We are at the end of 2025, bringing with it holiday cheer. The holiday season is when digital commerce shifts into high gear. Gift guides, a once-dependable tool for brands and retailers, now occupy a more contested space. Their visibility remains, but their influence is under scrutiny.

There’s increasing talk about a pivot—from mass-appeal roundups to emotionally resonant, personalised recommendations. But how much of that is substantiated by data? What’s sentiment, and what’s signal?

Holiday Gifting in Numbers

A solid global performance for online holiday sales featuring mobile commerce driving an overall transaction lift was declared by Salesforce, reaching US$1.2 trillion in 2025, with the largest share coming from mobile commerce. The US market was able to retail nearly a trillion US dollars. Apparel, electronics, and beauty, among others, performed well in this precise order. These figures look good; however, the figures, in contrast to the earlier years, were not that overly impressive, thereby giving an awakening thought that global growth is not being prominently realised.

One bright spot is experiential gifting. Deloitte has shared the 2025 Holiday Retail Survey, mentioning that 47% say that they have thought of giving experience-based gifts this year. It depends on the region; Australia, for example, has seen experiences being spent increase by around 30% in 2024. People are desiring more and more rewarding experiences rather than things as a gradually growing trend.

The Creator Economy’s Growing Influence

Gift guides haven’t disappeared—they’ve migrated. Instead of being bundled into magazines or catalogues, they now show up in Instagram carousels, TikTok storytimes, and curated shopping links.

While specific studies are scarce, agencies and platforms working with creators agree on one point: audiences are more likely to buy based on the recommendations of individuals they trust.

Creators are replacing product placement with storytelling. One influencer’s breakdown of “5 gifts for your friend who just started therapy” or “a holiday list for the dad who cooks but won’t admit it” feels more meaningful than another’s “25 Tech Gifts Under $100”.

This shift reflects a broader demand: make it personal, or make it go away.

The Struggles of Traditional Gift Lists

Retailers continue to publish large-scale gift guides—Amazon, Nordstrom, John Lewis, and Target among them. While these still generate clicks, the performance metrics aren’t universally rising. Click-through rates for broad-based affiliate lists have flattened, according to recent affiliate industry roundups.

One trend from multiple platforms: gift guides curated around niche interests or specific personas convert better than broad themes. Think: “vegan skincare for teens”, not “beauty gifts for women”.

This shift also reflects audience fatigue. The endless scroll of repetitive titles—“gifts for him”, “gifts for the coworker you barely know”—has reduced the utility of the format.

Are Gift Guides Still Worth the Effort?

Yes—but they need to be reconsidered. Global platforms like The New York Times’ Wirecutter continue to publish trusted guides, with a strong focus on quality assurance and long-term utility. These lists stand apart for one reason: editorial rigour.

Vogue’s 2025 digital gift guide series included collaborations with stylists and creators, offering selections based on mood, occasion, and personality. These perform better than generic publisher lists because they understand one critical insight: gifting is emotional.

Oprah’s “Favourite Things” remains a significant driver of affiliate traffic. Even without newly verified metrics, the annual list is one of the few legacy guides that continues to earn trust. Its power is rooted not in the size of its catalogue, but in the consistency of the voice behind it.

Consumer Sentiment Signals a Shift

The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index showed a 29.9% drop in November 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. That’s a considerable shift, and it’s not limited to the U.S. Similar dips have been observed in major consumer economies like the UK, Germany, and South Korea.

This sentiment translates into one core behaviour: more conscious spending. Consumers are asking more questions about the value, use, and relevance of each purchase. Gift guides that do not meet this deeper layer of intent may get skipped altogether.

Experiences Over Things: Gifting Evolves

According to data, increased interest is being shown by consumers in giving non-material gifts, and this trend is further highlighted in the various reports of Deloitte as well as in regional outlooks of consumer practice, such as those by PwC:

• Live events
• Classes or workshops
• Wellness and self-care services
• Food and travel vouchers

In metro dynamics, the choice turns into an expectation: something that keeps us with brands and future partnerships and formats. Ninety-nine percent of the world needs something different from 15 socks and 25 people ready in the community for the new booking platforms, digital experiences, and community-driven offers.

What Brands Should Consider Now

Gift guides are not going extinct—they’re recalibrating. Brands need to understand the new parameters:

• Audiences respond to trust more than traffic. Work with creators who speak to niche needs.
• Early content wins. By mid-November, much of the guide traffic has already peaked.
• Data-driven decisions matter, but so does tone. A compelling story will outperform a longer list.
• Broader collaboration with editorial platforms adds value beyond affiliate links.

Looking Ahead

The next season of gift guides will likely look less like a department store circular and more like a friend’s email. Readers want value, not volume. They expect context, not category filters.

And most of all, they expect to feel something.

That’s where brands need to meet them.