At Penguin Random House, direct communication and relationships with readers are key to marketplace success, and strong consumer marketing and outreach begin with understanding our audiences. Penguin Random House Consumer Insights is excited to present Moments Fall 2026, a report that anticipates consumer sentiments and behaviors we may see during the coming quarter.
As we head into fall 2026, consumers are trying to make sense of a world where reality seems harder to parse, memory feels increasingly fragile, and traditional milestones no longer tell the whole story.
Moments Fall 2026 explores a few key themes:
- Grappling with Reality: Information abundance has not made reality clearer. As AI, rage bait, shifting norms, and post-truth politics blur the line on what feels real, consumers are finding anchors in the human: real voices, visible imperfections, trusted experts, personal taste, firsthand experience, and things clearly made, chosen, or explained by people.
- The Archive of Now: As more of life is captured digitally, it can feel both overdocumented and strangely disposable. Consumers are shifting to active preservation, becoming more intentional about what gets saved, remembered, and passed forward. In this Moment, we look at what gets preserved and who is doing the preserving.
- What Are We Celebrating?: Fall is full of major holidays, but the calendar doesn’t capture everything people are looking to celebrate. As traditional milestones become more delayed, nonlinear, or less universal, smaller thresholds take on greater emotional weight. From everyday wins and personal firsts to seasonal rituals and identity-defining progress points, “minorstone” culture reflects a desire to mark growth and recognize life transitions on one’s own timeline.
In the Fall Spotlight section, we explore the cultural and seasonal moments shaping the months ahead:
- Midterm Elections: Increased voter engagement will create two different needs for readers. Those who are locked in want to passionately engage in political topics and will search for books and media that keep them thoroughly informed. Those who are tuned out need to relieve stress and will look for an escape, leveraging books as an oasis.
- Thanksgiving: With roughly 1 in 8 adults (Forbes) saying they take GLP-1 medications for weight loss, classic Thanksgiving staples may be under pressure. We may see less indulgence over the holiday, paired with an increase in those seeking high protein foods and recipes.
- Holiday Aesthetics: According to a report in Gift Shop Plus, there are few key holiday trends emerging this year.
- Ralph Lauren Christmas 2.0—red plaids, classic greenery, nostalgia
- Whimsical Holiday—sweet, motif-driven design; unexpected yet joyful combinations
- Homey Holiday—comfort, coziness, warmth; focus on creating memories and experiences
- Pink Christmas—pink décor with pops of blue, giving a nostalgic yet modern feel to the holiday
- Fall Heritage Months:
- Deaf Awareness Month (September)
- Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15–October 15)
- Native American Heritage Month (November)
When it comes to shopping and gifting, here are five notable trends that may affect buyers this holiday season:
- Stable spending. In 2025, ecommerce holiday spending broke records, and more than half (51 percent) of shoppers plan to spend about the same this year. (Salesforce)
- Longer shopping timeline. Due in part to lower customer confidence, customers plan to spend more time and do more thorough research when shopping for holiday gifts this year. Expect a longer holiday season and a longer holiday marketing window for your books. (Similarweb)
- More research. “Over the past two to three years, holiday shopping has become more considered and more comparative.” Expect earlier planning, more comparison shopping, and the tendency to wait for key sales moments. (Similarweb)
- Deals will drive sales. This year, 73 percent of shoppers plan to shop on Black Friday. (Salsify)
- The HolAIdays. Last year, roughly 19 percent of consumers used AI for their holiday shopping, and we expect that to increase in 2026. Primary uses in 2025 were to compare products (59 percent), find the best price (58 percent), and get gift ideas (49 percent). (Similarweb)
What Is Moments?
Moments summarizes a quarterly report highlighting a series of macro trends to illuminate the consumer mindset for the upcoming quarter. Ideally, these trends fuel new marketing, sales, and even editorial opportunities that follow readers’ lead, based on what they’re thinking and feeling. The Consumer Insights team creates Moments using a diverse array of trend sources and sales analysis; they also collaborate with backlist sales experts and the metadata team.
If you have a current or backlist title that aligns with one or more of these trends or occasions, contact your marketing team for suggestions about ways to reach and engage consumers with relevant content from your book.
Elle Een is Senior Analyst, Consumer Insights at Penguin Random House.
Sarah Martinez is Senior Analyst, Consumer Insights at Penguin Random House.
Grant Griglak is Senior Director, Consumer Insights at Penguin Random House.