As the Christmas shopping rush winds down, a new phase of holiday activity begins: consumers turning toward post-holiday bargains and returning ill-fitting or unsuitable gifts. Spending through cash and card payments up to Sunday has surpassed last year’s levels according to aggregated data from Visa’s Consulting & Analytics and Mastercard SpendingPulse.
However, apprehension about economic conditions in the U.S. paired with rising costs—partially attributed to tariffs enacted under President Donald Trump—has revised some consumer habits. Evidence from Placer.ai, a firm that monitors foot traffic via cellphone data, indicates a noticeable shift toward thrift shops and discount retailers instead of traditional malls. Customers are also more disciplined in adhering strictly to shopping lists and conducting diligent research before making purchases, which likely contributes to a fall in return rates compared to the previous year, as reported by Adobe Analytics.
Several key patterns have emerged over the holiday period so far:
- While overall holiday spending has increased compared to last year, traditional gift-buying avenues, such as department stores, are contending with diminished traffic relative to 2024.
- Clothing and electronics sales, prominent in prior years' holiday spending and often reliant on imports subjected to tariffs, experienced growth yet struggled to outperform previous seasons.
- Visits to department stores more than doubled in the week before Christmas compared to a typical shopping week this year, but declined 13.2% compared to 2024's corresponding period.
- Shoppers frequented off-price retailers like TJ Maxx with an 85.1% seasonal traffic increase, while thrift stores saw an 11% surge in visits over the same timeframe compared to last year.
The rise in thrift shopping reflects broader consumer preferences, with individuals seeking unique or designer items in less conventional shopping environments. Shira Petrack of Placer.ai highlighted these choices as a move toward “discovery-driven experiences” rather than the usual standardized inventory offered by mainstream retailers.
Economic uncertainty and escalating prices have normalized gifting second-hand items, a trend supported by at least a 10% increase in thrift store visits through the latter half of 2025 compared to the previous year. This rise contrasts with historical patterns where holiday traffic to thrift shops typically remained flat. During Black Friday weekend, thrift sales grew 5.5%, while clothing store foot traffic decreased over 3% in November, with thrift visits jumping 12.7% in the same month.
Shifts in thrift store demographics were also identified, with average household income of customers rising slightly from $74,900 last year to $75,000 for October and November of 2025, increasing steadily since 2022. Executives from thrift chain Savers Value Village reported a 10.5% increase in U.S. sales through late September, continuing into October. CEO Mark Walsh commented on the expanding share of higher-income and younger consumers among their clientele, signaling ongoing consumer trade-down behavior.
Regarding returns during the holiday season, Adobe Analytics observed a 2.5% decrease from November 1 through December 12 compared to the same timeframe last year. This trend suggests shoppers are more selective and strategic, aligning purchases more closely with researched needs or desires. Following the Cyber Week shopping period—from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday—returns were virtually flat, down 0.1%. Online sales within this period grew by 6% to $187.3 billion, positioning the season to exceed forecasted expectations.
Nonetheless, Adobe anticipates a rise in returns between December 26 and 31, potentially increasing by 25% to 35% relative to earlier holiday weeks, with elevated return rates expected to linger into January. This marks the first year Adobe has maintained return tracking data, confirming that the final week of December historically accounts for a disproportionate share—one in eight—of holiday returns, a pattern likely to persist.