4 ways shoppers have changed since the pandemic began

As holiday shoppers gear up for celebrations, they’re preparing for a season that will look noticeably different than a year ago.

Big parties with family and friends. Bustling shopping centers. A trip to see Santa. Perhaps, even a warm-weather getaway. Consumers are seeing more of these holiday rituals as possible again. Nearly three out of every five Americans are vaccinated against Covid-19, and the pace of new coronavirus cases has fallen below the rate of the summer’s surge, giving people more confidence to return to their holiday traditions.

Still, not everything will go back to the way it was before Covid struck.

Shoppers have formed new habits, and new anxieties have emerged. Factory shutdowns, congested ports and labor shortages may mean the selection of gifts may be limited and consumers could easily miss out on a hoped for toy or gift. Prices could prompt some sticker shock, too.

Consumers will likely nimbly shift between shopping online and in stores, and take full advantage of methods like curbside pickup. (Though this holiday, convenience — not crowd avoidance — will drive the decision.) Stores have largely ditched layaway, but other ways have emerged for cash-strapped consumers to finance their holiday purchases.

“Black Friday is going to be like none other,” Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette told analysts on an earnings call Thursday. “We are closed on Thanksgiving day, which is a big change from where we were in 2019. But we expect our digital business to track very strongly all the day through the holiday … and we are ready for all of the expected traffic that’s going to start [in stores] at 6:00 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving.”

Here’s a closer look at some of the ways that this holiday season is expected to look different than ones of the past: