While UK consumers are tipped to spend £17.9billion during the Golden Quarter this year, retailers will need to work harder to win share of spend as shoppers rationalise purchasing and adopt switching behaviours.

This is according to the latest Advertising under Pressure report by Epsilon, which highlights the growing gap between consumer intent and marketer expectations.

Against a highly competitive media landscape, the report suggests it’s now more challenging for marketers to get in front of the right conversion-ready audiences, an issue that will become amplified during the critical Peak Trading period, spanning Black Friday through to the January sales.

Its poll of 2,000 UK shoppers revealed that consumer caution and cost-of-living pressures are prompting shoppers to curate their spend more carefully, rather than cutting back completely.

Seven in ten (71%) will strip out non-essential purchases, while 68% plan to look for lower prices and 63% intend on delaying bigger purchases in Peak 2026. 

However, while purchasing will remain more considered, consumers are ring-fencing spending on ‘treats’, with almost half (48%) still indulging in occasional treats.

Spending caution will also be viewed by consumers as an opportunity to try out new brands as the Golden Quarter gets underway, with shoppers also extending their pre-purchase discovery across more channels. However, despite broader discovery, 82% of marketers are consolidating spend into the major platforms, potentially limiting their opportunity to reach audiences.

“It’s never been more important for brands to show up consistently,” Holly Williams, VP Client Services & Growth at Epsilon, commented. 

“There’s a risk that many see Peak as a series of individual events, with Black Friday, Amazon Prime Day and so on as fixed dates in the calendar. But it’s more important to maintain a presence across the whole buying period to build familiarity and trust.”

Despite the timely brand-building opportunities the Golden Quarter presents, just 8% of marketers plan to prioritise brand investment over performance, with 79% pushing harder into driving sales. Among smaller, challenger brands, this figure is even higher with 90% planning to shift budget into performance. 

“With shoppers saying they plan to switch up, defer purchases and focus on buying quality over quantity, the 8% investing in their brands may well emerge this year’s Peak season winners,” Williams concluded.