CHAPTER 20 | HO HO HOLIDAY FACTOIDS

The reason the BOOK OF SECRETS exists is shameless promotion of 51group. We're strategists, marketers, doers of advertising, specialists in content development, teachers of lunch and learns, makers of spread sheets, analysts of data, and savers of stress all wrapped up in a high performance package of humanity. Do we use AI? Of course, but it is just sugar to jog ideas or get remedial marketing organized. Our 2026 prediction is that humans in business will actually be more important than ever.

So here's what ChatGPT had to say about holiday shopping. The only thing remarkably curious is that years ago, by now it was projected that 75% of all shopping would be online.

Ha! Take that, robots. Humanity for the win!

Happy Holidays – ALL the holidays – and peace, love and kindness to everyone!

🤶 🤶 🤶

Holiday shopping (Nov 1–Dec 31) accounts for about 13.5% of annual U.S. retail sales revenue

Holiday sales in the U.S. reached a record ~$994 billion in 2024, up ~4% from 2023 (core retail)

Online sales during the 2024 holiday season hit record levels of ~$241 billion, an 8.4% year-over-year increase

The “Cyber 5” weekend (Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday) produces roughly 17% of total holiday online sales

Around 57% of holiday shoppers shop online, and mobile devices account for 53%+ of online holiday purchases

Approximately 78% of shoppers begin holiday shopping before Black Friday, reflecting an extended planning horizon

Around 56% of shoppers plan to “self-gift” during the holiday period, a useful insight for segmenting promotions

In 2025 holiday forecasts, average consumer holiday spending was projected around $902 per person, historically high

U.S. retailers lost ~$148 billion to returns in the 2023 holiday season, with about 16.5% of return dollars from that period

An estimated $24.5 billion of fraudulent returns occurred in the holiday season, representing ~24% of annual return-fraud losses

Seasonal campaigns (like Black Friday) can deliver up to ~39% higher returns on ad spend compared with other campaigns

Paid search drove the largest share (~30%) of online holiday revenue in 2024

Social influencer-driven sales convert at up to nine times the rate of “social media overall” during the holiday period, underscoring the power of influencer marketing

Retailers generate a disproportionate volume of annual revenue in a short period—Nov–Dec can be 15–20% (or more) of total sales—making planning and execution in this window critical