The holiday season is a pivotal moment for brands and retailers, driving a surge in consumer engagement and sales across nearly every industry. From festive apparel to celebration-related goods and foods, shoppers are actively seeking products that meet their seasonal needs.
Gift purchases, in particular, represent a major share of holiday season revenue. Forty two percent of holiday celebrants last year purchased gifts for 6 or more people, according to YouGov research.
Christmas gifting trends report 2024, YouGov
The motivations and behaviors of gift buyers are unique, and traditional product experience strategies don’t always meet their demands.
To better understand what drives holiday shoppers, Syndigo surveyed 1,510 consumers immediately following the most recent Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend. Their responses offer a clear view into what product content resonates most—and how brands can adapt to meet those expectations.
How gift shopping differs from typical shopping
onsumers don’t approach gift purchases the same way they do everyday shopping, and understanding these differences is key to crafting product content that converts.
According to Syndigo’s survey, shoppers exhibit unique patterns when buying gifts for others (or even themselves; 1 in 3 adults planned to buy themselves a holiday gift last year).
Just a few ways gift shopping behavior might stand apart:
- Exploration of unfamiliar categories: Gift shoppers often browse outside their usual personal interests, venturing into new product types or verticals they wouldn’t typically consider. This makes discoverability and intuitive navigation critical.
- Reduced price sensitivity: During the holidays, shoppers may be more open to splurging. Emotional value and perceived quality often outweigh price tags, especially when buying for loved ones.
- Heightened scrutiny and care: Gift purchases carry emotional weight. Shoppers could be more meticulous in looking for some gifts, seeking the “perfect” item that reflects thoughtfulness and personal relevance. This means product content must be clear, compelling, and confidence-inspiring.
These shifts underscore the need for brands and retailers to rethink their digital shelf strategy during the holidays.
The product content gift shoppers want most
Our research showed that shoppers prioritized some kinds of standard ‘core’ product content on the PDP differently when shopping for gifts than consumers than through the rest of the year.
Interest in basic product descriptions remained relatively flat for holiday gift shoppers. But the proportion that said they looked for products specifications such as the weight, size, materials or ingredients dipped significantly—while demand for basic images spiked a full 10 percentage points.
During a period of steep, and often limited-time, deals across multiple competing sites and channels, this indicates that busy shoppers may be more motivated to purchase by eye-catching visuals than details vs the rest of the year.
That makes it all the more important to ensure the latest, most accurate and highest-quality images are available across e-commerce sites through the holidays—especially if products have seasonal variants, holiday packaging, or other visual features that distinguish themselves during this time of year.
Enriching product pages to stand out to gift shoppers
During the most recent holiday season, shoppers didn’t just want product information—they wanted immersive, engaging experiences. Enhanced Content played a pivotal role in helping consumers feel confident about their purchases and inspiring impulse buys.
These experiences were especially impactful on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when impressions nearly doubled compared to the week prior.
When asked what types of content made them more likely to purchase a holiday gift, consumers prioritized:
- Lifestyle imagery and illustrative graphics showing the product in use
- Videos that demonstrate features or benefits
- 360° product views for a more tactile understanding
- Product comparison charts to help evaluate options quickly
While all types of Enhanced Content made shoppers more open to gift purchases, it’s wise to focus your resources on the content types shoppers say they value most. If gift shoppers are a target audience for your e-commerce strategy, prioritize lifestyle imagery and video, especially for products with seasonal relevance or emotional appeal, or more unique product categories that gift-buyers may be less familiar with.
Gift yourself even more insights
Holiday gift shopping is a unique behavioral moment; one that demands tailored product content and a unique e-commerce strategy.
From shifting priorities around product imagery to the rising influence of Enhanced Content, the data from 2024 makes one thing clear: brands and retailers that adapt to the mindset of gift shoppers are best positioned to win.
