While cost-of-living pressures continue, early predictions indicate a rise in consumer spending this Christmas, with overall US Holiday spending predicted to increase by 4.1% (eMarketer, 2026). Behind that headline picture, millennials and Gen Z will drive spending increases, buoyed respectively by ring-fenced spending on children and a tendency to prioritise indulgent occasions as traditional milestones become less attainable. In-store shopping but accompanied by multiple digital touchpoints will grow.

With microdramas’ rising fortunes trisecting with the qualities viewers most want from Christmas advertising (see below), astute brands will deliver Christmas advertising in narrative-led instalments. It’s a format that is particularly powerful at emotionally resonant occasions where a hard sell can seem crass.

The continued pushback against AI-generated and algorithmic-spurred creativity in favour of human-made artistry (see Heroing the Human-Made) will be key this Christmas thanks to a festive tendency towards sentimentality and increased recognition of human relationships. Emphasising the humans behind brand efforts and overtly celebrating human connections will be winning formulas.

With 21% of US and 19% of UK consumers respectively going into debt to afford Christmas last year (see YouGov US, 2026 and YouGov UK, 2026) and record numbers contacting debt management charities (see below), smart, compassionate banking brands will help consumers to manage festive money stressors this season. Key tactics include agentic budgeting assistants and psychology-anchored editorial that pinpoints consumers’ weaknesses and helps guard against them.

While consumers crave human-made artistry (see above), they also want generative and agentic AI to help them find deals, find and compare gift ideas and create shopping lists this Christmas (see below). The best tactics include daydreaming-style visualisation tech that matches a consumer’s dreamt-up product with real-life options and apps that guide consumers around busy big-box stores and import handwritten shopping lists.

With the majority of consumers planning most or at least half of the presents they buy – as opposed to buying spontaneously (see below) – and 42% planning to compare more brands than in previous years (Attentive, 2026), wish-listing UX will be critical this Christmas, following a bumper 2025 for Danish app GoWish (reaching No.1 on the US App Store with over 155k downloads in a single day).

With consumers primed to cut back on gifts but protect spend around food due to festive meals’ connective, mood-boosting properties, and with inflationary shocks at the till increasingly part of consumers’ supermarket experience globally, shoppers will favour tutorials and digital commerce that enable indulgent celebrations without the bill to match.