The holiday season represents both the biggest opportunity and the greatest challenge for marketers. Consumer demand surges, but so does competition and the cost of media. During November and December, ad auctions become more crowded, CPMs climb, and shoppers are flooded with offers across every channel. According to Reuters, U.S. retail sales between November 2025 and January 2026 are expected to reach $1.61 to $1.62 trillion. E-commerce is projected to drive the bulk of this growth, rising 7–9%, while in-store sales are expected to increase by 2–2.2%.

To make the most of this environment, marketers need more than aggressive bidding and discount strategy. Growth during the holidays depends on connecting the full funnel - building brand presence before demand peaks, capturing shoppers with compelling offers in mid-season, and converting efficiently when intent is highest.

This checklist outlines the key actions to ensure marketers are prepared for both the holiday rush and the long-term growth that follows.

Watch the video: What are common pitfalls retailers and brands should avoid in peak season of retail?

Holiday Budget Planning: The Art of Forecast and Allocate Spend

Holiday auctions are volatile, and costs escalate quickly. According to Emplifi, in the days leading into Black Friday, Facebook and Instagram ad spend spiked 90%, while click-through rates rose from 1.3% to 1.8% in the final stretch, which shows just how quickly costs rise and how decisive performance windows can be. Without a clear plan, budgets can get drained in days without delivering meaningful results.

How to Build Smarter Forecasts and Flexible Holiday Budgets:

· Build forecasts using last year’s performance, but layer in current signals like inflation, consumer sentiment, and category-specific trends.

· Allocate most of the spend to proven high-return campaigns and channels, while keeping 10–15% in reserve to shift into areas showing unexpected traction. Locking everything in too early can limit the ability to double down on what’s working once auctions heat up.

· Align budget pacing with demand curves. For example, if a category peaks early in the season, avoid holding back too much spend for late December, since overspending after peak risks missing the window when your customers are most likely to buy.

Holiday Campaign Measurement: Attribution, MMM, and Incrementality

Conversion journeys stretch across devices, platforms, and timeframes, which makes holiday reporting messy. Relying on last-click attribution in this environment risks over-crediting lower-funnel channels and underestimating the impact of awareness and consideration campaigns.

How to Measure Holiday Campaigns with MMM and Incrementality:

· Set up Marketing Mix Modelling (MMM) or incrementality testing ahead of the season, since these methods give a more accurate view of true channel contribution than last click reporting.

· Align KPIs across the funnel - awareness (reach, view-through rate), consideration (CTR, engagement), and conversion (ROAS, incremental sales) - so teams aren’t optimizing to conflicting metrics that obscure the bigger picture.

· Activate real-time dashboards that surface performance trends within hours, because waiting for weekly reports during December can mean missing critical windows to reallocate spend or refresh creative.

For a deeper look at measurement approaches, watch our presentation on How to Master Your Marketing Measurement and Maximize ROI.

Upper-Funnel Holiday Marketing: Build Awareness Before Peak Season

Holiday acquisition costs climb steeply as November progresses, and cold audiences become far more expensive to convert. Shoppers who already recognize your brand are not only cheaper to reach, but also more likely to choose you over competitors once promotions flood the market.

How to Drive Early Awareness Before Holiday Auction Costs Spike:

· Ramp up prospecting campaigns on Meta, TikTok, and YouTube in October, before CPMs peak, because building brand familiarity early lowers the cost of conversion once demand accelerates.

· Test creative hooks that emphasize value, uniqueness, or emotional resonance rather than relying only on discounts, since shoppers who see a brand as more than just a price point are less likely to switch to competitors.

· Expand remarketing pools with engaged audiences from site visits, video views, or ad interactions, because these segments can consistently deliver higher efficiency when competition is at its peak.

Mid-Funnel Holiday Strategy: Creative, Retargeting, and Social Proof

The mid-funnel is the evaluation stage, where shoppers weigh options and compare value. This is where brand messaging, creative variation, and targeting precision directly influence whether a brand remains in consideration or drops out.

How to Win the Holiday Mid-Funnel with Creative and Retargeting:

· Refresh ad creatives regularly to avoid fatigue. eMarketer reports that 49% of consumers have chosen not to buy from a brand after seeing the same ad too many times. Frequent creative rotation ensures messaging stays engaging and prevents wasted impressions.

· Use dynamic product ads and segmented retargeting to match intent. Mid-funnel shoppers are signaling preferences through browsing behavior, abandoned carts, and product views. Serving ads that reflect these signals - rather than generic offers – can improve both CTR and conversion rates.

· Integrate social proof into campaigns to strengthen brand credibility during the evaluation phase. Amazon Ads highlights reviews, testimonials, and case studies as effective tools for converting shoppers who are still evaluating.

Relevant article: Ad Fatigue in Digital Marketing: Why It Happens and How to Fix It

Lower-Funnel Holiday Tactics: Paid Search and Shopping Ads Optimization

The lower funnel is where intent peaks and shoppers are closest to purchase. At this stage, visibility and precision matter most - brands that miss critical queries or lose impression share risk handing over conversions to competitors.

How to Optimize Paid Search and Shopping Ads During Peak Season

· Expand keyword coverage to capture seasonal intent. Shoppers search for gifting ideas, deal terms, and competitor comparisons more actively during the holidays, making it essential to anticipate and cover these variations. Google reports that shopping-related searches containing “deals” grew by over 2,300% during the week of Black Friday/Cyber Monday vs. September.

· Optimize shopping feeds to secure stronger placements. Accurate product titles, GTINs, promotions, and availability ensure eligibility for top-tier placements when demand is highest.

· Track impression share daily to maintain visibility. Auction dynamics shift rapidly during peak season, and monitoring closely allows teams to protect high-intent traffic and adjust budgets in real time.

Relevant case study: Global Fashion Brand Doubles Paid Search Reach, Driving 81% Revenue Growth Through Broad Match Innovation

Post-Holiday Marketing: Customer Retention and Re-Engagement Strategies

Holiday campaigns bring in a wave of new customers, but acquisition costs during Q4 are some of the highest of the year. The real opportunity comes after the holidays- turning seasonal buyers into repeat customers who drive long-term profitability.

How to Turn Holiday Buyers Into Loyal Customers

· Build post-purchase journeys that extend beyond the transaction. Email, loyalty programs, and retargeting campaigns can keep new customers engaged and nudge them toward their next purchase.

· Segment audiences based on holiday behavior. Gift buyers, personal shoppers, and bargain seekers often have different needs. Tailoring outreach ensures messaging stays relevant and avoids generic follow-ups that go ignored.

· Use holiday learnings to inform future planning. Analyzing incremental lift, audience response, and creative performance helps identify what to replicate - and what to avoid - when planning for the next peak season.

Turning Holiday Marketing Campaigns into Long Term Growth

The holiday season is one of the most demanding periods for marketers. Competition intensifies, customer journeys speed up, and auction dynamics shift by the hour. For many brands, this creates short-lived wins. For others, it becomes the moment where strategy and execution align under real pressure.

Handled with a full-funnel approach, the holiday period can deliver more than seasonal revenue. It can strengthen brand equity, expand customer relationships, and create a performance baseline that shapes growth in the year ahead.

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Looking to strengthen your holiday marketing strategy and drive growth beyond Q4? Reach out to us!

Relevant Insights

· Article: How to Craft a Brand Narrative That Drives Emotional Connection and Customer Loyalty

· Report: TikTok After the Ban: A Strategic Guide for Holiday 2025 and Beyond

· Article: Finding the Right Shopping Time Window for Retargeting

About Crealytics

Crealytics is an award-winning full-funnel digital marketing agency fueling the profitable growth of over 100 well-known B2C and B2B businesses, including ASOS, The Hut Group, Staples and Urban Outfitters. A global company with an inclusive team of 100+ international employees, we operate from our hubs in Berlin, New York, Chicago, London, and Mumbai.