The modern consumer isn’t just shopping; they’re engaged in a relentless, often simultaneous fusion of searching, streaming, scrolling, and shopping — what we call the 4S behaviors — that now completely redefine the path to purchase. This isn’t a linear journey anymore; it’s an intricate, dynamic web of interactions. As we zero in on the 2025 holiday season, this complex behavior intensifies, revealing a research-obsessed shopper whose need for confidence is more acute than ever before.
The Global Market Insights team at Google closely tracks the evolution of holiday shopping. Last season, we observed that the amount of spontaneous holiday purchases decreased year over year in the U.S. (from 30% to 26%). Vice versa, the number of holiday purchases that were researched increased. This approach may intensify further in the 2025 holiday season. Recently 61% of U.S. shoppers say they are more choiceful with how they spend their money because they are worried about the future.
This shift has given rise to what we’re calling the shopper’s new value equation. To feel confident in their spending, consumers now validate their choices based on three key pillars: the right price, deep product confidence, and seamless purchase convenience. For marketers, understanding and optimizing for each component of this equation is paramount to converting cautious consideration into confident buys.
Understanding the 2025 holiday shopper
A significant number of shoppers are actively switching between the 4S behaviors throughout the year. In fact, 64% of U.S. holiday shoppers said their “4S” behaviors (scrolling, streaming, searching and shopping) were blended during the past holiday season. This fluid, cross-channel engagement is further reflected in the fact that, on average, consumers interact with over 130 mobile online touchpoints a day.
The constant connectivity fuels an intensified research process during the holidays, as shoppers switch between tabs, apps, and platforms to validate their choices. The majority of U.S. holiday shoppers are highly research-driven online, with 50% stating they conduct the same amount of pre-purchase research as the rest of the year, and a significant 38% reporting they do even more. This underscores the critical need for marketers to be present in and provide value at every touchpoint of the increasingly complex customer journey.
The new value equation: How shoppers define ‘worth it’
How do shoppers truly define value in this new, cautious environment? To green-light a purchase, they validate their choices through a three-part value equation.
Taken from: Think with Google
The entry ticket: Right price
Shoppers’ first priority is ensuring they’re getting value for their money. While deals are important, the real driver is the perception of getting the best price. Nearly half of holiday shoppers will actively search for competitive prices and leverage major sales events to manage their budgets. If your offering doesn’t meet this expectation, it risks losing out on the first step of the customer journey.
Shoppers use a mix of digital and physical channels to ensure they’re getting the best price. The top three ways they stay informed about promos are visiting store websites, going in-store, and using a search engine. This highlights Search as a crucial, nonnegotiable gateway to both online and physical store information.
The differentiator: Product confidence
Product confidence comes from verifying three things: a product’s quality and durability, the strength of its reviews and ratings, and the reputation of its brand. This is where the decision is made, and where a blend of searching, streaming, and scrolling becomes critical. Shoppers are de-risking their purchase by balancing long-term value with short-term savings: 66% say product quality and how long an item will last are more important in their decisions.
To validate these factors, consumers turn to Google Search and YouTube as their primary validation engines. Search is the #1 way shoppers confirm facts like Quality & Durability, Good Reviews & Ratings, and Brand Reputation. Streaming and scrolling on YouTube are where they build deeper trust. According to a 2024 Traackr survey in the U.S., YouTube was ranked as the #1 choice for product reviews and product information by all consumers, including millennials and Gen Zs. The influence of creators is also significant: Surveyed online users are 98% more likely to trust the recommendations of creators on YouTube vs. those on other social sites/apps (on average).
The clincher: Purchase convenience
After all the meticulous research, the final shopping step must be seamless. A great product at a good price is ineffective if it’s not easily accessible. For online buyers, that means clear product information, visible deals, fast and intuitive checkout, flexible payment options, and reliable delivery timelines. It also includes post-purchase ease, like shipment tracking and hassle-free returns via mail or drop-off points. For in-store buyers, it’s about confidence that the item is in stock nearby, with flexible pickup windows and straightforward exchanges.
Together, these behaviors highlight the critical role of a fluid omnichannel experience. With the majority of U.S. holiday shoppers engaging in omnichannel behavior, their journey is rarely linear. They search online before 92% of store visits, demonstrating how the digital journey is deeply intertwined with the final offline purchasing, where a disconnect can derail a sale. Ultimately, whether online or in-store, a smooth experience can be the final factor that drives a confident purchase.
Marketing takeaways: How to win the 2025 holiday buyer
Holiday success isn’t about guesswork; it’s about rigorously delivering on this complete value equation. Start by asking: How can every marketing decision be shaped by the shopper’s need for the right price, deep product confidence, or seamless convenience?
Taken from: Think with Google
Optimize product content for AI-powered Search discovery
Shoppers rely on AI-powered Search to evaluate price and product quality. It’s essential that your product details are accurate, structured, visible, and easily discoverable in AI-powered search experiences to help consumers during their research and decision-making.
- Keep product feeds updated to be eligible to appear on different surfaces and experiences including Search, Discover, and AI overviews.
- Maintain accurate product details — including price, attributes, images, specs, and availability — in Merchant Center, and match them in your site’s structured data to ensure that information remains consistent across discovery surfaces.
- Use sale price, promotions, and other eligible annotations in Merchant Center to highlight Holiday offers alongside price and availability in Shopping results.
- Create content for high-intent seasonal queries, like “best gifts under $100” on key conversion surfaces such as product landing pages, gift guides, or YouTube videos.
- Ensure fast, mobile-friendly pages, since many search and shopping experiences, across AI-powered features and traditional results, surface on mobile.
Integrate creator content across key touchpoints
Creator videos and reviews help shoppers build confidence in product quality, use cases, and trust — especially when they’re in deep research mode. For the holidays, make sure creator content is central to your messaging strategy across product discovery, contemplation, and post-purchase touchpoints.
- Partner with trusted YouTube creators to showcase product quality and use cases.
- Embed creator reviews and demos directly on product pages to aid validation.
- Use Open Call via BrandConnect to streamline creator sourcing and scale partnerships.
- Create short-form holiday content, such as unboxings and gifting ideas, using YouTube Shorts.
Optimize for visual Search
Consumers are increasingly using Lens and Circle to Search to “search what they see.” This holiday season, it’s important for marketers to make their products visible in those moments. Visual discovery helps shoppers quickly assess product quality, design, and price fit — reinforcing product confidence and speeding up decision-making.
- Use high-resolution, multiangle images to boost visibility in visual search results.
- Add descriptive alt text and metadata to help images rank across Google and improve accessibility.
- Use AI-powered creative tools to enhance product imagery, test variations, and improve visual appeal in search and shopping experiences.
- Showcase products in holiday contexts, as in curated gift guides or lookbooks.
- Test shoppable video formats that connect visual inspiration to product pages.
Streamline the online-to-offline journey
Since a majority of store visits are preceded by an online touchpoint, marketers should ensure a smooth transition from digital research to both in-store and e-commerce checkout. Providing real-time availability, store and product details, delivery timelines, and return options — across both online and in-store channels — reinforces convenience and removes friction from the final purchase step.
For online channels:
- Keep product details, pricing, and availability accurate and up to date.
- Surface deals and promotions prominently from Search to checkout.
- Offer fast, reliable shipping and clear delivery timelines.
- Highlight online return and exchange policies prominently.
For offline channels:
- Sync real-time local inventory data to help shoppers confirm availability before visiting.
- Keep store details accurate, such as hours, location, and in-stock items, across Google surfaces.
- Enable buy online, pickup in-store options for flexibility and convenience.
- Highlight return and exchange options, such as 30-day returns or free in-store exchanges.
- Promote in-store deals alongside pickup or browsing options to drive foot traffic.
- Run geotargeted local ads to capture nearby demand during peak shopping hours.
The 2025 holiday season will not be won by chance. It will reward those who deeply understand and proactively cater to the deliberate and research-driven buyer’s nonlinear journey. By rigorously focusing on this new value equation, marketers won’t just build trust and drive sales, they’ll forge lasting, confident customer relationships.
Taken from: Think with Google