Deloitte, PwC and Accenture reports reveal holiday shoppers face record cognitive stress. Clinical psychiatrist Dr Hannah Nearney explains what this means for retailers.
What’s happening: Deloitte’s Holiday Retail Survey 2025 finds 58% of consumers describe holiday shopping as stressful, Accenture reports 85% of online shoppers abandon carts due to frustration or indecision, and PwC’s Holiday Outlook 2025 shows 84% expect to cut back spending.
Why this matters: With customers mentally strained by too many decisions and money worries, businesses that focus on simplicity, reassurance and clear value, instead of overwhelming promotions, will have an edge during the busiest sales period.
Holiday shopping has always been stressful. But this year, data from global consultancies reveals something more serious is going on. Mental health professionals warn that rising indecision and cognitive overload aren’t just about tight budgets anymore. They’re signs of what doctors call cognitive burnout.
“People aren’t just overwhelmed by buying. They are mentally strained by constant decision-making,” said Dr Hannah Nearney, clinical psychiatrist and UK Medical Director at Flow Neuroscience, a company that develops brain stimulation solutions for mental wellbeing.
The stress problem
The numbers from three separate reports paint a worrying picture for shoppers and retailers. When 85% of online shoppers abandon their carts, the issue goes beyond price or product choice.
“When the brain gets overloaded like that, we quickly see stress mode kicking in which can worsen other problems like anxiety and depression,” Nearney said.
She adds that difficulties can include low mood, poor concentration, and overwhelm as a result of decision fatigue overloading the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s region responsible for planning and emotional regulation.
For small retailers, this creates both a problem and a chance. The problem is that overwhelmed customers don’t finish buying. The opportunity is rethinking how websites work to reduce mental strain through hand-picked product lists, fewer confusing options and clearer comparisons.
Money worries make it worse
The mental strain isn’t happening alone. Money uncertainty is keeping shoppers anxious throughout the whole process.
Deloitte reports that 57% of consumers expect the economy to weaken in the next six months. The firm says this is its most negative sentiment in nearly 30 years. “Economic uncertainty keeps the brain and nervous system in a constant state of anxiety and alertness,” said Dr Nearney.
“This makes it harder for people to manage holiday shopping and planning. Thus, we can’t simply enjoy the season.”
For businesses, this means promotional messages need to change. Instead of creating pressure through aggressive sales tactics, smart marketing during this time should focus on reassurance, clear value and making decisions easier.
What retailers can do
Retailers can take real steps to help stressed customers finish their purchases. Making online shopping smoother becomes critical when customers are already mentally drained.
Simple fixes include showing fewer choices at once, creating curated collections instead of massive catalogues, and making product comparisons clearer and easier. The goal is removing friction from the buying journey, not adding more promotional noise.
Messages also need adjusting. Shoppers under financial and mental strain respond better to straightforward deals than to complicated multi-level promotions. Clear pricing, honest shipping costs and simple return policies all reduce mental load during buying decisions.
Gen Z’s different approach
Interestingly, one age group seems more resistant to the cognitive burnout trend, and their approach offers lessons for businesses trying to reach younger shoppers.
According to PwC’s report, Gen Z plans to reduce holiday spending by 23%, more than any other age group, while showing a growing interest in purchases related to wellness and mental health.
“Younger people are realising that mental energy is finite,” Nearney said. “And this is great, to be honest. They’re beginning to view focus and calm as resources worth protecting.”
This shift in priorities appears visible in practice, too, Dr Nearney adds. A growing number of younger adults are beginning to use mental health devices to manage stress before it escalates into burnout.
For retailers targeting Gen Z shoppers, this shows a basic shift in what drives buying decisions. Price and product features still matter, but how easy something is mentally and whether it aligns with wellness are becoming decision factors worth highlighting.
The consultancy reports agree on one thing. The old holiday shopping playbook, built around giving lots of choice and creating urgency, might be adding to the problem. Retailers who recognise that customer mental energy is limited, and design their shopping experiences around that, may find themselves with a real advantage this season.
“The answer to cognitive burnout this holiday season is not avoiding decisions, but practicing self-care,” concludes Dr Nearney.
For small businesses, the lesson might be that the path to more sales isn’t always through more options, but through making buying genuinely easier for stressed, time-poor customers trying to navigate an overwhelming retail world.
Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
