"If shoppers are buying before advertisers' holiday campaigns kick in, that's an issue for brands. "Now, the holiday shopping season starts in October. If your brand isn't there competing during this time, you can be behind the eight ball," said Phil Carney, manager of account management at Adroll, a digital marketing platform that's often used by e-commerce businesses to place media buys."
"The holidays are already a peak spending period for brands; globally, retailers spent $46 billion on advertising in the fourth quarter of 2024, per WARC projections. According to media agencies, so-called "holiday creep" led to some sending upper-funnel spending into flight earlier in the season in an effort to influence shoppers farther in advance of the season's peak. "We've definitely seen clients planning ahead for earlier holiday shopping," said Ashley Terpstra, media director at Collective Measures."
Holiday shopping is moving earlier, with surveys showing 28% of U.S. consumers and 37% of millennials starting before October and 45% buying before November. Rising cost-of-living concerns make day-to-day spending the top stressor for many consumers, prompting earlier purchases. Brands risk missing demand if advertising begins too late, and many advertisers are shifting upper-funnel media—TV, podcasts, out-of-home, YouTube, and paid social—into October to influence shoppers earlier. Retailers spent heavily on fourth-quarter advertising, and media agencies report "holiday creep" has accelerated campaign timing to capture earlier purchasing windows.
Read at Digiday
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