Consumers are new methods of purchasing and gifting this Christmas, with a better focus on second-hand fashion and fewer spending on luxury and designer labels.
That’s in accordance to the most recent ‘State of Spend: The Golden Quarter’ report from digital commerce platform Cardlytics, based mostly on transaction insights from over 23 million UK financial institution accounts and new analysis performed with Opinium, which factors to a ‘fashion reset’.
While on-line quick fashion stays effectively forward of 2022 ranges, progress has slowed sharply from 22.7% in 2023 to 14.7% in 2024.
High avenue fashion grew simply 3.6% final yr, whereas spend on luxury and designer fashion dropped considerably by 18.7%.
At the identical time, marketplaces and resale platforms are gaining floor. Nearly a 3rd of buyers say they may use marketplaces for fashion this season, and nearly one in 5 (18%) plan to shop second-hand.
More than 60% of shoppers say they’ve both purchased, offered or would contemplate resale – signalling that resale is now a mainstream a part of how individuals shop.
Loyalty in fashion can be waning, as shoppers are steadily mixing value factors, platforms and codecs, and are more and more pushed by worth, sustainability and ease, quite than by development or behavior.
Other key findings embody:
- Shoppers are transferring away from single day occasions, with solely 11% say they shop primarily on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, as spend on surrounding weekends is now considerably larger.
- Gifting is getting extra selective as over half (53%) of shoppers will select one thing private or sensible and simply 11% plan to give luxury items.
- Fashion continues to fragment as 62% of buyers are actually engaged with resale, whereas luxury and division retailer spend continues to fall.
- Featuring the brand new ‘State of Spend Sector Snapshot’ – an information tracker benchmarking and predicting efficiency throughout client classes – the report highlights progress in resale, magnificence and discounter grocery, alongside longer-time period declines in electricals, department shops and luxury fashion.
Lucy Whittemore, SVP UK Partnerships at Cardlytics, mentioned: “We’ll see robust spending from shoppers throughout the Golden Quarter, however it will likely be extra thought-about, extra distributed, and extra worth-pushed than ever earlier than.
“Shoppers are planning earlier, acting smarter, and backing brands that deliver on relevance, not just price. For marketers, it’s less about relying on key retail moments like Black Friday and more about sustaining engagement with customers throughout the entire festive period.”
According to the report, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are nonetheless key moments for shoppers, however their impression has softened as spending spreads throughout the season.
In 2024, spend on the Saturday after Black Friday was up 27%, and the strongest single day of spend got here a full week after Cyber Monday – displaying that buyers are altering how they reply to these fastened timed occasions.
While simply 11% of respondents mentioned they make most of their purchases on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, 47% deliberate to unfold spend throughout the total promotional window. Nearly one-third (30%) will full their festive purchasing earlier than Black Friday even begins.
Additionally, the promotional ‘moment’ has advanced right into a season lengthy occasion, and the retailers who adapt their supply and presence accordingly are “likely to outperform those still relying on a 24-hour spike”.
Cardlytics analysed Golden Quarter spending traits utilizing anonymised transaction knowledge from over 23 million UK financial institution accounts, protecting September to December 2022–2024. Forward-looking insights are based mostly on historic spend patterns and stay service provider exercise.
Nationally consultant polling of two,000 Brits was performed by Opinium in September 2025.