Many consumers plan to begin their holiday shopping well before the traditional Black Friday sales. Shopping habits, however, tend to differ by generation, note Senior Partner Becca Coggins and colleagues. A recent survey of approximately 4,000 US consumers found that 37 percent of millennial shoppers and 33 percent of Gen Zers planned to begin holiday shopping before October. Only 20 percent of baby boomers indicated they would do the same, while 22 percent said they wouldn’t participate in holiday shopping at all this year.
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A stacked bar chart illustrates the percentage of respondents from different generations who plan to start holiday shopping at various times, categorized by Gen Z, millennial, Gen X, baby boomer, and total. The data is broken down into 8 time periods: Before August, August, September, October, November (before Black Friday), Black Friday weekend, December, and “not participating.” For each generation, the percentage of respondents is shown for each time period, with the total column providing an overall average. The chart reveals that 13% of Gen Z, 15% of millennials, 11% of Gen X, and 11% of baby boomers plan to start shopping before August, while 9%, 10%, 5%, and 8% plan to start in August, respectively. As the holiday season progresses, the percentage of respondents planning to shop increases, with 22% of Gen Z, 20% of millennials, 21% of Gen X, and 20% of baby boomers planning to shop in November before Black Friday. The chart also shows that 17% of Gen Z, 9% of millennials, 11% of Gen X, and 12% of baby boomers plan to shop during the Black Friday weekend.
Note: This image description was completed with the assistance of Writer, a gen AI tool.
Source: McKinsey ConsumerWise Global Sentiment Data, Aug 2025, n = 4,013.
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To read the article, see “An update on US consumer sentiment: Settling in for a tepid holiday season,” August 29, 2025.