This Christmas, consumers are opting to buy less and focus on quality, with premium products and local identity.

This Christmas comes with a more selective consumer, moderately increased spending, and a market where the search for value, planning, and quality food set the pace. This is evident from the quantitative data of various national studies and qualitative information gathered from interviews with consumers and analyzed by the director of the Chair of Commerce and Digital Transformation at the University of Malaga (UMA), Sebastián Molinillo.

He states that the Christmas campaign maintains its position as the most important commercial period of the year, and forecasts for this year point to a scenario of "moderate" growth. This trend, as explained by the professor of Marketing and Market Research at UMA, shows a society that opts for buying "more quality and less volume."

In spending, there is a fragmented behavior where profiles sensitive to price coexist with others willing to pay more for special products.

Data from the last Christmas showed a significant boost in commerce, with a 6.3% increase in retail sales, supported by categories such as food, dining, and jewelry. "Christmas continues to be an emotional anchor of Spanish consumption," Molinillo specifies, in line with the growing trend towards purchases that increasingly seek experiences.

The consumer is increasingly oriented towards premium and locally-identified products like gourmet foods, wines with a designation of origin, and traditional brands, a preference explained by the pursuit of excellence and whose choice does not necessarily mean spending more, but choosing better in a more selective and reflective purchasing process, he added.

Advance Purchases

The analysis of behavior by profiles shows that the Christmas consumer of 2025 moves along four major axes ranging from high price sensitivity combined with the willingness to invest in symbolic value to increased planning, which leads 82% of shoppers to advance purchases during Black Friday to distribute spending across several paychecks. "Advancing purchases has become a domestic strategy to manage inflationary pressure without sacrificing quality," Molinillo points out.

In his view, younger generations combine budget constraints with a growing interest in gifts in the form of experiences and second-hand products, while the preference for home celebrations and more careful gastronomy continues to consolidate as a central element of the Christmas period. "The home returns to be the emotional center of Christmas and this directly impacts the categories that grow the most," he indicates.

Consumers also plan to increase or maintain their spending, and according to estimates gathered by this UMA researcher, 71% will spend the same or more than the previous year, while one in four will expand their budget, with food taking a special role, potentially registering a 30% increase and nearly 120 euros additional per household.

Online Sales

Online shopping continues to gain ground without taking away from physical commerce, which retains an "emotional" role, especially in the realm of food and gifts that require more advice.

Molinillo clarifies that this coexistence of channels is not about substitution but integration, allowing consumers to move more freely between digital comparisons and in-person experiences, which has brought flexibility that has completely redefined companies' communication strategies.

Despite the advance of e-commerce, the physical store remains key, and about half of the consumers prefer to see and touch the product, a factor that sustains the relevance of the in-person experience.

This aspect forces a reinforcement of the integration between both channels, and according to the director of the Chair of Commerce and Digital Transformation, it is due to a need for "sensory certainty" that the digital channel still cannot replace.

Companies face this duality with optimism, and 77% of the large consumption sector expects a better year than 2024, in a period marked by different campaigns that try to attract a consumer "less loyal, more demanding, and much more planner."