Reddit Launches First Holiday Insights Report Targeting Small Business Advertisers

Reddit released its first small business holiday insights report today, aimed at helping SMB advertisers understand how gift research and purchase intent build on the platform ahead of Q4. The report draws on Reddit’s internal conversation data alongside a February 2026 Attest survey of 1,000 US adults and GWI’s global Reddit user dataset.

The timing lines up with Reddit’s push to position itself as a discovery and research platform for holiday shoppers, not just a place for niche community discussion. The report leads with a claim that holiday gift research on Reddit starts far earlier than the traditional Q4 ad calendar: Black Friday searches build steadily from just after July 4, and the platform recorded 5.7 million views on Black Friday posts in Q4 2025 alone.

Small and independent brands see outsized interest

The report’s central pitch to SMBs is that Reddit users actively seek out smaller, independent retailers over big-box alternatives. Mentions of “small business” in r/gifts grew 120% year over year, and nearly one in two Reddit users say they prefer buying from local or independent retailers when given the choice. Conversations using terms like “shop local” or “shop small” during last year’s holiday season totaled 11 million, according to Reddit’s internal tracking.

The report frames this as a structural advantage for smaller advertisers rather than a seasonal blip, arguing that niche expertise and local relevance are harder for larger retailers to replicate inside Reddit’s community format.

Meaning matters more than price point

A second theme running through the report is intent behind the gift, not just the gift itself. Mentions of “sentimental,” “thoughtful,” or “meaningful” grew 1.7 times year over year, and posts about handcrafted goods drew 65 million views. Sixty percent of surveyed Reddit users said the platform specifically helps them find thoughtful gift ideas.

That theme extends into practical categories too. Views to posts about “upgrading” everyday items rose 164% year over year, suggesting shoppers are using gift-giving season to justify buying a better version of something they already own, from electronics to home goods.

The report also flags Black Friday and Cyber Monday as inflection points that intensify buying intent across categories well beyond deal-hunting, from entertainment and gaming to luxury goods and skincare.

Shoppers are trusting recommendations, and spending more because of it

The report ties this back to spending behavior. More than half of Reddit holiday shoppers, 54%, plan to spend over $1,000 on holiday purchases this season, and 40% expect to spend more than last year. Three in four say they’re willing to pay more for a gift if it comes recommended by real people on Reddit rather than a brand.

The brand examples come with a caveat

Reddit backs several of its category claims with named brand results: premium health tech brand HUME reported doubling its return on ad spend during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, jewelry brand GLDN reported a 7x return using community and interest targeting, and Canadian bookseller Indigo reported an 18x return tied to conversations around buzzy book releases. Long Island Watch reported a 27x return using Conversation Ads.

What it means for holiday planning

For SMB advertisers weighing where to put incremental holiday budget, the report’s underlying argument is straightforward: Reddit’s audience is already discussing gift categories and price points ahead of the traditional shopping calendar, and reaching them earlier in that research phase may pay off before Black Friday and Cyber Monday demand peaks. Reddit is pairing the report’s release with a push toward its Conversation Ads, Dynamic Product Ads, and Reddit Max automated targeting products.