Tubi, the free ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation, has released new data highlighting the growing intersection between streaming and retail behavior during the holiday season. According to the 2025 Retail and Holiday Study conducted in partnership with The Harris Poll, 71% of viewers report shopping online while streaming content, pointing to a significant opportunity for brands to drive both discovery and transactions in AVOD environments.
The study, conducted among 1,531 U.S. respondents aged 15 to 44 who stream video at least one hour a week and shop online monthly, reveals that nearly half of viewers have made a purchase after seeing an ad on Tubi. “Streaming plays a powerful role in driving holiday purchases,” said Sharon Silverstein, SVP, US Head of Verticals at Tubi. “With 71% of viewers shopping while streaming and nearly half making a purchase after seeing an ad on Tubi, our scale of highly engaged young, multicultural audiences provides brands with a direct path from impression to transaction.”
Spontaneous shopping is a major theme: 47% of viewers report impulse purchases while streaming, and 60% agree that if they see an ad for a product they want, they buy it immediately. Among factors influencing purchases, 44% cite advertising and 41% point to the genre of content they are watching at the time. Two-thirds of respondents say they find products to buy through streaming, and the same proportion trust ads delivered via streaming platforms. In total, 87% take some form of action—such as researching or buying a product—after seeing a compelling ad.
Brand affinity in the streaming space is tied closely to authenticity and nostalgia. Viewers feel most connected to brands that come across as real (43%), high-quality (43%), and trustworthy (40%). Notably, 77% of respondents are more inclined to buy from independent creators or brands that support them through revenue sharing, product collaborations, or featured placement. Nostalgia also plays a key role, with 73% of viewers stating that watching nostalgic content prompts them to purchase from brands associated with their past experiences.
While the study finds that 37% of holiday shoppers plan to cut streaming subscriptions to manage budgets—more than any other discretionary category including beauty treatments (30%) and travel (29%)—consumer willingness to spend on others remains strong. Seventy-nine percent of participants said they are prepared to splurge on the perfect gift. At the same time, self-gifting is also on the rise: 44% of singles say holiday deals make it easier to indulge themselves, and 40% report doing so to boost their mood going into the new year. Popular self-purchases include new clothing (65%), beauty and wellness treatments (44%), and beauty products (40%).
The study also highlights the emergence of a “9-to-5 shopping surge,” with remote and hybrid workers showing high engagement during workday breaks. Fifty-nine percent admit to shopping online during the workday, with 36% doing so to make time-sensitive purchases and take advantage of limited-time promotions. Clothing (47%), groceries (46%), and food delivery (40%) are the top categories bought during this time.
Tubi reports more than 100 million monthly active users who collectively stream 1 billion hours per month. Over 95% of this viewing is on-demand, with a user base that is 32% aged 18 to 34 and nearly 50% identifying as multicultural, based on MRI Cord Evolution data from August 2025. The platform continues to invest in performance-driven ad formats and brand-safe environments to support full-funnel marketing outcomes for advertisers.
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