New research from the US fuel-station video network finds that holiday errands create opportunities for convenience retailers and advertisers to influence purchasing decisions.
GSTV Survey: Holiday Shoppers Make More Unplanned Purchases
US consumers expect to spend more time driving and running errands during the holiday shopping season, creating additional opportunities for advertisers to reach them outside the home, according to new research from GSTV.
The company’s latest Consumer Pulse survey found that 69% of respondents run more errands than usual during the holidays, while 61% report increased driving. Thanksgiving week is particularly busy, with 55% expecting additional trips, primarily for grocery shopping (52%) and holiday or Black Friday purchases (48%).
For GSTV, which operates a video advertising network at fuel stations across the US, the findings highlight opportunities to reach consumers while they are already on the move.
Purchase decisions remain open
The survey suggests that many purchasing decisions are made after consumers leave home. Some 69% of respondents reported buying an unplanned item during their most recent errand trip, while 78% said they add stops when a retailer is conveniently located along their route.
Convenience stores are among the beneficiaries of this behavior. According to GSTV, 77% of its viewers regularly make purchases at convenience stores while running errands.
Cold beverages were the most common recent convenience-store purchase, cited by 49% of respondents, followed by snacks (36%), fountain or frozen drinks (28%) and lottery products (22%).
More than half (52%) reported adding at least one unplanned item during a convenience-store visit, with half of those shoppers attributing the purchase to simply seeing something they wanted.
Opportunities for advertisers
The findings point to the potential role of digital out-of-home advertising in influencing purchasing decisions at fuel stations and other locations along consumers’ shopping routes.
GSTV operates across more than 29,000 US locations and reports reaching 115 million unique adults monthly.
Research firm MFour conducted the Consumer Pulse survey among GSTV viewers in August 2026.