Your Money Minute — Consumers Hunt For Holiday Bargains (12/15/25)

Host: Peter Schachnow, CNBC
Expert Guest: Jaron Mardis, Director of Consumer Research at Elseg

Episode Overview

This brisk episode, presented by CNBC’s Peter Schachnow, dives into the shifting landscape of holiday shopping in 2025. As consumers hunt for bargains in a season marked by fewer discounts and tighter retail strategies, listeners are offered a rapid-fire overview of how shoppers—and retailers—are navigating inflationary pressures and changing habits.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Fewer Holiday Bargains Than Ever

• Main Point: Unlike previous years, significant price markdowns have become scarce during this holiday season.
  • Quote: “Holiday bargains are hard to come by, and that's running headlong into a consumer that's more focused than ever on finding discounts.” — Peter Schachnow [00:06]
• Retailers are slashing fewer prices, despite intense demand from budget-conscious consumers.

2. Retailer Strategies: Protecting Margins Amid Volatility

• Expert Insight:
  • Jaron Mardis explains the strategic reasoning behind this shift:
    • Both the absolute amount of merchandise on sale and the average discount are at their lowest levels since before the pandemic.
    • Retailers are dealing with volatile tariffs and uncertain consumer demand, prompting them to change their approaches to pricing and inventory.
    • Their priority is to protect competitive position and gross margins instead of deep-discounting.
  • Quote: “The amount of merchandise on sale is the lowest it's been even pre pandemic, even the average discount offered on the consumer. And retailers are doing this because they're very much concerned with the volatility they've seen this year around tariffs.” — Jaron Mardis [00:18]
  • Quote: “They’ve become more strategic when it comes to pricing, also with inventory management, in order to really protect their competitive position and also gross margins.” — Jaron Mardis [00:34]

3. Consumers Adapt: Smarter Bargain-Hunting

• Despite fewer deals, shopping volume is up:
  • Record Participation: 203 million consumers shopped during the Thanksgiving weekend—a new record, according to the National Retail Federation.
• To compensate for tighter deals, shoppers are:
  • Using coupon-finding and cashback services: Services like RetailMeNot saw registrations up 22% year-over-year through November.
    • Quote: “RetailMeNot saw account registrations in the year to date through November jumping 22% from the same period a year ago.” — Peter Schachnow [00:56]
  • Leveraging “buy now, pay later” payment services to help manage costs.
    • Quote: “Consumers are also making increasing use of buy now, pay later services.” — Peter Schachnow [01:07]

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On the scarcity of discounts:
  “Holiday bargains are hard to come by, and that's running headlong into a consumer that's more focused than ever on finding discounts.” — Peter Schachnow [00:06]

• On retailer strategy:
  “They’ve become more strategic when it comes to pricing, also with inventory management, in order to really protect their competitive position and also gross margins.” — Jaron Mardis [00:34]

• On consumer resilience:
  “203 million consumers shopped during the Thanksgiving weekend. That's a record high.” — Peter Schachnow [00:47]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:06 — Introduction: Holiday bargains scarce; consumers intensifying bargain-hunting.
• 00:18 — Jaron Mardis explains why retailers are cautious with discounts.
• 00:43 — Despite fewer deals, shopping hits record high; new strategies for finding savings.
• 00:56 — Rapid growth of online coupon and cashback service usage.
• 01:07 — Increase in “buy now, pay later” usage.

Summary Takeaway

Heading into the 2025 holiday season, shoppers are facing an environment with fewer discounts and tighter retail strategies, driven by economic volatility and retailer concern for margins. Yet, consumer enthusiasm remains strong, hitting record highs for shopping activity, as individuals turn to technology-driven bargain-hunting tools and flexible payment options to stretch their budgets further. The game may be changing, but the hunt for a deal is alive and well.