Christmas 2025: Tech, Marketing & E-Commerce Trends

Christmas is Coming! Or…Not Yet?

If in the past people waited until at least December to get into the Christmas spirit, today the holiday season starts much earlier. Many brands begin their seasonal communication in October, right after wrapping up their Halloween campaigns, while consumers plan their purchases well in advance.

Unofficially, Black Friday has become the starting point of holiday shopping, November essentially turning into “the month of discounted gifts.”

It’s also important to note that in Romania, Black Friday usually happens earlier than in other regions, and this year eMAG kicked things off on November 7th to ensure all orders could be delivered by early December.

There are also other major shopping moments leading up to Christmas, such as Single’s Day, (originating in China) promoted by brands like Sephora, Douglas, Notino, Tommy Hilfiger and others, encouraging (re)discovery and personal pampering; Cyber Monday, the Monday after Black Friday, focused on online-only deals.

However, holiday shopping actually starts much earlier, as early as summer, through campaigns like Summer Black Friday, Back to School, Halloween, then continuing into January with Winter Sales and Blue Monday.

So, brands that want to stay top-of-mind must prepare early and keep audiences engaged throughout these months.

Reminder: Before launching any Christmas campaign, make sure your technical infrastructure is ready. Website and e-commerce platform traffic increases significantly in the holiday season, so your website must be optimized to handle far more visitors than usual.

Do you know what’s extremely frustrating when shopping online? A slow-loading website (especially when you see that 210 other people are looking at the same product), or worse, the site crashes right when you hit “Place order.”

(New) Christmas Traditions

We’re tempted to say that this season is atypical, influenced by the current economic and social context. People feel the impact of recent price increases, higher VAT, inflation, and an overall sense of uncertainty. Energy, food, and everyday goods are all more expensive, reducing purchasing power.

Or at least that’s what we might expect.

eMAG’s Black Friday campaign on November 7th showed that these issues haven’t discouraged consumers as much as anticipated, but they’ve simply shifted buying behavior toward more efficient, planned, and rational choices, focused on daily needs, household essentials, and personal care products. The desire to secure the biggest discounts of the year was stronger than ever. The edition reached record numbers for Romanian e-commerce: over 950 million lei in sales, 10% more than in 2024.

This edition also showed the effects of massive digitalization, with the campaign expanding into new categories: festival tickets, medical and streaming subscriptions, vacations, cars, and more.

A few years ago, important purchases, like a car or airline tickets for a summer holiday, had to be made on a computer (a bigger screen = more trust), just to ensure everything worked properly and each step could be checked carefully. In 2025, consumers approach online shopping much more confidently, and technology has evolved enough to provide that reassurance.

Of course, 2025 is also defined by the remarkable evolution of artificial intelligence. We’re witnessing a wave of AI tools, from chatbots offering instant customer support to personalization algorithms recommending gifts and shaping how brands communicate and sell during the holidays.

What do People Want During This Season?

People care about the joy of Christmas, but they’re more careful with how and where they spend their money.

• Value for money: consumers pay close attention to prices and are often willing to switch from their favorite brand if another is more affordable. Flash deals and limited-time discounts strongly influence purchase decisions.
• Planning: in 2025, shoppers are strategic. They research products early, track price changes, and wait for the optimal moment to buy.
• Practical and accessible gifts: people gravitate toward symbolic or practical gifts at smaller budgets, avoiding extravagance.
• Ethical choices: in 2025, shoppers are much more conscious about how and where products are made. For companies, transparency has become crucial.
• Online vs. Offline: there’s a growing balance between the two, combining the convenience of online shopping with the satisfaction of testing and buying products in physical stores. For guaranteed success, brands must deliver seamless, omnichannel experiences.
• Social media and AI: consumers are influenced by social media, creators, and AI-driven recommendations.
• Security: shoppers are increasingly attentive to the security of the websites they buy from and to the trustworthiness of the retailers.

Ideas and Trends for Successful Christmas Campaigns

Here are some key tech and marketing trends for this season:

• Online commerce: social media platforms must be integrated into the sales strategy through shoppable content, live shopping features, influencer collaborations, and incentives like discount codes.
• Stories: story-style formats (Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories, Snapchat, etc.) remain extremely popular thanks to their temporary nature, available for only 24 hours, creating strong FOMO.
• Personalization: one of the most visible trends is geolocation-based and preference-based targeting. Holidays and events have different nuances depending on the city or region.
• Balanced promotions: discounts are a key factor in purchase decisions, but they must be applied strategically so you don’t compromise your profit margins. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Instead of offering maximum discounts only on Black Friday, run smaller waves of offers to maintain long-term interest.
• Artificial Intelligence: AI is the “invisible ally” of holiday campaigns. It powers personalization through machine-learning algorithms (for example, if a customer previously bought LEGO flower arrangements, they’ll likely see more LEGO recommendations on the homepage), 24/7 chatbots, and voice-assistant suggestions.
• AR, VR, phygital: augmented and virtual reality create unique shopping experiences, allowing customers to preview products in their homes or participate remotely in events happening in other cities.
• Cybersecurity: security measures must be taken very seriously, especially during holiday campaigns, which coincide with a peak in phishing attacks.

Happy Holidays and Smart Strategies

The Christmas season remains the busiest, but also the most magical time for commerce and marketing. 2025 brings a fascinating mix: on one hand, consumers are more cautious and more strategic; on the other, technology gives brands incredible opportunities to be innovative in how they sell and communicate.

The recipe for brand success seems to lie in balance: offering value through promotions without undermining business sustainability, using AI automation while keeping human authenticity, and staying active online without neglecting offline experiences.