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Holiday shopping

From first click to final checkout, Mastercard brings you inside the busiest shopping season of the year. 

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Holiday dashboard

Check out the season

Track how holiday spending is shaping up, with Mastercard SpendingPulse insights throughout the season.

    

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Insights

Younger shoppers willing to let AI take over the gift list

Mastercard’s 2026 Shopper Snapshot explores how AI, tight budgets, local businesses and experience gifts are shaping holiday shopping for Gen Z and millennials.

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A woman dressed in a winter hat and scarf walks beneath arches covered with holiday lights while she carries shopping bags.

Holiday confessions

From last-minute gift cards and self-gifting to regifting, AI, scams and white lies, here's what consumers revealed about their secret behaviors in the 2026 Shopper Snapshot. 

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FEATURED VIDEO

How the season is taking shape

Mastercard Chief Economist Michelle Meyer hits the streets of New York City to share how spending behavior is changing the age of AI. 

 

 

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Latest stories

News brief

Canada holiday shopping trends: From early lists to last-minute gifts

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Shoppers walk along a picturesque Quebec street at night during the holiday season.

Story

Holiday confessions: Shoppers admit to last-minute gift cards, secret self-gifting and a few white lies

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Press release

From AI discovery to late-night shopping: The trends shaping Europe’s holiday season

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Story

Gen Z and millennials will let AI pick the gifts, but they still want the final say

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Blog

Shopping without borders shouldn’t mean buying blind

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Blog

Why holiday stress is a cybersecurity issue

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Blog

From AI-powered planning to the Christmas Eve rush: What to expect this holiday season

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A family dressed in winter gear looks at a store window with Christmas decorative scenes.

More from the Mastercard Economics Institute

MEI is a global research and advisory group that leverages unique data to develop innovative measurements and translates economic insights into actionable outcomes.

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