“Deinfluencing” Searches Surge 5,000% as Christmas Shopping Changes

By Nathan Brooks

Global searches for “deinfluence me” surged 5,000% year on year in 2026, after “deinfluencing” rose to prominence in 2023.

Creators now use the trend to tell followers what not to buy, challenging overhyped, overpriced or low-quality products and endless consumption. It lets shoppers frame restraint without admitting defeat.

Katharina Vassar, executive strategy director at Australian indie Howatson+Company, told LBB: “Cost of living is the reason people are buying less, but deinfluencing has given them a way to feel good about it, because ‘I don’t need that’ is a far nicer thing to say to yourself than ‘I can’t afford that.’”

She said the basket offers shoppers control: “What goes into your shopping basket is one of the few things you get to decide completely.”

Rob Williams, strategy director at London’s Clear M&C Saatchi, said: “Look at brands like Vinted, which has built its entire ethos on making secondhand the first choice, or BackMarket, which actively challenges the idea that the latest technology is necessarily the best.”

He said culture and brands are moving secondhand from compromise or affordability to something desirable in its own right.

Maddie Moore, Snap’s creative strategy lead across ANZ, said: “Algorithmic feeds have turned discovery into a stream of products and recommendations, and that constant exposure breeds a kind of overconsumption fatigue.” She said “deinfluencing” and “underconsumption core” supply a social language for buying less, reusing possessions and questioning worth.

Katy Tenerovich, senior director, social strategy at Ogilvy US, said “deinfluencing isn’t the opposite of influencing,” but “a reminder that consumers are paying attention to whether brands deliver on their promises.”

With money tight and holiday spending adding up, consumers have less patience for products that fail to live up to the hype. She called louder claims, bigger discounts and scripted creator unboxings predictable. “You can buy reach. You can buy attention. You can’t buy credibility.” That is a trust problem, not a media problem.

Ryan O'Connell, chief strategy officer and founder at trans-Tasman creative agency, jnr., called the idea that cost-of-living pressure stops Christmas spending “somewhat hyperbolic.” He cited Australian Retail Council, Roy Morgan, Australian Bureau of Statistics and Visa data showing pre-Christmas retail spending rose year on year for the last few Christmases during the crisis.

“People are unquestionably being more circumspect and cautious, but the evidence is that they will still spend at Christmas,” O'Connell said. He added that shoppers still want the season’s joy and emotion.

Williams said the same pressure produces two responses:

• Some buy fewer, better-quality products, repair what they own or turn to secondhand.
• Others seek choice and variety through ultra-cheap, high-volume fashion brands such as Shein.

Christmas advertising and the joy

Christmas advertising has traditionally used abundance, generosity and giving. Tim Mottau, head of strategy at Saatchi & Saatchi Australia, said those cues remain “absolutely” possible if marketers distinguish what people do from what they aspire to do.

“While our financial realities are changing, that doesn’t necessarily mean what we want from the season is,” Mottau said. People may cut spending without cutting their desire for togetherness, generosity or the magic of the holidays.

Moore said the brands that cut through emotionally will not have the broadest reach; they will make consumers feel understood. “Moving away from a one-size-fits-all message toward something that speaks to what a person actually needs is the real signal of generosity,” she said.

Moore added: “When people want an honest recommendation, they turn to someone who knows their tastes, priorities, and budget.” She calls this the “inner circle effect,” where recommendations from trusted friends and family carry weight.

Williams questioned whether traditional Christmas advertising is losing effectiveness. He cited John Lewis’s usual tear-jerker featuring Kristin Scott-Thomas and supermarkets’ growing focus on emotional Christmas storytelling. “There’s a difference between people feeling warm and fuzzy because of your Christmas advert and actually choosing to shop with you,” he said.

What does this change for marketers?

Mottau described a “healthy tension between selling and restraint,” now more pronounced under pressure. Rather than sell harder, brands should make buying easier by showing value, reinforcing emotional benefit or explaining why they remain worth choosing.

“When people are looking to spend less, brands need to mean more,” he said. Value must be demonstrated, not shouted; the sensible option has to feel like the right one.

Vassar said successful brands help people feel better about their choice, whether through generosity, the satisfaction of finding a good deal or the sense of being a discerning, responsible shopper in control.

She warned against virtue signaling. “If your Christmas ad says ‘buy less, buy better’ but your Black Friday email says ‘buy two, get one free,’ people will notice and see straight through it,” she said. The customer should feel smart; the brand should make that choice easy.

O'Connell said marketers know the environment because “cost of living” appears in every trends presentation and endless headlines. Brands cannot promote reckless, frivolous spending without attracting backlash. Tone-deaf behavior has consequences.

Mottau said brands now must “justify their value full stop,” not merely justify it above competitors. Strong brands have meaning, relevance and connection that make them harder to replace, substitute or do without.

“When people start taking things off their shopping list, you want to make sure you stay on it,” he said.

Moore said the answer is not to co-opt “buy less,” but prove value through utility, longevity or enjoyment and create an experience that earns a place in people’s lives, not just their feeds. More noise will not win lasting attention.

Tenerovich said brands should give creators room to say what a product does well, where it falls short and whom it serves. They should listen to critical online conversations, which may reveal more than another round of focus groups.

The goal, she said, is to give people confidence in what they buy, not convince them every shelf item is a festive must-have. “Because eventually, nothing is.”

For Christmas campaigns, the practical test is direct: a brand needs one credible reason to stay on the shopper’s list while making the purchase easier. Brands that can do that will earn a place in the inner circle.