2025 Holiday Shopping Trends for Craft Sellers: Boost Your Seasonal Sales

2025 holiday shopping trends for craft sellers

The all-important holiday shopping season is here, and shoppers are already planning their purchases.

This guide pulls together the biggest 2025 holiday shopping trends and turns them into simple steps you can use to sell more handmade items on Etsy, your own site, at craft markets, and in local shops.

You might also like: We're covering holiday consumer behavior here. If you want design trend ideas, head over to Crafts that Sell Well for the most recent year's forecast.

2025 Holiday Shopping Trends for Small Businesses

Before we jump into tactics, for selling more crafts over the seasonal gift shopping season, let's set the scene.

This section walks through five holiday shopping trends for 2025 that you'll want to watch.

You can use this snapshot to frame the action steps in the next section.

1. The big picture: quick context

Most experts expect steady, but not huge growth in holiday spending for 2025.

Plan for realistic sales goals, focus on your proven best-sellers, and test a few new gift ideas.

What to do:

Set a "must-hit" sales goal based on last year's sales, then add a small stretch goal. Prioritize stocking your proven sellers first.

2. What holiday shoppers care about in 2025: value, trust, convenience

Clear photos, clear information about materials, sizing, care, and real reviews will help build shoppers' trust. Loyal repeat customers will be extra valuable this year, be sure to stay in touch with them.

What to do:

Add a short paragraph to each listing to describe why your product is worth it. If you sell in person, be ready to talk about the benefits of your products.

Go beyond features, spell out why those features matter. Instead of simply naming premium materials, explain that they make the piece tougher, longer-lasting, and luxurious to the touch.

Include 2–3 customer review snippets and feature a simple returns policy if that's appropriate for your product.

Use high-quality, styled photos to highlight key product features and inspire purchase. Great product photography can showcase the quality of your products and demonstrate ways your products can be used.

3. When people will shop: the season starts early and lasts longer

Shoppers browse in September and October, they're looking to buy deals in late November, and they still look for quick gifts in December.

Think of the gift buying season in stages, not a single weekend.

2025 Holiday Shopping Mini Calendar:

September: Preview new designs and build your email list.

October: Launch gift bundles and early-bird perks for email subscribers and loyal customers.

Late November (BFCM): Promote your best offer and be ready for quick restocks when possible.

December: Be ready to ship items quickly, provide shoppers with clear information on last date to ship for Christmas delivery, offer local pickup, gift cards, and digital / printable products where appropriate.

BFCM = Black Friday, Cyber Monday

4. How people will find gifts: mobile first, smarter search, marketplaces

Most holiday shoppers are browsing on phones. If you have a website, pages must mobile friendly, load fast and be easy to buy from.

Smarter search and recommendations powered by AI will help shoppers discover new items.

On Etsy, add seasonal keywords to your listings, and consider adding fresh, seasonal product images.

What to do: 

Be sure to check out all of your listings on your phone. Don't rely on checking the desktop view only. Make sure your pages are mobile-ready.

Online, use clear titles, tags, and keywords within descriptions so you'll be found for search terms shoppers are using. Add season keywords where appropriate. Add a short product video, and put the best photo first.

5. What to sell: giftable, joyful, "little luxuries"

Indie retailers and shoppers want small treats with a story, limited runs, and luxurious sets that are ready for gift-giving.

What to do: 

Consider bundling your own items into a gift-ready set, or team up with a maker whose products complement yours to create a curated bundle that holiday shoppers will love.

Make online shopping simple and enjoyable. Ensure your product pages answer any questions customers might have about use, size, scent, fit, and product care.

Product Bundle Ideas for Gift Sets

Here are a few bundle ideas to spark inspiration. Use them to brainstorm ways to combine your own products into luxe, ready-to-gift sets.

Cozy Night In (Under $25): mini candle + cocoa spoon + hand-stamped gift tag

Desk Cheer (Under $35): small planter or mug + mini print + sticker pack

Self-Care Set (Under $50): bath soak + mini soap trio + wooden scoop

Winter Wardrobe Pop (Under $60): hand-knit beanie + matching scrunchie

Festive Kitchen Duo (Under $40): tea towel + engraved wooden spoon

Add a clear savings line: "Save $6 vs. buying separately" and a gift box to make gift-giving simple.

How to Turn Holiday Shopping Trends into Sales

Your holiday 2025 action plan.

Before you stock up or schedule posts, use this section to turn the forecast into simple, profitable moves.

1. Offer simple promotions while protecting your profit margins.

Shoppers are often looking for discounts, especially through BFCM. But discount pricing can be a real losing game for craft sellers.

Consider this alternative.

Skip blanket discounts. Instead, give your best perks to subscribers and repeat buyers. Email and social media shine during Black Friday–Cyber Monday if you plan ahead. Use these channels to share your best deals with loyal customers.

Offering gift cards and flexible payment options can boost average order value.

Learn more:

If pricing feels tricky, read how to price crafts for easy steps to cover costs, pay yourself, and still sell.

If you want to learn more about offering sales, check how craft sellers can offer discounts for promo strategies that protect profit.

2. Ensure clear, reliable, timely shipping, pickup, and customer service

The closer we get to Christmas, the more crucial delivery timelines become. Customers shopping online need to know the item they buy from you will arrive in time for Christmas gift giving.

Develop a simple shipping policy.

One free option (e.g., free shipping when you spend over $50) and one faster shipping option is enough for most shops. Don't get bogged down by complexity here.

Offer local pickup where possible for last minute shoppers.

Communicate your shipping policy clearly.

Clearly post a "Shipping Cutoffs" box on every holiday listing and in your shop announcement. If you're unsure, set conservative dates you know you can hit.

Clear shipping policies will help customers avoid disappointment and tell December shoppers whether there's still time to order that last minute gift from your shop.

Respond and ship quickly.

Reply to inquiries quickly to build customers' trust.

Keep packaging supplies ready so you can ship the same or next day.

Create a returns and refunds policy that builds trust.

Keep your policy short and transparent: If you allow returns, clearly communicate: the time window, who pays return shipping, and exceptions (custom/personalized).

If you don't accept returns, make that clear up front so customers see the policy before they buy.

Promise a response time (e.g., reply within 24 hours on business days) and meet it.

Create message templates for common queries so you don't have to write these messages from scratch every time. Etsy allows you to save templates for responses to common questions. Most email platforms also have this functionality.

3. Plan and organize for maximum efficiency.

This time of year can be extremely busy for small business owners. With some clear planning and careful organization you can be ready to ship on time, stay calm, and meet your financial goals for the holiday shopping season.

Set a realistic production plan so you don't oversell.

Decide whether you'll offer ready-to-ship or made-to-order items (or both). You'll need to be extra careful about managing your time if you're offering custom or made-to-order items over the holidays.

Set a daily cap for made-to-order items so you don't exceed what you can make.

Batch work (cut, prep, or pour in batches; organizing raw materials by step) can help you work more efficiently.

Offer fast shipping and pretty packaging without eating into your profits.

Weigh & measure one packed unit of each item ahead of the busy season. Keep track of all of this information. You'll know the true cost of shipping your products and avoid last-minute guesswork.

Create a packing station with mailers/boxes, tape, tissue, thank-you cards, return labels, scale. Packaging and shipping will be easier if you don't have to dig out your supplies every time you need to send out an order. 

Print in batches (labels + packing slips once daily).

Quality check before sealing to ensure: correct item/variant, finish quality, personalization spelling, gift note inside.

Create a pre-ship checklist so you don't miss any important steps. Post it near your packing station. Your pre-shipping checklist might include:

• Right item/size/color
• Personalization matches order
• No defects; dust/lint removed
• Gift note added (if selected)
• Branded insert/thank-you card
• Correct label, address, and postage

4. Prioritize & use your time wisely.

Your time is limited. You cannot do it all, so you'll need prioritize.

Instead of promoting your business on every social channel or selling on multiple platforms, choose 2–3 channels for sales and promotion that will provide the best return on your investment of time and resources. 

Choose your 2–3 channels with a quick scorecard.

Rate each channel from 1–5 for the four items below, then pick the top two or three totals.

• Where my buyers already are
• Time-to-value (I can publish and see results this month)
• Fits my product & inventory (ready-to-ship vs. made-to-order)
• Plays to my strengths (photos/video, writing, face-to-face)

Your winning combination might look something like this:

• Etsy + Email + Instagram
• Website + Email + Pinterest
• Local Markets + Email + Instagram

Determine what you can reasonably do well and let go of the rest. You'll have room to grow in the future. You don't have to tackle everything all at once.

Decide how much time and effort you need to commit to make each channel work. Commit to developing routines and schedules to keep your work as efficient as possible.  

2025 Holiday Shopping Trends Reports

Here's where you can learn more about the shopping trends you'll see throughout the 2025 holiday season and how to work with them to sell more crafts.

• Adobe: Holiday Shopping Insights 2025
• eRank: Etsy Holiday Sales Hub 2025

Wrapping up:

Holiday 2025 looks steady, not splashy, so plan to win by being clear, helpful, and focused.

Keep shoppers' top needs front and centre (value, trust, convenience), show up early in the season, and make discovery easy on mobile with clean photos, titles, and short videos.

Then keep your plan tight: pick 2–3 channels you can run well, offer simple promos, publish clear shipping cutoffs, and lean into giftable bundles and ready-to-ship favorites.

Start with one small action today - add your shipping cutoff box, launch a bundle listing, or turn on an abandoned-cart email - and build from there.

You've got this! Here's to a calm season and strong, steady sales.