Responding to underconsumption (a choice to consume more strategically/consciously), geopolitical tensions and the continuing cost-of-living crisis, astute brands are leveraging a joyfully kitsch, garish aesthetic this Christmas. Campaigns, brand spaces and events dial up a sense of affordable indulgence – with some campaigns even humorously riffing on the pitfalls of excess.

Sixty-seven per cent of Americans long for the pre-“plugged in” (pre-smartphone) era (Harris Poll, 2023) – an especially potent sentiment at Christmas. Some brands are responding with catalogues (a renaissance previously detailed in Brand Zines Back Consumers’ Desire to Disconnect), while print magazines reflect the longing for IRL (in real life) joy.

Reflecting the evolution of the traditional family unit (in 2023, only 37% of US adults aged 25-49 were in a nuclear family, down from 67% in 1970 – Pew, 2023), food and fashion brands are crafting campaigns centred on ‘framily’ (friends as family/family-esque friendships).

Catering for the 45% of US consumers who self-gift at Christmas and the 25% who buy two products – one for them and one for another – (Omnisend, 2024), branded apps and platforms including Pinterest and TikTok show how retailers can tap into a micro-treating movement spurred on by the lipstick effect (a propensity to lean into small luxuries amid economic downturns).

Some beauty and food brands are demonstrating how to sensitively navigate key seasonal stressors: caring responsibilities, loneliness, financial anxiety and emotional baggage. This is fertile ground for brands whose products and services overtly offer comfort to mine.

New approaches to filters, smarter (generative-AI-powered) search and wish-listing tech are enabling consumers to cut through the e-commerce noise as the proportion of online holiday shopping rises (see Key Stats).

Tapping into a universal predisposition to remember holidays past, brands in sectors from toys to telecoms are supercharging remembrances of previous decades and Christmases. While not a fresh tactic, leaning into ‘nostalgia-tising’s’ soothing nature, in a bid to reduce overwhelm, is particularly potent following an economically and geopolitically turbulent year.