Washington, D.C., Nov. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UL Standards & Engagement today released new data from its annual Holiday Safety Guide, offering timely advice to help consumers navigate the season safely. With millions of people preparing to celebrate, the guide spotlights simple but important steps that reduce risks tied to four holiday behaviors—gifting, decorating, cooking, and traveling. This year’s survey showed a significant increase over 2024 in holiday shoppers most concerned with price, leading to concerns over the safety tradeoffs of too good a bargain.
“ULSE’s commitment to safety takes on added significance during the holiday season, when changes in our routines and activities can introduce risks we might not always anticipate,” said Jeff Marootian, president and CEO of UL Standards & Engagement. “This year’s data is a yellow flag for gift buyers. When price drives decisions, safety can unintentionally become a tradeoff if shoppers aren’t mindful. We want to equip consumers with practical guidance so they can celebrate safely and confidently.”
The UL Standards & Engagement report examines four areas where activities change the most during the holidays — gifting, decorating, cooking, and traveling — and draws on a survey of 2,019 U.S. adults. The behavior concerns surfaced in survey findings are paired with expert tips and advice from ULSE leaders who are part of a 120+ year legacy of developing and advocating for safety standards.
Key findings in the report include:
- Gifting: With 58% of gift buyers saying price is their top concern this holiday season—up sharply from 49% last year—consumers may be tempted by deals that compromise safety. Nearly 83 million Americans have purchased counterfeit products, often unknowingly, and most of those purchases (70%) happen online. Younger generations are more likely than older generations to say they purchased counterfeits, suggesting it is a danger that could grow.
- Decorating: While most holiday decorators admit they inspect lights (83%) and power cords (84%) for damage, more than half (52%) admit to daisy-chaining, plugging multiple power strips or extension cords together.
- Cooking: Nine in ten (88%) holiday cooks have some type of smoke alarm system near their kitchens, but many remain at risk with 62% not following best practices of testing alarms monthly. Further, many holiday cooks do not have carbon monoxide alarms (53%) or a fire extinguisher (25%) in the kitchen area.
- Traveling: An estimated 72 million (30%) Americans plan to travel this holiday season, but many of them are unaware of the risk of carbon monoxide when staying in hotels or short-term rentals. 41% of U.S. adults assume they are protected against carbon monoxide in upscale hotels but codes and regulations vary by state — and fewer than half of states have relevant rules in place.
“Consumers can take simple steps to protect themselves against holiday harms — like inspecting lights before hanging them, looking into a too-good-to-be-true deal online, and packing a portable carbon monoxide detector for their holiday travels,” said Marootian.
For more insights and consumer tips on staying safe this season, see the full Holiday Safety Guide here.
Methodology:
This survey was conducted on behalf of UL Standards & Engagement among a nationally representative sample of 2,019 U.S. adults from September 8-14, 2025. Additional results on CO safety were collected among a sample of 2,012 U.S. adults from August 1-6, 2025, and on lithium-ion battery safety among a cumulative sample of 12,080 U.S. adults surveyed between January 2024 and November 2024. Responses were weighted by age, sex, geographic region, race, and education to reflect the U.S. adult population. Any population estimates are based on the U.S. online adult population estimated at 240.2 million using two sources of publicly available data: 2020 wave of the U.S. Census for U.S. adult population estimate of 258.3 million, and Pew Research Center’s Internet/Broadband Fact Sheet which estimates 93% of U.S. adults use the internet, as of 2021.
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UL Standards & Engagement is a nonprofit organization that translates safety science into action through standards development, partnerships, and advocacy. Since 1903, we have developed nearly 1,700 standards and guidance documents for products ranging from fire doors to autonomous vehicles. ULSE enables innovation and grows trust by convening experts and informing policymakers and regulators as we work toward a safer, more secure and sustainable future. Visit ULSE.org for more information.
Catie Talenti UL Standards & Engagement catie.talenti@ul.org
