According to CivicScience data, intended winter holiday shopping at local and independent businesses is on the rise in 2025. To better understand this trend, we analyzed the behaviors of consumers who shop locally. A survey conducted from January 1 to July 10, 2025, gathered responses from 5,691 U.S. adults and revealed notable differences in spending at small businesses compared to the previous year.
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Among those surveyed, 21% reported spending more at small businesses, 19% reported spending less, and 60% reported no change. Income was a major factor: individuals earning $0–$29,999 were more likely to reduce their spending, while those with a Bachelor’s or Graduate degree were more likely to increase theirs.
Parental status also correlated with spending: parents and grandparents were more likely to maintain or increase spending, while those without children were more likely to reduce it.
Age impacted behavior as well. Adults aged 65 and older were more likely to maintain or increase spending. In contrast, the 18–24 age group showed more variation, with both increases and decreases reported.
Urbanicity also played a role. Suburban respondents were more likely to maintain their spending, while urban residents showed a slight tendency to spend more.
These findings indicate that income, education, parental status, age, and urbanicity each influence small business spending. The data provides insight into how consumer behavior is shifting into the 2025 holiday season.
This article’s data comes solely from CivicScience’s database, which contains nearly 700,000 poll questions and 5 billion consumer insights.