The holiday shopping rush has ended, but a new trend has taken hold. While overall spending on gifts is still strong, shoppers are turning to thrift and discount stores in record numbers.
Spending Tops the Previous Year
Data released this week by Visa’s Consulting & Analytics division and Mastercard SpendingPulse shows that cash and card transactions through Sunday surpassed last year’s holiday haul. The surge comes amid growing unease about the U.S. economy and higher prices linked to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
A Move Toward Thrift and Discount
Placer.ai, which tracks people’s movements through cellphone data, reports that more Americans are visiting thrift and other discount stores instead of traditional malls. The shift is part of a broader trend of shoppers sticking closely to lists and researching purchases before buying.
> “Whether hunting for a designer deal or uncovering a one-of-a-kind vintage piece, consumers increasingly favored discovery-driven experiences over the standardized assortments of traditional retail,” said Shira Petrack, head of content at Placer.ai.
The data also shows that online returns have fallen compared with last year, a pattern that Adobe Analytics attributes to shoppers being more disciplined.
Traffic Patterns for the Run-Up
Placer.ai’s traffic data paints a detailed picture of the week before Christmas. Department store traffic doubled during the week of Dec. 15 through Sunday compared with the average shopping week, yet that traffic fell 13.2% versus the same period in 2024.
Clothing, a staple of holiday sales, saw a 61% surge in traffic during the run-up but sales slid 9% compared with last year. Off-price stores like TJ Maxx experienced an 85.1% seasonal traffic bump and a 1.2% gain in the week before the holiday.
Thrift stores were the most dramatic, with traffic jumping nearly 11% in the week before Christmas compared with last year.
Sustained Growth for Thrift
Through the second half of 2025, thrift stores have seen at least a 10% increase in traffic versus last year, indicating that environmental concerns and economic pressures are drawing more Americans to second-hand shops.
Sales at thrift stores typically do not spike during the holidays, yet the most recent Black Friday weekend saw a 5.5% rise in sales.
In November, when traffic in traditional apparel stores fell more than 3%, thrift store traffic surged 12.7%.
The demographic shift is evident as well. The average household income of thrift customers hit $75,000 during October and November of this year, up from $74,900 last year and $74,600 in 2023, well above the 2022 average of $74,100, according to STI:PopStats combined with Placer.ai data.
Savers Value Village, a thrift chain, reported U.S. sales rose 10.5% in the three months ended Sept. 27, and momentum continued through October. CEO Mark Walsh told analysts, “High household income cohort continues to become a larger portion of our consumer mix. It’s trade down for sure, and our younger cohort also continues to grow in numbers.”
Return Rates Fall
Adobe Analytics shows that for the first six weeks of the holiday season, return rates have dipped from the same period a year ago. From Nov. 1 to Dec. 12, returns fell 2.5% compared with last year, and in the seven days following Cyber Week, returns fell 0.1%.
Online sales rose 6% to $187.3 billion during the same period, on track to surpass the outlook for the season.
Adobe also projects that returns will rise by 25% to 35% between Dec. 26 and Dec. 31 compared with Nov. 1 to Dec. 12, and that returns will remain elevated-8% to 15%-through the first two weeks of January.
This is the first year Adobe has tracked returns. Despite the overall dip, the last week of December remains the most concentrated return period, with one out of every eight returns in the 2024 holiday season occurring between Dec. 26 and Dec. 31.
Key Takeaways
- Holiday spending on gifts remains strong, but the majority is shifting to thrift and discount stores.
- Department and clothing store traffic fell versus last year, while off-price and thrift traffic surged.
- Return rates have dropped, suggesting shoppers are researching and sticking to lists more carefully.
The holiday season continues to evolve, with consumers prioritizing discovery-driven shopping experiences and tighter budgets, while retailers face a changing traffic landscape and a new pattern of returns.
