Holiday Shopping 2026: Hispanic Shoppers Plan to Spend More and AI Joins the Gift Hunt

The Holidays are upon us again. It seems they come faster every year. This holiday season comes after a summer of high gas prices so we were curious to know how that might affect spending. We surveyed 1,500 U.S. adults online about how they plan to shop, spend, and celebrate this holiday season. The sample has 500 Hispanic, 250 Black, 250 Asian, and 500 non-Hispanic White respondents and was weighted to represent the U.S. 18+ population. Where possible, we compared this year’s results with surveys we fielded in 2023 and 2025.  

Download the full report here.

Shopping behavior has changed since 2023

Most of our trend comparisons go back to 2023, and a few compare with 2025. The largest change is timing. Fifty-eight percent of shoppers now start before Black Friday, up from 40% in 2023. Gift cards moved from 48% to 58.9% of shoppers, and clothing from 54% to 59.2%. Shopping mainly on online retailer sites went from 54% to 61.3%.

Two measures slipped a little. Twenty-three percent plan to spend more than last year, down slightly from 25% in 2023, and 27.2% plan to use buy now, pay later for gifts, down slightly from 29%. Both changes are small enough that we would not read much into them.

Attitudes have moved as well. Financial optimism sits at 35.7%, down from 40% in 2025. Among Hispanic shoppers, the preference for a Spanish-language option rose from 53% in 2025 to 63.5%, and the share rating culturally relevant holiday marketing as important rose from 42% to 57.1%. We cover that further down.

Spending plans are split, and Hispanic shoppers lead the spenders

Almost as many shoppers plan to spend less this year as plan to spend more. Twenty-three percent said more, mostly because of higher prices, and 23.3% said less, largely because of inflation. Hispanic shoppers are the most likely to spend more (31.4%), followed by Black shoppers (25.5%), non-Hispanic White shoppers (20.6%), and Asian shoppers (17.4%).

Men are more likely than women to plan a bigger budget (27.1% vs. 18.1%). Both groups feel about the same about their finances, with 36.5% of men and 34.3% of women saying they are better off than a year ago. This survey can't tell us why the spending plans differ.

Overall, 35.7% say their finances are better than a year ago. Black consumers are the most upbeat at 42.5% and Asian consumers the least at 32.4%. Gen Z sits far above everyone else at 57.5%, while only 18.1% of Boomers feel that way.

Budgets stay small for a lot of people. Forty-six percent plan to spend under $500 in total, including 58.4% of Black and 56.2% of Asian shoppers. Average planned spending follows the same split, at $549 for Black and $528 for Asian shoppers, against $744 for Hispanic and $785 for non-Hispanic White shoppers. Gen Z is in the same spot as the lower-budget groups, with 55.0% under $500 against 39.2% of Gen X.

Inflation is the biggest factor in how people plan to shop (58%), followed by tariffs (31%). Hispanic shoppers are the most likely to bring up housing or rent costs (40%).

Most shoppers start before Black Friday

By the end of Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, 77.7% of shoppers have started or finished. About a third (33.8%) begin in September or October, and another 24.0% begin in November before Thanksgiving. Only 20.6% wait for the final stretch.

The pre-Thanksgiving November group skews Asian (34.4%) and Hispanic (31.8%), against 21.0% of non-Hispanic White shoppers.

One in three shoppers are using AI for gift ideas

Thirty-four percent have used or plan to use AI for gift ideas this year. Black shoppers lead at 44.2%, Hispanic shoppers follow at 40.7%, and then come Asian shoppers at 35.7% and non-Hispanic White shoppers at 30.9%. The spread by age is much wider than the spread by race or ethnicity: 52.3% of Gen Z and 47.7% of Millennials, against 14.6% of Boomers.

The numbers drop when the question shifts to retailers. Only 18.8% of shoppers want AI-powered personalized gift recommendations as a retail feature. Interest runs highest among Asian shoppers (28.2%, against 17.1% of non-Hispanic White shoppers) and Black shoppers (24.9%), and among Gen Z (27.4%) and Millennials (26.3%).

Where people shop and how they pay

Online retailer sites are the top destination at 61.3%. Black shoppers are the exception at 49.8%, against 61.4% to 62.8% for every other group. Hispanic shoppers buy through social media platforms at 23.2%, against 14.1% of non-Hispanic White shoppers. Gen Z is at 31.5% and Boomers are at 3.0%, one of the widest gaps in the study.

Cyber Monday interest is high everywhere, between 71% and 81% across race and ethnicity, with no significant gaps. Black shoppers lead on curbside pickup and buy-online-pickup-in-store (58.3% vs. 45.6% of non-Hispanic White shoppers).

Waiting for a sale (45.9%) and using coupons or promo codes (43.7%) are the most common deal habits. Coupon use varies by group: 46.4% of non-Hispanic White shoppers, 43.6% of Asian shoppers, 38.1% of Hispanic shoppers, and 30.6% of Black shoppers.

About a quarter (27.2%) plan to use buy now, pay later for gifts. Black shoppers are far more open to it (41.5%), followed by Hispanic (32.6%), non-Hispanic White (23.3%), and Asian (20.1%) shoppers. Among Gen Z, 45.0% plan to use it, against 11.3% of Boomers.

Gift cards top the list for non-Hispanic White shoppers (64.3%) and rank lower for Hispanic (48.0%) and Black (44.5%) shoppers. Those two groups buy more clothing (66.5% and 60.1%).

Hispanic shoppers want Spanish and cultural relevance

Among Hispanic shoppers, 63.5% prefer a Spanish-language option when shopping online, up from 53% in 2025. And 57.1% rate culturally relevant holiday marketing as important, up significantly from 42% a year ago. A 15-point move in one year is large, and it is the change we would want a retailer to look at first.

Three Kings Day matters to 37.4% of Hispanic shoppers, who celebrate it and consider it an important holiday for their household. Among those who celebrate, 61.6% point to a special family dinner, 60.0% say gifts for children are the center of it, and 52.7% mention traditional foods like Rosca de Reyes.

What we would do with this data

Start campaigns early, since 58% of shoppers are underway before Black Friday. Put a Spanish-language option in front of Hispanic shoppers and plan Three Kings Day content for early January. Make sure your brand shows up when someone asks a chatbot for gift ideas, because a third of shoppers are doing exactly that. Hold off on building your own AI recommendation tool until you know your customers want one, since only 18.8% say they do. And lead with price: 58% cite inflation and 46% plan to spend under $500 in total.

The full report has cuts by race and ethnicity, generation, and gender. You can download it here, or if you need a version built around your category, get in touch with the ThinkNow team.