Holiday Marketing Strategies in 2026
The holiday season is no longer driven by random or impulsive buying. They are starting earlier, comparing more, and relying heavily on personalized recommendations before making a purchase. For advertisers, this means adapting your messaging, timing, and creative strategy to meet shoppers exactly where they are.
This is why we have jotted down some of the best holiday marketing strategies in 2026. Take a look at all the strategies at once and pick the ones that work best for you.
12 Best Holiday Marketing Strategies for 2026
Here are some of the best holiday marketing strategies in 2026.
1. AI UGC Video Ads for Faster, High-Converting Creatives
AI UGC videos are becoming one of the most effective ad formats for the 2026 holiday season, not just because they perform well, but because brands can create them faster and with less effort.
These are UGC-style videos created with AI that mimic the look and feel of user-generated content, such as product demos, casual testimonials, or quick unboxing videos. These AI UGC videos work because they hit a sweet spot: they look and feel like real creator content.
Instead of waiting to shoot new footage, brands can use AI-based tools to generate a dozen variations instantly and test what resonates.
Whether it’s a holiday gift guide video, a simple “why I love this product” testimonial, or an AI avatar reviewing your top-selling item, these assets blend naturally into TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
This results in faster video creation and lower costs than traditional UGC creation. Tagshop.ai is one of the best AI UGC Video creation tools.
2. Hyper-Personalized Email Journeys Powered by AI
Email is one of the best, highest-ROI channels during the holidays; however, the old newspaper approach won’t work for any business now. Shoppers expect emails that are not just thrown in the crowd but written specifically for them. This is where you can use AI for your emails.
- With the help of AI tools, you can send emails at the exact moment each user is most likely to open. MailChimp is an example of an email marketing platform.
- These email marketing tools can also recommend products based on their browsing and purchase behavior. Klaviyo is a tool that can track abandoned carts, purchase history, and more.
- With these AI-based email marketing tools, you can trigger automated reminders when someone abandons a cart or views a product twice.
3. Early-Bird Campaigns + Last-Minute Shoppers Strategy
Holiday shoppers fall into two clear groups: early birds and last-minute shoppers. Winning the season means speaking to both. Early Birds start shopping in October and November, looking for the best deals before the rush begins.
For the early birds, you can create VIP access campaigns, drop pre-launch bundles, highlight “limited stock” messaging, and offer festive, limited-edition packaging that feels exclusive.
On the other hand, Last-Minute Shoppers are driven by urgency and convenience. They respond best to express shipping ads, same-day delivery options, “Guaranteed delivery before Christmas” banners, and instant digital gift cards that save them when deadlines are tight.
Using highly personalized messaging and offers to both groups, you tap into two major revenue peaks: the early planners and the last-minute impulse buyers. This gives your brand maximum visibility throughout the entire holiday cycle.
4. Holiday-Exclusive Product Bundles & Gift Sets
Holiday shoppers don’t want to browse endlessly; they want someone (or something) to point them to the perfect gift quickly. That’s where AI-powered recommendation engines make all the difference.
You can add tools like “Perfect Gift Finder” popups, interactive AI quiz funnels, personalized product suggestions, and intelligent upsells such as “Pairs well with…”; your website starts to feel like a personal shopping assistant.
The result? Higher Average Order Value, more time spent on your site, and a noticeable bump in conversions. During the holiday rush, anything that reduces decision fatigue becomes a win, and AI-driven recommendations do precisely that. It helps guide shoppers straight to what they’re most likely to buy.
5. Influencer & Creator Collabs (Micro + AI Creators)
Creator-led content becomes even more powerful during the holiday rush because shoppers trust real people far more than polished brand ads.
When they see someone relatable, unbox a product, share a quick festive tutorial, or recommend “gift ideas under $50,” it feels honest, and that authenticity directly impacts buying decisions.
In 2026, the formats that perform best are holiday unboxing videos, short reels with gift suggestions, story-style testimonials, and even AI video ads. All of these forms of content will let users scale creator-style content without waiting on production schedules.
What’s even better? You don’t need celebrity influencers. Small creators deliver massive returns, especially when they speak directly to your niche audience. Their content feels personal, native to the platform, and ideally suited for the fast-paced holiday shopping mindset.
6. Retargeting Campaigns for High-Intent Shoppers
If you are trying to figure out who to retarget during the holiday season, start with the warmest audience you already have: people who added products to their cart but did not complete the purchase. These shoppers showed strong buying intent, but they were distracted, busy, or just needed one extra push. And during the holidays, this happens even more. People browse fast, compare prices across tabs, and forget what they added.
Retargeting is what brings them back right when they’re ready to buy. Dynamic product ads, cart abandonment flows, countdown-driven creatives, and “Only a few left” messaging work incredibly well during the holiday season. This messaging helps because it taps into both urgency and memory.
This is also the period when most brands see their highest ROAS, especially in December, when people revisit products they had been eyeing earlier.
A strong retargeting setup makes sure you’re not losing warm shoppers to competitors.
7 . Holiday-Themed UGC Contests
If you want free, authentic, festive content that boosts reach, engagement, and trust, then holiday UGC contests are your best friend.
Encourage customers to share their holiday setups, film unboxing videos of your festive bundles, or create fun reels featuring your product.
In return, you get a library of real, seasonal content that you can reuse across ads, emails, and landing pages. Apart from that, contests naturally create buzz and organic visibility, which makes them a perfect strategy for brands that want a big impact without a big budget.
8. Seasonal Landing Pages Optimized for Conversions
One of the biggest mistakes brands make during the holiday season is sending traffic to generic product pages. Seasonal landing pages convert far better because they’re built specifically for holiday intent.
Create pages like “Holiday Sale 2026,” curated gift guides sorted by budget, and festive category collections filled with UGC and product videos.
Add elements like countdown timers, holiday visuals, clear shipping timelines, and trust badges to reduce hesitation. The more seamless and festive the experience, the higher your conversion rate will climb.
9. Short-Form Video Ads for Flash Sales
Flash sales move fast, and your content should too. Short-form videos on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts are perfect for announcing limited-time holiday offers, showing quick demos, or sharing behind-the-scenes festive moments.
These videos are high-energy, scroll-stopping, and tailor-made for impulse buying. Pair them with trending audio or festive visuals, and you’ll capture attention within seconds, exactly what holiday shoppers respond to best.
10. Boosting Conversions with Social Proof
During the holidays, buyers feel the pressure to choose the right product, so they rely heavily on proof.
Adding the real-time purchase pop-ups, video, testimonials, before-and-after visuals, holiday-themed reviews, customer photos, and even AI-generated review ads can dramatically increase trust.
Display this social proof everywhere: your product pages, ads, landing pages, and emails.
When shoppers see others buying and loving your product, their decision becomes much easier, and conversions climb fast.
Tips to Maximize ROI from Your 2026 Holiday Campaigns
Here are some of the fantastic tips to maximize ROI from your 2026 holiday campaigns.
Repurpose Content Across Platforms
One of the easiest ways to stretch your holiday marketing budget is to repurpose your content rather than create everything from scratch.
A single UGC video can become a TikTok ad, an Instagram Reel, a YouTube Short, a website asset, and even a GIF for email. The same goes for product photos, testimonials, and creator clips.
This approach saves time, reduces production costs, and keeps your brand messaging consistent across all channels. Repurposing also lets you test different versions of the duplicate content to see which performs best, without having to produce new creative constantly.
A/B Test Hooks, Scenes, CTAs
In holiday marketing, small creative changes can lead to massive performance differences. A better opening hook can increase watch time, a different scene order can improve engagement, and a stronger CTA can boost clicks.
That is why A/B testing is essential. Instead of running one polished video, create multiple variations, different intros, different offers, different captions. Test them simultaneously.
Let the algorithm tell you what works. The goal is simple: find the highest-converting version of your content and scale it during peak shopping weeks.
Analyze What Worked Last Year
Your past data is one of your most significant competitive advantages. Before launching holiday 2026 campaigns, review your 2024 performance: which creative drove the most sales? Which platforms were the most cost-effective? Which days drove the highest conversions? What kind of messaging clicked with your audience?
These insights help you avoid guesswork and build your strategy on proven patterns instead of assumptions. Brands that consistently analyze historical performance make smarter decisions, waste less budget, and scale faster.
The Final Note
Holiday marketing strategies are less about who spends the most as a brand, and it’s about those who adapt fast. Shoppers are more intentional, more value-driven, and more influenced by personalized, creator-style content than ever before. Brands that lean into AI-driven personalization, authentic UGC videos, creator collaborations, smart retargeting, and optimized seasonal landing pages will stay ahead of the curve.
Frequently Asked Questions
AI UGC videos, personalized email journeys, creator collaborations, smart targeting, seasonal landing pages, and short-form video ads drive the strongest holiday conversions.
Use AI tools to generate authentic, customer-style videos at scale, highlight product benefits, test variations quickly, and run them across TikTok, Reels, and Shorts.
Short, fast, festive videos, gift guides, unboxings, product demos, testimonials, countdown offers, optimized for vertical formats and immediate attention-grabbing hooks.
Start planning in September–October to capture early-bird shoppers, test creatives, optimize offers, and secure creators before peak advertising competition begins.
Run UGC contests, create product bundles, repurpose old videos, use micro-creators, send personalized emails, and promote flash sales through short-form content.
Highlight express shipping, digital gift cards, limited-time discounts, delivery deadlines, urgency messaging, and retarget shoppers who abandoned carts or viewed products recently.
Written by:
Wagisha Adishree is an SEO content writer with a knack for turning marketing insights into engaging stories. She blends creativity with creative marketing gimmicks to craft content that ranks and resonates. Curious and witty by nature, she loves exploring newsletters, Pinterest trends, and football culture.
