5 Holiday Marketing Trends to Watch This 2025 Season

Summer’s officially over. So, what that means is… Christmas!

Okay, maybe not quite yet. But if pumpkin spice is already back on menus and store aisles are quietly stocking ornaments, you know the holiday season isn’t far behind. For consumers, it’s the most wonderful (and chaotic) time of year. For brands and marketers? It’s game time.

Holiday marketing has always been about capturing attention in crowded, emotionally charged moments. But in 2025, the stakes are even higher. Shoppers expect magic, but they also demand convenience. They’re looking for deals, but also for experiences that feel personal. And they’re bouncing across more channels and devices than ever before: swiping on TikTok, scanning in-store displays, redeeming mobile offers, and tapping into livestream shopping events all in the same week.

That’s why this year’s playbook looks different. Brands are orchestrating full-stack campaigns that stretch across out-of-home (OOH) billboards, in-person activations, social content, video ads, creator partnerships, and even AI-powered personalization. The winning strategies will be seamless, blending old-school holiday magic with the digital-first habits of today’s consumer.

Below, we break down five holiday marketing trends to watch in 2025, backed by fresh data and case studies from last year’s biggest winners, that every marketer should keep on their radar.

1. Reactionary Marketing and Real-Time Holiday Plays

In Q4, the calendar compresses and trends move in hours. The brands that win treat TikTok and Instagram like a newsroom: when a sound, creator, or meme pops on Monday, they ship creative by Tuesday. Especially around Black Friday/Cyber Monday and the post-Christmas window. 

TikTok’s own holiday guidance shows how fast the tide rises: #holidayshopping videos jumped 190% from pre to post Halloween, and December’s #Christmas content ran into the millions of user posts, meaning the best ideas will be copied within days.

This kind of real-time, culture-driven marketing is your secret weapon in 2025. Not only do consumers appreciate brands joining relevant cultural conversations, but many companies are building this into their strategy: roughly one-third of brands now use social listening tools to spot trending memes and moments, and 31% specifically analyze cultural trends for opportunities. In fact, over a quarter of social marketers admit they regularly pivot their content to hop on memes or viral trends.

The case for speed is clear. When the “ketchup and seemingly ranch” meme broke, Heinz moved from social to limited-edition bottles within 24 hours ultimately generating 6.1B earned impressions, about $160M in earned media, and a reported 52,987% ROI, with sellouts that pushed the product into permanent rotation.

image credits: https://www.today.com/food/news/taylor-swift-seemingly-ranch-heinz-rcna117724

One guardrail: consumers will reward cultural fluency, not bandwagoning. Sprout Social’s 2025 Index notes growing pressure for authenticity over trend-chasing, so teams need a “fit filter” (does this make sense for us and our brand?) before they pounce. Build the muscle to act fast but only when there’s a clear brand tie-in.

Marketer Takeaway: Empower your social team to move at the speed of the feed. When a viral moment aligns with your brand, a timely, authentic response can deliver magic.

2. An Extended Holiday Season (Starting Earlier and Ending Later)

Gone are the days when holiday marketing peaked only around Black Friday. The 2025 season officially begins in October with retailers launching early deals to capture shoppers who no longer wait until December.

October shopping has risen 4 points year-over-year, while the share of consumers waiting until December dropped by 8 points. In fact, 1 in 4 shoppers bought a gift during summer sales like “Christmas in July.”

Brands have noticed. IKEA leaned into the early-bird trend with cheeky October ads featuring undersized Christmas trees, sparking excitement and sales.

But it doesn’t stop on December 25. The week after Christmas (and even in January) has become a goldmine. Microsoft Advertising saw a 25% jump in post-Christmas conversions in 2024 compared to the prior year, dubbing it the “secret MVP of the holiday season.”

Brands need to approach the holiday season like one would a marathon: slow, steady, and paced to make it all the way to the end. Plan campaigns to launch as early as September and stretch into January. Keep fresh creative ready for the post-holiday “deal-hunter” wave with messaging like “smarter picks for ’26” or “merry merry markdowns.”

Marketer Takeaway: Plan in rolling waves. Take note of your early-bird build, peak weeks, and the post-Christmas bounce. This is so budget, creative, and inventory stay aligned from October all the way through January.

3. Social Commerce and the Mobile Shopping Boom

Social media has officially transformed from just a discover engine into a retail channel. In 2025, 21% of shoppers purchased holiday gifts directly on social media, up from 12% in 2024, which is a massive nine-point jump in one year. Even more telling: 55% of shoppers said they spent 11–50% of their holiday budget through social platforms this season.

Why? Convenience and discovery. Nearly half (42%) of consumers said they turned to social media more than last year for gift ideas. And when they found something, they wanted to buy it instantly. TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest have responded with shoppable posts, in-app checkout, and dedicated “Shop” tabs.

Mobile-first shopping is the heartbeat of this trend. Roughly 60% of Gen Z and Millennials planned to do most of their holiday shopping on smartphones. That means reducing friction on mobile (whether it’s a one-click Apple Pay checkout or a shoppable TikTok video) is critical.

TikTok in particular is a star player. With TikTok Shop, exclusive product drops, and live shopping streams, the platform is evolving into a retail powerhouse. Coca-Cola tested TikTok Shop drops earlier this year, and countless brands are now following suit.

image credits: newsroom.tiktok.com/en-gb/tiktok-shopping-report

So, now is the time to treat social platforms as storefronts. Optimize catalogs for TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest. Brands need to pair discovery-driven creative with seamless checkout. Shoppers today want to move from “inspired” to “purchased” without leaving the app.

Marketer Takeaway: Match thumb-stopping creative with in-app checkout, fast mobile UI/UX, and tidy up your product feeds so consumers move from inspired to purchased!

4. Influencer and Creator Collaborations will drive Authenticity

Holiday marketing has always relied on celebrities and big-budget campaigns. But in 2025, influencers and creators are the new cultural drivers.

A dotdigital survey found that brands increased influencer budgets by 60% in 2024, reflecting the growing recognition of influencer-driven ROI. And this shift isn’t just about mega-influencers. Micro-creators with niche audiences (like cozy home décor or tech gadgets) often deliver stronger engagement and conversions thanks to their authenticity.

Nearly half of consumers purchase at least once a month because of influencer content. Trust is steady or rising with 30% of consumers saying they trust influencers more today than they did six months ago.

Consider Walmart’s 2023 Mean Girls holiday ad, which featured cast members from the cult-classic film and went viral on TikTok. Or Rao’s Homemade, which partnered with a pasta artist who crafted ravioli shaped like sauce jars: this was a quirky, shareable activation that blurred the lines between content and product placement.

image credits: tiktok.com/@dannylovespasta

Brands should always be partnering with creators who authentically connect with your target audience, especially this holiday season when everyone is buying. Give them creative freedom to showcase your brand in ways that feel natural. It could be a TikTok “12 Days of Gifts” series or even family unboxing vlogs. Remember that creators are more than your distribution channels! They’re content engines fueling full-funnel engagement.

Marketer Takeaway: Prioritize creators with true audience–brand fit (especially niche/micro) and structure briefs and payouts around measurable actions (clicks, sign-ups, and sales). 

5. Personalization and Tech-Powered Holiday Experiences

Lastly, technology is reimagining holiday marketing: from AI-driven personalization to immersive AR activations.

One of the buzziest examples is American Eagle: they launched the first North American AI gift guide chatbot on WhatsApp in 2024. Shoppers could chat with the bot to receive personalized gift suggestions based on recipient preferences. This was a scalable solution to the age-old “what should I buy?” dilemma.

Consumers are open to AI-powered interactions: 74% say they’re comfortable with AI-driven customer service if it means faster responses. Retailers are also leveraging AI for personalized recommendations, dynamic pricing, and predictive promotions.

Beyond personalization, tech is unlocking immersive holiday experiences. Cosmetics brands now offer AR try-ons, retailers are hosting virtual holiday markets, and interactive campaigns (like OfficeMax’s legendary Elf Yourself which generated 2 billion user-created videos) continue to evolve with modern tools.

AI and AR should be used as tools to make shopping easier, more fun, and more personalized. The brands that win will be those that scale the magic of an in-store associate through AI chatbots, personalized deals, and immersive experiences into the digital world.

Marketer Takeaway: Use AI/AR to scale concierge-level shopping (gift guides, recs, try-ons) with clear value exchange and privacy guardrails, so digital feels as helpful as an in-store associate.

Making the Season Merry and Bright (for Marketers and Consumers)

Winning in December 2025 is important. But the real test is whether brands can build a system that compounds into 2026.

We think the brands that break out will have an always-on engine: they’ll react well through braiding real-time responsiveness with a longer season (Sept→Jan), social storefronts will be built for one-scroll checkout, creator rosters will be selected for fit and conversion, and AI/AR will be used to strip out friction and add delight to campaigns!

Looking to 2026, operationalize it: a standing “react team” for holiday spikes, modular creative you can remix in hours, a clean product/identity layer so offers update everywhere, and a measurement method that proves lift way beyond just reach. 

Do that, and the holidays could become the flywheel you need for 2026 wins.