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The 2025 Retail Holiday Planning Guide

Explore smarter product recommendations, happier shoppers, and a little help from AI.

Do you know the secret to winning this year's holiday season?

Planning for the holidays is harder than ever, but with the right data and insights, you’ll be ready for anything.

Dive into the 2025 Retail Holiday Planning Guide to learn about the biggest trends already affecting the peak holiday season (hint: consumers are spending again). And see the big change in how people are discovering and buying products.

Economic uncertainty and changing consumer behaviors are exposing a complicated reality. For retailers, it’s never been more important to deliver excellent customer experiences alongside competitive prices on in-stock products. But even in a best-case scenario, a major shift in consumer sentiment is likely. What does that mean for retailers as they prepare for the 2022 holiday shopping season?

“Inflation has finally caught up to bullish spending, with consumers buying fewer items from fewer retailers. This likely isn’t a temporary mindset, but instead a signal of a larger consumer behavioral shift towards value and convenience. For retailers to address this, it’s not about physical versus digital, but rather finding ways for channels to work symbiotically to attract and retain loyal shoppers.”
– Rob Garf, VP and GM, Retail at Salesforce

“Inflation has finally caught up to bullish spending, with consumers buying fewer items from fewer retailers. This likely isn’t a temporary mindset, but instead a signal of a larger consumer behavioral shift towards value and convenience. For retailers to address this, it’s not about physical versus digital, but rather finding ways for channels to work symbiotically to attract and retain loyal shoppers.”

-Rob Garf, VP and GM, Retail at Salesforce

As companies try to drive profitable growth by optimizing their promotional calendars, they’re asking one question: How can we attract new shoppers and keep existing customers coming back for more? This year, retailers will focus on developing data acquisition strategies, bridging the physical-digital divide, and building stronger business partnerships. But on a larger scale, they’ll need to put as much investment into the post-purchase experience as they do the path-to-purchase, pairing test-and-learn strategies with proven revenue drivers like flash sales and special promotions.

Here we share the insights and strategies you’ll need to prepare for your peak demand events, from the holiday shopping season to door-busting special events.