Attentive: Personalised Marketing Attracts Holiday Shoppers

Forget Black Friday. For a growing share of shoppers, the holiday season is starting earlier than ever.

According to research from Attentive, some customers are starting their holiday shopping as early as the summer – going against traditional brand expectations that consumers begin planning their purchases around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

This, the research suggests, can be attributed to a wider shift in the way customers are approaching holiday commerce – shopping earlier, spending more intentionally and focusing more on discounts.  In fact, the survey found that 71% of customers say they plan to start shopping before Black Friday, up 12% from the year before. 

This longer shopping season, however, creates more opportunities for brands to influence purchase decisions through timely and personalised marketing – with Attentive advising that brands focus on developing a deeper understanding of their customers and their preferences to time their marketing to match with their audience. 

Changing customer behaviour

While nearly half of shoppers (46%) begin their holiday shopping before November, 84% don’t expect Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals to launch until either early November or the week before Black Friday. 

This creates a gap for brands to better engage shoppers – particularly as consumers report that they are planning to be more deliberate with their purchases. According to Attentive’s survey, 87% of consumers say that the economy will change how they shop for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

Of those surveyed, 42% said they planned to compare brands more before buying and 41% want to focus on needs over wants. However, around 80% of respondents said a discount of 40% or less would be enough to motivate a purchase. 

“Brands are used to treating Black Friday as the starting line for holiday marketing. This year, it will be the continuation of months of customer engagement,” says Jema Birkmeyer, Vice President of Strategic Sales at Attentive. “Consumers are discovering products, comparing options and deciding which brands they trust long before the holiday rush.”

Personalised marketing for the holiday season

To encourage holiday spending, the research suggests brands make sure their marketing is personalised to individual customers. 

According to the survey, consumers are most likely to engage with marketing that has been personalised to their interests and shopping behaviour – with 90% saying they respond to price drops on products they’re interested in, 88% respond to discounts on products they've recently viewed or added to their cart and 73% respond to relevant product recommendations.

Additional research from Attentive’s 2026 Personalisation Trends report also found that close to two thirds of shoppers are open to receiving more frequent marketing messages if relevant to them. 

“The retailers that win this holiday season will be the ones using AI to understand and deliver on individual customer preferences, serve timely, personalised experiences across every channel and strengthen relationships well before promotions begin,” says Jema.