Why it matters:
- With consumers worried about inflation, and planning to cut back on discretionary spending, the competition for share of wallet is becoming more intense.
- While consumers are seeking value, they also are looking for uniqueness, and flexible and engaging shopping experiences.
- Pop culture tie-ins and other promotions are boosting in-store visits, and AI-powered tools are driving traffic to e-commerce sites.
Although the U.S. consumer has continued to spend at a healthy pace since the beginning of 2025, more of them are saying they plan to curb future spending or are trading down to lower-priced products or discount retailers.
A survey by management consulting company McKinsey & Company found that while consumers, in general, were optimistic about the economy during the first months of the year, there were signs of uncertainty, including anticipated reductions in discretionary spending.
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The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index was down 11% in April, compared to March, reaching the lowest level since June 2022.
When consumers are worried about prices, retailers and other businesses need to give them a reason to spend.
Recent reports from Placer.ai, a location analytics company that tracks consumer foot traffic, and tech company Adobe, which uses Adobe Analytics tools to track online spending, reveal key trends that are driving spending and shopper traffic online and in stores.
“These are narratives that have been going on for a while, but we’re really starting to see them get to a place where they’re so stark in the data that it’s clear that this is the way consumers are shifting their behavior,” Elizabeth Lafontaine, Director of Research at Placer.ai, told CO—.
Here are five of the top trends shaping how consumers are spending in 2025:
The lure of off-price retail: Shoppers love a treasure hunt and ‘finding something new every week’
Placer.ai reported that it has seen a steady increase in visits to off-price retailers and thrift stores, at the expense of traditional clothing stores.
Shoppers are drawn to off-price and thrift stores not for their discount allure, Lafontaine said.
“It’s not always just ‘I want to buy something at the cheapest price,’ or ‘I want to get the best promotion,’ it’s also, ‘When I walk out of a store, do I feel like that experience warranted the money that I spent?’” she said.
The off-price channel, in particular, is “creating that treasure hunt element for consumers,” Lafontaine said. “Consumers are going in and able to find things that are unique, that fit their style, that are not going to blow their budget, and also have a great experience doing it.”
A key reason Placer.ai is seeing frequent visits to off-price stores is because “consumers can go in every single week and find something new,” she said.
[Read: Key Solutions Retailers Are Focusing on to Drive Growth This Year]
More consumers shop both high and low — at both Bloomingdale’s and Goodwill
Over the past five years, Placer.ai has seen the number of consumers who shop at high-end department stores like Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom, and also go to Goodwill and off-price retailers, increase significantly.
Placer.ai sees this as an indication consumers are choosing quality for some purchases and making others based on cost.
“For people that are shopping at a Bloomingdale’s or a Nordstrom, the cross-shopping that we’re seeing with Goodwill has increased year-over-year since the pre-pandemic period,” Lafontaine said.
Uniqueness and sustainability are important to high-end shoppers, she said. But the data also demonstrates that today’s consumers “are willing to shop a wide variety of retailers to really curate that perfect assortment for themselves,” she said.
We’re in a moment right now where social media is doing such a good job of word-of-mouth marketing, and things that take off and go viral are prompting people to visit new locations or visit more frequently than they have in the past.Elizabeth Lafontaine, Director of Research at Placer.ai
AI-driven online traffic is soaring
Adobe Analytics data shows that traffic to U.S. e-commerce websites from generative AI sources was up 1,200% at the beginning of 2025, compared to six months earlier.
AI-driven e-commerce traffic has been doubling every two months since September, Adobe reported in March.
AI-driven traffic resulted in 8% higher engagement, with consumers lingering on pages longer, and browsing 12% more pages.
Consumers told Adobe in a survey that they are increasingly comfortable using AI to research products and get recommendations.
Shoppers are using AI in growing numbers because they find it shortens the time it takes to get the personalized information they need to make purchases, according to Adobe.
[Read: How ‘Retail Concierges’ (Both Digital and Human) Are Poised to Disrupt the Shopping Experience]
Consumers are interacting with stores in new ways
Location data from Placer.ai shows consumers increasingly are using big-box stores and warehouse stores for super-quick shopping trips, rather than major, lengthy, cart-filling visits.
Placer.ai found that the share of visits lasting less than 10 minutes at Target, Walmart, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Sam’s Club, and to a lesser extent Costco, have risen steadily since 2019. Placer.ai attributes that to increased use of buy online, pick up in-store and curbside pickup options. It also indicates, according to Placer.ai, that consumers are popping into stores quickly for particular deals.
The data indicates that during the pandemic consumers learned to shop differently, Lafontaine said.
“Superstores are no longer where a consumer is going in and browsing every aisle and trying to find what’s new. They know exactly what they need, they’re doing research online and then running into the store to grab it,” she said.
Or consumers are utilizing retail services such as buy online, pick up in-store so they can visit those merchants as a stop in their shopping journey, but not necessarily their entire journey, Lafontaine said.
Retailers that leverage this convenience trend have been able to “pivot into finding what their specialty is— what is their reason [consumers] visit,” Lafontaine said.
Pop culture tie-ins and creative promotions pay off
Tie-ins and promotions linked to pop culture trends and entertainment characters have been successful in boosting store traffic. In February, the launch of a Disney Princess-inspired fragrance line at Bath & Body Works boosted store visits 23.2%, according to Placer.ai data.
Fast-food chain Wendy’s saw a similar spike last year when it offered a SpongeBob promotion with its Krabby Patty menu item. The restaurant chain saw a 21.5% increase in traffic during the week it was offered.
The Crumbl cookie store franchise saw its traffic jump 27.7% during the week it offered a limited edition GUTS cookie, tied to singer Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS tour.
“We’re in a moment right now where social media is doing such a good job of word-of-mouth marketing, and things that take off and go viral are prompting people to visit new locations or visit more frequently than they have in the past,” Lafontaine said.
“Retailers, through these collaborations, are really able to foster a stronger bond with consumers,” she said.
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