Most shoppers plan to increase their spending this summer compared to 2025, with clothing, swimwear, beauty and outdoor gear leading category interest.
Some 52 percent of those surveyed said their budgets will be higher than last year, while 31 percent expect to spend the same. Only 17 percent said they will spend less. That’s according to Optimove, which surveyed 648 U.S. consumers this spring, 18 years of age or older, with household incomes of over $75,000.
The survey showed that shopping will be across most channels, with consumers moving between online and in-store experiences.
Optimove is a Positionless Marketing technology company specializing in customer engagement and retention strategies for B2C businesses, serving more than 500 brands globally. The brands winning this summer will be those that can identify rising intent early, deliver relevant omnichannel messages and move quickly from insight to campaign execution, according to Optimove.
Quality is a key factor in determining which brands are considered, but price remains an important criteria in driving shoppers to act. Clothing stands out as a clear shopping priority, selected by 81 percent of shoppers, followed by swimwear (50 percent); beauty and skin care products (49 percent), and outdoor gear (48 percent). Quality is the most important factor for 81 percent of respondents when choosing a brand or product, followed by price (70 percent) and brand reputation (45 percent).
Despite quality influencing shopping intentions, price is the factor that triggers action: 59 percent say an item going on an early sale would sometimes and often motivate them to buy. When it comes to choosing new merchants to buy from, better prices are the top motivator for shopping at an unplanned location (44 percent) and trying a new brand (80 percent).
Optimove suggests that brands should approach summer as a high-intent season that rewards strong positioning, brand differentiation and clear value communication. Messaging should emphasize quality and price and focus on increasing and reinforcing brand values rather than rely only on discounting. Being able to identify growing interest in key products, pinpoint offers to consumer priorities and behavior and activate campaigns without delays between analysis, creation and implementation is essential to success, according to Optimove.
Optimove’s Positionless Marketing empowers marketers to respond to seasonal demand in real time, helping brands deliver the right product, the right message and the right value signal while summer purchase intent is at its peak. The operating model has been proven to improve campaign efficiency by 88 percent, according to Optimove.
