™, based on a survey of 1,100+ U.S. consumers, reveals a holiday shopper who is still participating, but making more intentional decisions about where their money goes.

Here are four takeaways brands should be thinking about as they plan for and optimize the 2026 Holiday Season.

1. Shoppers are spending more selectively

While 45% of consumers expect to spend less this holiday season, this represents a decrease from 47% who expected to spend less in 2025. Instead of simply spending less, shoppers are narrowing their focus. The average consumer plans to shop across 4.62 categories, down from 5.84 in 2025.

The categories winning this holiday season: 

• Holiday Food & Entertaining
• Immediate Family Gifts 
• Gift Cards 
• Candy & Treats
• Beauty/Personal Care

For brands, that makes earning a place in the basket even more important!

2. Value is about more than price

Price is the leading purchase consideration, with 71% of shoppers ranking it among their top five factors.  But quality still matters to 44%.

That means brands have an opportunity to demonstrate why a product is worth the purchase and whether that’s through quality, usefulness, convenience or a benefit that solves a real consumer need.

Creator content can be especially powerful here, turning product benefits into relatable, real-world demonstrations.

3. The holiday shopping window is getting longer

Holiday shopping is starting earlier and becoming less concentrated around Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

27% had already started shopping, while another 19% planned to shop in October.

That gives brands more opportunities to influence consumers throughout the season, from early discovery and consideration to last-minute conversion.

The opportunity is to think beyond a single holiday media push and build a connected journey across content, paid media and retail.

4. Social can move shoppers toward purchase

Creator content isn’t just about awareness.

When consumers see holiday-related content on social media, 24% say they are likely to visit a brand website, 21% a retailer website, 12% add the product to cart and 10% purchase.

That progression reinforces the value of connecting creator storytelling to the places where consumers research and shop.

The Bottom Line

The 2026 holiday shopper is resilient, but more intentional than before.

Brands that make their value clear, show up throughout the longer shopping journey and connect creator content to commerce can give shoppers more reasons to choose them.

At SheSpeaks, we believe creator content should do more than live on social media. It can become a performance asset that works across paid social, retail media, programmatic and CTV, helping brands move consumers from discovery to consideration to conversion.

Want to see the full findings? Fill out the form below to instantly download the 2026 SheSpeaks Consumer Pulse™: The Resilient Holiday Shopper Report.