Consumers no longer confine holiday shopping to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, instead researching and buying gifts over months-long periods, prompting 62% of marketers to launch campaigns earlier to secure revenue and return on ad spend.
Only 15% of shoppers wait until those peak weekends to begin purchasing, according to the 2026 Holiday & Seasonal Shopping Trends Report from tvScientific by Pinterest. One-third start researching before October, and many finalize decisions weeks ahead of the biggest promotions. This multi-session journey has ended the era of a single shopping weekend, as buyers grow more calculated and hunt deals across extended timelines.
According to Mediapost, the shift is driving advertisers to track preferences more closely and start holiday efforts sooner. “The assumption behind shorter campaigns is that the purchase decision happens right before checkout,” said Jason Fairchild, tvScientific CEO and co-founder (who also recently added general manager of programmatic and affiliate at Pinterest to his titles).
“Holiday shopping doesn’t work that way anymore. It’s a longer, multi-session journey.”
Social media will claim the largest share of holiday budgets at 68%, followed by performance TV and connected TV at 54%, online video at 44%, influencer and creative marketing at 32%, search at 23%, audio and podcasts at 16%, email and CRM at 14%, display at 14%, and print plus out-of-home at 3%.
The report, based on surveys of 487 U.S. marketers and 600 consumers, pairs marketers’ plans with actual shopping behavior to show how people discover, evaluate, and buy across screens throughout the year’s retail moments.