Holiday marketing has become a key performance driver that significantly impacts a brand’s annual results. The last quarter consistently delivers the highest retail revenue of the year. 

Digital competition reaches its peak during this time. Ad costs rise, and inboxes overflow. At the same time, customers expect seamless experiences, personalization, and instant gratification. This tension makes holiday marketing more important than ever.

In 2024, U.S. online holiday sales jumped 8.7% year-over-year to $241.4 billion. Over 53% of all online holiday purchases happened via mobile devices. In 2025, total holiday season spending is projected to reach $253.4 billion. Mobile purchases alone are expected to hit $142.7 billion, growing 8.5% YoY. The opportunity is vast. But so is the risk of getting lost in the noise.

In this blog, we’ll walk through 24 holiday marketing strategies you can use to stand out, drive sales, and win lasting customer loyalty.

Why Marketers Need Fresh Holiday Marketing Campaign Ideas

The holiday season presents both the most significant opportunity and the hardest time to stand out. Shoppers are spending more. But they’re also starting earlier, buying faster, and expecting more personalized experiences. The same discount-heavy playbooks no longer cut through when every brand is running similar campaigns. Recent holiday marketing data shows just how much the landscape has shifted.

• Holiday shopping starts earlier. Around 25% of U.S. shoppers started buying in October 2024, up from 19% in 2023. 
• E-commerce dominates the mix. Online holiday sales grew 9.5% year over year and now make up nearly 29% of all seasonal sales.
• Mobile has overtaken desktop. More than 54.5% of online holiday sales in 2024 came from smartphones.
• Personalization drives conversions. The average holiday discount rose to 23%. However, more than half of buyers say tailored offers influence their decisions more than generic sales. 
• Consumers are spending differently. They spent an average of $735 on experiences in 2024, up 16% year over year. This shows a shift toward emotional, story-driven marketing.

These trends make it clear that you can’t rely on the same ideas every year. To win attention and customer loyalty, your campaigns now must be fresh, creative, and data-driven. 

Next, let’s look at 24 holiday marketing strategies, so you can build campaigns that truly stand out this season.

1. Start Early With a Cross-Channel Holiday Calendar

Holiday marketing campaigns don’t start in December. They start when your audience begins planning. Build a calendar that ties every touchpoint together: email, push, SMS, and social. Each message should build on the last. When timing and channels align, you create momentum that keeps shoppers hooked all season.

Consider using CleverTap Journeys to schedule automated flows across push, email, SMS, and in-app messaging. You can schedule these flows in advance, so your campaigns fire automatically as seasonal windows open.

2. Segment Your Audience for Personalized Holiday Marketing Offers

Segmenting users allows you to tailor offers and messages in ways that feel more relevant. Consider speaking to each group in its own language rather than blasting the same creative to everyone. Here’s how to do that:

• Use behavioral segmentation to cluster users based on actions such as browsing patterns, cart abandoners, and app usage.
• Use RFM segmentation (recency, frequency, monetary) to score who’s most likely to engage or spend again.
• Run A/B tests across those segments to send different messaging with offers, creative style, and timing for various personas. 

This process tells you which segments respond best to which holiday marketing strategies. Next, you can allocate the budget accordingly. 

CleverTap’s Analytics helps build segments based on past holiday purchase behavior. You can identify users who purchased during last year’s holiday window and look at customers who responded to gift-bundle offers. Then use those segments to launch different campaigns.

For example, Shawarmer, a regional food and dining chain, used CleverTap’s RFM-based automated segmentation to classify customers and send custom offers. They boosted sales by 9% and reduced churn by 36% with RFM segmentation. 

3. Use Predictive Analytics to Anticipate Customer Needs

Predictive analytics lets you move from reactive to proactive marketing. It makes it easy to forecast what a user is likely to buy, when they might abandon, or what bundle might appeal next. You can trigger offers or messages at the moment of highest relevance. Here’s how to do it right:

• Predict purchase propensity by analyzing past browsing, purchase history, and interaction data.
• Use AI/ML to suggest custom products or offers for each user’s profile and needs.
• Trigger nudges or cross-sells before users even think to search.
• Focus resources on users with high predicted customer lifetime value (CLV).

CleverTap’s Predictive Segments lets you flag users likely to convert or churn. You can also use CLV modeling to prioritize campaigns. 

For example, Blinkit, an instant delivery service, uses CleverTap to segment users by purchase frequency, recency, and value. They spot inactive users or brand-loyal shoppers in real time. Using CleverTap, they send personalized, region-specific messages across push, SMS, and email to bring them back.

4. Launch a Holiday Gift Finder Quiz

Shoppers often know who they’re buying for but not what to buy. A short quiz simplifies decision-making and personalizes product recommendations.

Ask 3–5 questions related to interests, age range, and budget, and recommend curated products based on quiz responses. Offer social sharing for quiz results to go viral, during which you can capture email and SMS opt-ins during quiz completion.

Track each quiz response as event data in CleverTap and enroll users into automated recommendation journeys. Trigger follow-up push, email, or WhatsApp messages with personalized gift suggestions.

LEGO introduced a Holiday Gift Finder quiz to simplify seasonal shopping by helping buyers find the right set based on age, budget, and interests. 

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5. Holiday-Themed Push Notification Campaigns

Push notifications become powerful during holiday marketing when they’re festive, timely, and relevant. Those three elements help your holiday messages stand out. 

Here’s what you can do:

• Write Seasonal Copy With Emotion: Aim for simple and punchy copy variations like holiday deals just for you, only 3 days left, or your gift is waiting. 
• Test Your Send Times: Try sending push messages during mornings, lunch breaks, and early evening. See when your users open most. Avoid push fatigue with cool-down windows.

Learn how to optimize the send time of your push notifications and the understand the best times to send them.

In 2024, Sephora’s “Don’t Overthink It” campaign used light, festive messaging to reduce gifting stress. They engaged users with push reminders and in-app rewards. Each notification nudged shoppers to open the app, explore gift sets, and join the holiday excitement.

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CleverTap’s A/B-tested push templates help you move fast during peak season. You can apply festive themes, adjust messaging, and test layouts without starting from scratch. Each version can target a different segment or emotion: urgency, excitement, or warmth. 

Also, consider using CleverTap’s Scribe AI to create multiple copy options with emojis and tone variations. Test, compare, and double down on the message that earns the highest engagement.

6. Deliver Hyperlocal Holiday Campaigns

Holiday behavior varies by region: weather, culture, pay dates, and local traditions all influence buying patterns. Hyperlocal campaigns help brands connect at a cultural level while boosting relevance.

Tailor messaging based on local festivals, weather, or regional trends and offer localized delivery timelines and payment options. Highlight store pickup or one-day delivery in eligible locations. Run geo-targeted ads and follow up with location-based offers.

Use geofencing and location-based marketing in CleverTap to send contextual campaigns by city, state, or country. Deliver personalized delivery cutoff reminders based on the user’s location.

Learn how to build the best hyperlocal marketing campaigns.

7. Gamified Holiday Marketing Campaigns & Giveaways

Gamification turns shopping into play. Here’s what you can do to get the most out of it.

• Use spin-the-wheel, advent calendars, or scavenger hunts to engage users daily. 
• Reward participation immediately with coupons, points, or surprises. These games increase session length and pull users back more often.

Use CleverTap’s in-app gamification with real-time rewards to keep engagement high. You can trigger games for different user cohorts. For example, you can re-engage dormant users with a spin and win offer or reward loyal customers with bonus points. 

CleverTap enables you to deliver instant incentives, such as discount codes or loyalty credits, immediately after a user plays. This creates a tight feedback loop where users act, win, and convert.

OurBus embedded interactive games like spin the wheel, scratch and win, and match the card using CleverTap’s in-app HTML popups. They locked coupon codes behind game completion. The result was a 100% increase in CRM revenue, 40% growth in campaign engagement, and 20% better coupon redemption.

8. Launch Mobile-First Holiday Flash Sales

Mobile devices drive over half of all holiday purchases, and flash sales tap into real-time urgency. App-exclusive or mobile-first flash promotions convert well during peak holiday marketing season.

• Run 2-hour or 24-hour limited flash events during key holiday windows.
• Promote flash deals using countdown timers and urgency-based messaging.
• Offer early access for app users to drive downloads and retention.
• Use progressive pricing — discounts that increase as customers buy more.

Combine push notifications with SMS and WhatsApp marketing campaigns using CleverTap Journeys to build a high-conversion flash sale flow. Trigger campaigns based on peak activity times identified in your engagement reports.

9. User-Generated Content (UGC) Contests

UGC contests invite your users to become co-creators. Ask them to share holiday photos, unboxing, themed looks, or short video reviews. Use a branded hashtag so entries aggregate easily. Collect the best ones and surface them across your app, emails, or social, giving winners visibility and incentives to participate again.

In 2025, Starbucks expanded its #RedCupContest with AR filters that let customers design and share their own festive cup art. The campaign turned everyday coffee moments into creative expression. It flooded social media with user-generated holiday visuals. Winners saw their designs featured on official Starbucks channels, blending customer creativity with brand storytelling.

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10. Promote Sustainable Holiday Shopping

Eco-conscious shopping is quickly becoming a priority for modern buyers. Highlighting sustainability during the holidays builds emotional trust and long-term loyalty.

• Create a Green Gifting Collection with eco-friendly products.
• Offer “carbon-neutral delivery” or “plastic-free packaging.”
• Encourage customers to join recycling or charity programs.
• Share your sustainability efforts transparently through storytelling.

Utilize custom attributes in CleverTap to create segments of eco-minded users based on their past campaign engagement or product interactions. Nurture them using lifecycle messaging tailored to sustainability values.

11. Offer Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) Promotions

Budget flexibility is a major purchase driver during the holiday season. BNPL spending could climb to $17 billion this holiday season. Offering installment payment options reduces friction and increases conversion, especially for higher-value carts.

• Add BNPL options visibly on product pages and checkout.
• Offer limited-time “No Interest Holiday Financing.”
• Promote BNPL in retargeting emails and ads.
• Trigger payment reminders gently to avoid churn.

Use event-based segmentation to identify users who abandon high-value carts and retarget them with BNPL-focused incentive campaigns using CleverTap Journeys.

Target’s BNPL rollout enables shoppers to spread payments with no hidden fees, making seasonal purchases smoother and more affordable. This move makes gift-giving more flexible and accessible, helping shoppers grab higher-value items without cash crunch stress.

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12. Launch Gift Reminders and Restock Alerts

Holiday shoppers get distracted easily. Gift reminders and back-in-stock alerts help customers stay on track and recover lost sales.

Send reminders for items saved to wishlists, abandoned in carts, or when out-of-stock products return. Offer price-drop alerts for high-interest products. Add “Notify me” buttons to product pages.

Track wishlist interactions and stock events inside CleverTap. Trigger personalized push or email alerts the moment availability changes, driving quick conversions.

13. Exclusive Early Access for Loyal Customers

Give your top users first access to exclusive deals, new releases, or bonus points. Let them feel part of an inner circle to build loyalty and anticipation. This tactic smooths demand, avoids chaos on big sale days, and strengthens your premium segments.

Use RFM modeling or behavioral metrics to build loyalty cohorts with high-value, high-engagement users. Then use CleverTap Promos to deliver coupons, early access links, or reward codes specifically to them. 

The Promos platform enables you to design, manage, and distribute reward codes or offers through a single engagement platform. This setup eliminates the need for third-party systems and ensures promotions are measurable from end to end.

14. Introduce Holiday Subscription Offers

Subscriptions turn seasonal shoppers into year-round customers. The holidays are a great time to promote giftable subscriptions or limited-time upgrades.

Offer subscription gifting plans like 3, 6, or 12 months and add bonus months or exclusive perks for holiday sign-ups. Retarget visitors who view subscription pages but don’t convert. Promote “upgrade unlocks” for existing users.

Use predictive segments to identify users likely to subscribe and target them with personalized subscription campaigns. Trigger subscription incentives when users show high session activity or repeat visits.

Moment & Co’s Holiday Party in a Box lets subscribers prepay or go month-to-month. Each box contains tableware, decor, and themed extras, and users can skip a holiday or cancel anytime. It’s a perfect way to give convenience and delight across multiple seasons, not just one sale moment.

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15. Festive Email Campaigns With Interactive Elements

Interactive emails bring the holiday magic inside the inbox. A countdown timer, scratch-to-reveal offers, or playful GIFs make the message feel alive. Mobile-first templates ensure every user sees it cleanly and quickly. And behavior-triggered personalization means each email lands when relevance is high.

• Add countdown timers to push urgency.
• Use scratch cards or reveal boxes to excite users about uncovering special discounts.
• Embed subtle GIFs or animations to draw attention without distracting.
• Design mobile-first templates with responsive layouts, fast loading, and tappable buttons.

CleverTap’s email personalization tool supports dynamic subject lines, real-time content blocks, and rule-based content. You can also build no-code sequences and route users via the best-performing paths.

16. Social Commerce and Influencer Collaborations

Social commerce blurs the line between inspiration and purchase during the holiday marketing season. Shoppers now discover, evaluate, and buy products without leaving the app. To stand out, brands must create urgency and trust. And that’s where limited drops and influencer partnerships come in. 

• Run limited-edition social drops tied to key holiday moments. Use countdowns, teaser posts, and waitlists to build anticipation. Short bursts of availability drive FOMO and quick conversions.
• Partner with influencers who align with your brand’s niche. Co-create small capsule launches or themed gift collections. Influencer-led storytelling adds credibility and pushes engagement higher than ads alone.
• Highlight real reviews and user endorsements in your social ads and live shopping events. Consumers treat peer voices as proof of value. GRIN’s 2024 Modern Consumer Survey shows that three out of four buyers buy a product because of influencer recommendations. That’s why influencer partnerships are important for product discovery and conversion. 

Treat each drop like a campaign. Pre-segment audiences, track conversions by creator, and retarget viewers who engage but didn’t purchase. Platforms like CleverTap can sync this behavioral data with push or email journeys to re-engage those users post-drop.

17. Create Personalized Holiday Bundles

Holiday bundles make it easy for shoppers to find curated gifts while increasing your average order value (AOV). Instead of offering generic product bundles, personalize them based on user behavior, interests, and purchase history.

Offer themed bundles like Holiday Essentials, Gifts Under $50, or Winter Wellness Kit. Automatically group frequently bought-together items to reduce decision fatigue. Highlight bundle savings to increase perceived value and urgency. Personalize bundles by customer segment (families, students, fitness lovers, etc.).

Use behavioral segmentation in CleverTap to recommend bundles based on user profiles. Trigger upsell messages inside the cart using in-app notifications powered by dynamic content.

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This holiday marketing email works as a holiday bundle because it taps into the Halloween theme, creates urgency with savings, taps holiday spirit, and bundles psychology—encouraging higher spend in a themed, timely offer.

18. Retarget Cart Abandoners With Holiday Incentives

Many shoppers drop off right at the finish line. You can recapture them with well-timed, relevant reminders. Use retargeting with limited-time offers to pull them back in and complete the purchase.

• Go Omnichannel: Retarget shoppers across Facebook, Instagram, and display ads. Use dynamic creatives that show the exact products left in their cart.
• Add a Holiday Hook: Pair retargeting with time-sensitive offers. For example, you can send a reminder that says, ‘Your holiday gift awaits. Get 10% off if you check out in 2 hours.’
• Create Urgency: Use scarcity-driven copy like ‘only 5 left’ or ‘offer ends tonight.’ A clear expiry time increases the fear of missing out.

Trigger cart abandonment flows via push, email, or WhatsApp from within CleverTap Journeys. You can detect when someone leaves items in the cart and fire a path. “Recover abandoned cart” journeys let you automatically re-engage users across channels. 

19. Launch a Holiday-Specific Referral Program

Referral programs perform best when they tap into the holiday spirit of giving and sharing. A well-timed seasonal referral campaign drives organic growth right when acquisition costs spike.

• Offer Seasonal Rewards: Give exclusive perks for holiday referrals. Examples include bonus points, limited-edition products, or gift cards for both referrer and friend.
• Drive Word-of-Mouth: Make sharing easy with in-app invites and social share buttons. Encourage users to gift savings to friends.
• Create Urgency: Keep the window short. For example, you can ask users to refer a friend before December 31 and unlock a festive voucher. Urgency turns intent into action.
• Reward Multiple Referrals: Build tiered incentives. First referral earns a discount, third earns a free product. It keeps engagement going through the season.

MPL, a leading gaming platform, uses CleverTap and AppsFlyer to run referrals and lifecycle journeys. In the first 30 days after referral installs, the uninstall rate was 58.65% vs an industry average of 62%, the lowest among non-organic sources. Referral cohorts also delivered the highest ARPU and a 4.73% loyal user and install ratio.

20. Use Emotional Storytelling in Holiday Ads

Emotion moves people. During the holidays, stories that tap nostalgia, gratitude, and giving hit deeper. Brands that humanize their message often win attention and loyalty.

• Nostalgia and Family: Recall childhood traditions, reunions, simple joys. Show the older days and now to connect memory to your brand.
• Cause and Compassion. Tie your campaign to a meaningful cause or community initiative. Let your holiday ad show more than sales.
• Use UGC for Authenticity: Use real stories, photos, or videos from customers. Blending storytelling with user content adds trust.

Apple’s “Misunderstood” holiday ad works because it tells a human story that flips expectations. It shows a teenager who seems disengaged during family holiday celebrations, scrolling, staring at his phone, disconnected. But at the climax, he surprises everyone by showing a video montage he’s secretly filmed: moments of familial love, togetherness, and joy.

The twist delivers emotional impact without selling a product directly. Instead, Apple shows how its technology enables connection—making the brand feel warm, human, and memorable during the holidays.

21. Use Social Proof Pop-ups to Build Trust

Holiday shoppers want reassurance before making a purchase, especially from brands they are unfamiliar with. Social proof eliminates hesitation and builds confidence.

• Display recent purchase notifications: “Emma from NY just bought this.
• Highlight product ratings, bestseller badges, and verified reviews.
• Use trust badges like “Money-back Guarantee” or “Secure Checkout.”
• Feature real customer photos in product pages and emails.

Add real-time behavior events in CleverTap to trigger in-app social proof banners when users browse high-intent product pages. Reinforce trust to reduce drop-offs during the holiday marketing season.

22. Test and Optimize Campaigns in Real Time

Testing in real time helps brands find what resonates before holiday marketing campaign budgets peak. Every creative, offer, and CTA performs differently. That’s why, aim for small, fast experiments to drive major efficiency gains. 

• Run A/B Tests: Compare two variations of creatives, CTAs, or subject lines. Send each to a small audience slice and scale the winner to maximize conversions.
• Try Multivariate Testing: When multiple elements (image, copy, CTA placement) may influence results, test combinations to find the most effective mix.
• Monitor in Real Time: Track open rates, click-throughs, and conversions daily. Adjust your messaging mid-campaign instead of waiting for post-holiday analysis.

CleverTap’s A/B and multivariate testing modules let you test push notifications, emails, and in-app campaigns within the platform. Results update instantly, helping teams pivot fast. You can also test the interface of flow changes without deploying app updates. These quick iterations ensure your campaign budget goes to only what performs. 

23. Capture Post-Holiday Engagement

Shoppers who just bought from you are warm leads for future engagement. The goal now is to thank, retain, and transition them from one-time buyers to loyal customers.

• Re-engage with Gratitude: Send personalized thank-you emails or push messages. Acknowledge their purchase, highlight how their support matters, and leave a positive final impression.
• Launch ‘New Year’ Promos: Keep momentum with limited-time ‘New Year’ offers. Position them as upgrades or complementary purchases to what customers already bought.
• Build Long-Term Journeys: Move post-holiday shoppers into onboarding or loyalty tracks. Educate them about your products, share tips, or invite them to join rewards programs.

Consider using CleverTap’s lifecycle marketing tools to trigger post-purchase campaigns that re-engage users a few days after delivery. You can also use CleverTap’s journeys to personalize follow-ups based on user behavior. Finally, start nurturing sequences to find out which campaigns result in repeat purchases. 

24. Analyze and Document Campaign Performance

Understanding what worked and what didn’t helps you refine tactics. The goal is to turn seasonal performance into a structured playbook your team can reuse and scale.

• Review Campaign Results: Evaluate open rates, CTRs, and conversions for each channel. Identify which creatives, offers, and timing delivered the strongest returns.
• Compare Cohorts: Use cohort analysis to study retention and re-engagement among different user groups. Compare the behavior of first-time holiday buyers with that of loyal customers.
• Spot Drop-Offs: Track where engagement falls. Look for low open rates, high unsubscribe rates, or weak conversions, and document the reasons. This forms the foundation for next year’s optimizations.

CleverTap’s unified dashboard provides you with campaign analytics, funnel insights, and ROI tracking in one view. You can drill down into cohort reports, find high-performing segments, and measure lifetime value improvements over time. Summarize all these learnings in a holiday marketing campaign playbook for future campaigns. 

Power Your Holiday Marketing Ideas with CleverTap

The holidays reward brands that plan smart, personalize deeply, and engage across every channel. Success now depends on timing, creativity, and data working together.

CleverTap helps you do just that by turning customer behavior into real-time insights, predictive segments, and automated journeys. With real-time analytics and adaptive testing, you can respond to campaign performance instantly rather than after the holiday marketing season ends. The result is usually sharper messaging, efficient budget spend, and predictable ROI. This is how you turn holiday campaigns into a data-backed growth engine.