The 2025 shopper has changed forever.
Holiday shopping is no longer a linear process. According to the 2025 Holiday Practitioner’s Playbook, consumers now cycle through all four stages of the purchase journey simultaneously: searching, scrolling, streaming, and shopping.
This season, meeting the expectations of the “ambient” shopper is critical.
Key findings include:
- More than half of shoppers purchase at any given moment between October and January.
- Deal-seeking behaviour is surging as loyalty dips during Cyber Week, with shoppers becoming increasingly price-sensitive.
- The average consumer now interacts with 130 mobile touchpoints per day.
- 64% say their behaviours are even more blended during the holiday season.
- 72% of Gen Z consumers use 10 or more resources while shopping.
- 48% are shopping for over 3 people at a time.
This new “ambient shopper” doesn’t simply go online to shop. They shop while living their digital lives. To capture them, retailers must “be where discovery starts and decisions are made.”
The Economic Landscape: Confidence Dips, Competition Rises
The 2025 economic outlook is complex. This year, economic and competitive factors will evolve and shape consumer behaviour.
The Playbook cites:
Economic signals: Consumers are unwilling vs. unable to spend.
- Consumer Confidence: -8% decline in consumer sentiment in April 2025
- Wages Growth: +2% growth in wages above inflation across the wage distribution
Spend signals: Earning that next dollar may be more difficult.
- 56% reallocating budgets from homeownership to debt repayment and leisure
- 78% are concerned about the impact of tariffs on household expenses
Wages are up 2% above inflation, meaning consumers are unwilling, not unable, to spend. They just need the right reasons.
What does this mean for retailers?
Shoppers are cautious but opportunity-rich.
To differentiate your brand, build trust, deliver value, and provide clear utility. Google’s ecosystem (Search, YouTube, and Shopping) remains the most trusted platform to deliver “the right information at the right time.”
AI as the Retail Advantage: Performance Max and Beyond
A. Capturing All Four Shopper Behaviours
Performance Max (PMax) campaigns leverage Google’s AI to reach shoppers across Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, and Maps, all within a single campaign.
This unified approach allows retailers to:
- Find new customers across all Google channels
- Optimise in real time for the highest ROI conversion opportunities
- Gain actionable insights into audience behaviour, channel performance, and creative impact
Data-driven insight:
TransUnion’s 2024 meta-analysis found that Performance Max campaigns deliver 17–33% higher ROAS than other AI-powered platforms during Q4 holiday peaks.
B. The “Power Pack” Strategy
The Playbook recommends two strategic configurations:
- AI Max for Search + Demand Gen → For strict channel control
- PMax + Demand Gen → For full cross-channel automation and maximum reach
Retailers should collaborate with their account managers to determine which configuration best aligns with their goals: brand discovery or conversion efficiency.
Feed Optimisation: The Unsung Hero of Holiday Performance
AI can only perform as well as the data it’s fed.
Optimised product feeds are the backbone of all shopping experiences, and the Playbook emphasises starting feed audits early.
Feed Optimisation Checklist
- Fix disapproved offers and GMC account issues promptly.
- Add more products. Broader catalog coverage drives higher personalisation.
- Optimise titles and descriptions (use the structure Brand + Product Type + Attributes).
- Use high-quality images (recommended: 1500x1500 pixels).
- Add recommended attributes like size, colour, gender, and mobile links.
- Use custom labels to segment campaigns by profitability, margin, or best-seller status.
- Set up shopping annotations (e.g., “Get it by Christmas”, “Free Shipping”) to increase CTR.
Retailers using Merchant Center Product Insights can now identify high-potential SKUs and market opportunities directly in Google Ads, ensuring that feed health translates to feed performance.
The Rise of Omnichannel Commerce
Even in an AI-first world, the Playbook reminds us that 80% of retail dollars are still spent in-store.
This means success lies in blending online discovery with offline fulfillment.
Strategies for Omnichannel Success
- Incorporate local signals in bidding (store visits, local actions, and store sales).
- Use omnibidding experiments to measure the impact of combining online and offline goals.
- Increase offline value bids after shipping cut-offs to attract last-minute store traffic.
- Use Store Visit bidding in Demand Gen campaigns to reach high-intent, discovery-stage shoppers.
Advanced retailers can also upload first-party store sales data and use conversion value rules to fine-tune ROI by category or region.
Customer Lifecycle Marketing: From Acquisition to Retention
According to the Playbook, 51% of holiday shoppers are open to trying new brands—especially in October and November.
But acquiring new customers is just step one.
A. New Customer Acquisition (NCA)
The New Customer Value Mode in Performance Max allows advertisers to bid higher for high-value new customers, balancing acquisition and retention.
Retailers using NCA strategies saw:
- +9% higher ROAS
- +5% more new customers
- 7% lower acquisition costs
B. Retention and Win-Back Goals
Brands achieved a 275% increase in re-engaged customers and 36% lower costs per lapsed customer by using PMax retention modes.
The takeaway:
- AI doesn’t just find new customers.
- It keeps the old ones coming back through personalised re-engagement campaigns.
The App Opportunity: How To Convert Mobile Moments
Retailers implementing Web to App Connect are seeing 2x higher conversion rates.
By linking web and app journeys through deep linking, advertisers can:
- Import app conversions into Google Ads
- Use Smart Bidding to optimise toward app events
- Re-engage high-value app users via lifecycle campaigns
As consumers shift to app-based shopping for convenience and rewards, this connection is becoming a vital holiday lever.
Key Month-by-Month Execution Plan
August
Focus: Push your strengths
Key actions: Test incrementality, secure competitive video placements, and target in-store shoppers
September
Focus: Capture peak potential
Key actions: Finalise testing, maximise Q4 budgets, and optimise for omnichannel goals
October
Focus: Accelerate & activate
Key actions: Launch early deals, uncap budgets, and refresh creatives with holiday themes
November
Focus: Maximise every moment
Key actions: Remove budget caps, retarget abandoners, capture last-minute in-store shoppers
How To Build Durable Growth Beyond The Holidays
The Playbook’s final message is clear: AI is not a campaign. It’s a capability.
Retailers who build durable data systems, omnichannel measurement, and full-funnel creative strategies will not just win December. They’ll own 2026.
To sustain growth:
- Power AI with first-party data (Customer Match, GA4, Enhanced Conversions)
- Adopt durable tagging frameworks that survive cookie deprecation
- Invest in lifecycle goals year-round to transform seasonal spikes into loyal relationships
Conclusion: Holiday 2025 Is About Intelligent Presence
To win the 2025 holiday shopper, retailers must combine machine intelligence with human empathy.
Those who show up meaningfully (on every screen, in every channel, and at every decision point) will thrive. From search to store, from click to connection, the retailers who integrate AI-powered automation, feed excellence, and customer-centric omnichannel experiences will define the next era of retail success.
Need a fresh perspective? Let’s talk.
At 360 OM, we specialise in helping businesses take their marketing efforts to the next level. Our team stays on top of industry trends, uses data-informed decisions to maximise your ROI, and provides full transparency through comprehensive reports.
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