By Stephanie Murphy, Senior Director of Strategy & Behavioral Science
By applying behavioral science to holiday messaging, emotionally framed nudges—especially warmth, meaning, and instant joy—outperform hype or trend-driven cues in motivating shoppers.
Santa: The Original Behavioral Scientist
How Behavioral Science Can Shape Brands’ Holiday Messaging
Long before behavioral science had a name, Santa had the formula down. He tracked behavior (naughty or nice), rewarded motivation (gifts), and mastered anticipation (a season of joy)—all in service of creating holiday magic (and, let’s face it, influencing behavior). In many ways, Santa was the first behavioral scientist: turning human behavior into a system of predictable outcomes powered by emotional motivations.
Fast forward to today’s marketers, who are navigating a potentially tepid holiday season defined not just by how much people spend, but what they’re choosing to spend on. Whether shoppers are saving thoughtfully or splurging intentionally, they’re prioritizing meaning, connection, and experiences that feel worth it.
Market conditions come and go, but the emotions behind gift giving stay constant—creating the perfect backdrop for understanding the nudges that drive holiday choice.
The Season’s Feelings, Decoded
Holiday shopping has always been more emotional than just transactional. The gifts we choose become shortcuts for comfort, care, identity, and nostalgia. And when we find just the right item or experience, it becomes a way of affirming not only our connection to others but also our own sense of self-worth.
That’s where behavioral nudges come in. Nudges help decode the emotional shortcuts people rely on—revealing why certain messages resonate, and why others fall flat. This idea sits at the heart of Nudgenomics, a science-backed framework for understanding how subtle cues in language and context shape human choice. Nudgenomics blends behavioral theory with real-world decision patterns, mapping the psychological triggers that influence how people respond to information. We brought that lens into the holiday space by testing multiple messaging styles tied to gift-giving, uncovering which cues reliably influence how shoppers choose for others.
And because the study was built around real gift-giving decisions—those little “what should I get them?” moments, we found ourselves with a behavioral cheat sheet for holiday giving itself. A nudge-led guide, if you will, to understanding why certain gifts (and messages) land with surprising emotional power.
The Gift-Giving Framework (Powered by What Sparked Holiday Cheer)
To understand how emotional cues influence holiday gifting, we tested a range of nudge-inspired messages across multiple categories with two shopper audiences—Saver-Minded Shoppers and Splurge Enthusiasts. While each message emphasized a distinct behavioral angle, certain nudges resonated more strongly, offering a glimpse into the holiday motivations that matter most. Messages were scored on a 0–100 scale—higher scores reflect stronger resonance and a more motivating behavioral cue.
The Nudge That Moved Saver-Minded Shoppers
We found that these cost conscious shoppers weren’t just watching their budgets, but also looking for emotional permission to give in a way that balances warmth and meaning with financial savviness. Messages that positioned modest indulgences as cozy, seasonal moments resonated most.
In the holiday treats category, lines like “Make every holiday gathering sweeter” earned the highest response among Savers (64.9), followed by “Celebrate the holidays with a taste of indulgence” (60.5). Conversely, trend-driven cues fell flat; “Love the look? Find out why #tiktokmademebuyit” scored significantly lower (48.7), showing a clear rejection of herding pressure during the holidays.
The nudge at play:
- Framing — recasting small indulgences as emotional value rather than financial risk
When gifting felt like creating a comforting moment—not overspending—Savers leaned in.
The Nudges That Motivated Splurge Enthusiasts
Splurge Enthusiasts came primed to celebrate; they simply gravitated toward messages that matched their emotional energy. The strongest responses centered on the immediate emotional payoff of giving something delightful.
Top performers in the same holiday treats category, included “Make the holidays sweeter” (72.0), “Give the gift of instant joy” (70.3), and “The joy of giving just got sweeter” (68.0). These lines all tapped into the same psychological truth: splurgers are driven by the sparkle of the moment—the reaction, the surprise, the “you nailed it” payoff.
What worked:
- Instant Gratification — gifts that spark joy the moment they’re opened
- Reciprocity — reinforcing the feel-good loop of giving joy
For Splurgers, emotional velocity matters. The faster the joy hits, the bigger the motivation.
The Behavioral Through-line: Joy Wins
Across both mindsets, three truths stood out:
- Warmth beats hype. Messages tied to sweetness, comfort, and seasonal warmth significantly outperformed trendiness or scarcity cues. Emotional language like “sweeter” and “indulgence” led both groups, with LS Means ranging from 64.9 to 72.0.
- Immediate feelings matter. Shoppers connected most with messages promising instant happiness—especially Spenders, who consistently favored lines above 70 when the emotional payoff was immediate.
- Joy is reciprocal. Messages rooted in giving joy and receiving joy in return scored high across audiences (e.g., 68.0 for “The joy of giving just got sweeter”).
And of course, there will always be outliers—the sibling who only wants gadgets, the friend who truly craves limited-edition hype, the relative who swears beer is the perfect gift. But the data shows a clear pattern: most holiday shoppers are guided by simple, deeply human impulses. They want their gifts to spark happiness and express a sense of connection between giver and receiver.
It’s the kind of insight that reminds us why behavioral science is so powerful—and why the holidays are the perfect stage for it. Because beneath all the cues, clever lines, and carefully wrapped choices, people are just trying to give each other a little more joy.
And Santa would approve.
