When it comes to holiday advertising, timing is everything, especially when you’re planning your campaigns and budgets for maximum return. Advertising and marketing teams have to carefully weigh when to start advertising ahead of a specific holiday or set of holidays and gauge which time periods are likely to be most profitable. It’s a balancing act between starting ads too early versus too late, and giving each holiday the right amount of effort.
To succeed at holiday advertising, then, analyze your own data, such as looking at owned traffic trends to understand user behavior on your site. You can also use Realize data that examines peaks and declines around the holidays and tie that information back to your own digital timelines — you’ll find the latest data represented in the graphs below, spanning 2023 to 2025 and reflecting the relative traffic peaks per holiday shopping event, as measured by ad clicks. Check out which shopping days capture the most engagement, and when their particular peaks are, so you can plan accordingly.
How to Plan for Holiday Shopping Engagement Throughout the Year
Generally, marketers should prioritize ad spend and campaign development around high-traffic holidays. Digital holiday events include the big ones — Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas — as well as a range of smaller holidays throughout the year that present opportunities for retail marketers. Make sure to front-load campaigns, starting promotion at least two to four weeks ahead of major holidays, creating urgency and exclusivity around top-performing holidays to capitalize on intent.
You can get even more specific on when to start advertising to capture user attention with our trends data. Here’s what Realize showed us for the top holidays and their traffic peaks as compared to Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year:
NOTE: The following distribution represents the relative click trends observed across the dataset’s diverse ads based on holiday event.
With Black Friday as the top shopping day (~4 times more clicks than Cyber Monday), these other holidays show the relative potential peaks for shoppers, and the best times for advertisers to start running campaigns. These peaks vary widely among events, with consumers starting to research and purchase anywhere from three months ahead for Black Friday to the same day for St. Patrick’s Day. Seasonal gifting triggers peaks, too, for certain events: These days, like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, can bring decent traffic for advertisers, albeit much lower than the main events.
Time Your Holiday Shopping Ads: Realize Data-Backed Engagement Peaks
So, what’s the ideal time to start advertising for each of these holidays? Let’s get into the data.
Black Friday
Date: Fourth Friday in November.
Duration of the peak: Two months.
The year’s biggest day for shoppers can and should be the biggest day for retailers, with well-timed ad execution. In both of the past two years, the peak is two months ahead of the event, which means advertising starting in late September is perfectly reasonable to get shoppers’ attention.
Christmas Day
Date: December 25.
Duration of the peak: Two to three months.
The wishlists may have been checked off and gifts may have been opened, but Christmas Day is still the next busiest shopping day after Black Friday. In 2024, consumers started paying attention three months ahead (compared to two months the previous year), so starting early and offering targeted deals is a great bet.
Cyber Monday
Date: Three days after Black Friday.
Duration of the peak: Two to three weeks.
Cyber Monday, a somewhat newer event on the holiday shopping calendar, aims to capture shopper attention online after a presumably busy in-person retail weekend. Its engagement peak is quite a bit shorter than Black Friday or Christmas — two weeks last year, and three in 2023. Advertisers can consider running targeted ads and offers, such as focusing on fast shipping and convenience, with less lead time than others in the holiday marketing mix.
Halloween
Date: October 31.
Duration of the peak: One to one and a half months.
Halloween shoppers are often looking for fun, unique costumes for trick-or-treating and parties, deals on candy, and decorations for their houses and lawns. Last year, consumer interest started a month and a half before the event, so mid-September isn’t too early to target audiences with engaging creative and copy that aligns with the holiday’s themes.
St. Patrick’s Day
Date: March 17.
Duration of the peak: Less than one day to 10 days.
This holiday has a short lead time compared to others — the longest was last year at 10 days, while before that it was a same-day event. Shoppers might be looking for activities or items for school-age kids, or accessories for parties or bar-hopping. Target your audience carefully with themed creative to see your own sales peak on this holiday.
Thanksgiving Day
Date: Fourth Thursday in November.
Duration of the peak: One to one and a half months.
This U.S. national holiday sees groups of family and friends gathering, so housewares and food and beverage purchases top the shopping lists. Once the turkey’s been served, consumers quickly turn their attention to the main event: Black Friday and the busy month that follows. Some retailers may start their deals on Thanksgiving Day itself, both online and in-person. Use what you know about your audience to create discounts or offers on this day.
Valentine’s Day
Date: February 14.
Duration of the peak: Two weeks to one month.
This quick, one-day holiday is a big one for gifts, and in the past two years, consumers have started browsing and shopping a month ahead of time. Flowers, candy, and jewelry still top lists, as well as projects and cards for school-age children. Use the targeted timeframe to try out some eye-catching creative and copy.
Memorial Day
Date: Last Monday in May.
Duration of the peak: Two weeks to one and a half months.
Often tagged as the unofficial beginning of summer in the U.S., this holiday revolves around outdoor activities like barbecues, with food and beverage purchases made along with outdoor furniture and pools or pool accessories. It’s also a chance to try some red, white, and blue or other patriotic creative in interesting ways. This holiday is a popular one for auto makers and dealerships, too, who can offer special discounts ahead of the summer travel season.
Mother’s Day
Date: Second Sunday in May.
Duration of the peak: One to one and a half months.
This gift-centric holiday includes products as well as experiences like dining out or spa treatments. Last year, the peak was about a month ahead of the holiday versus a month and a half in the years before, so consumers start thinking about this day fairly early. Get ahead of that peak with special offers and thoughtful copy.
Boxing Day
Date: December 26.
Duration of the peak: Three weeks.
This U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and Canada holiday the day after Christmas continues the bigger holiday shopping season, with retailers offering post-holiday sales and end-of-year clearance on everything from beauty and clothing to electronics and home goods, along with luxury items. The peak in the past two years has been about three weeks, so consumers may be considering treating themselves post-holiday. Include this in your broader holiday ads plan to capture interest even after Christmas has ended.
Father’s Day
Date: Third Sunday in June.
Duration of the peak: Two weeks to one month.
Father’s Day shoppers started engaging with ads about a month ahead of the event in the past two years. Similar to Mother’s Day, this one-day event involves gifting and experiences, and advertisers can experiment with fun, thoughtful copy and appropriate offers for the day.
New Year’s Day
Date: January 1.
Duration of the peak: One and a half months.
The holiday season has ended, and a new year begins, offering advertisers a lot of room to be creative in their ads to reflect the spirit of resolutions and new beginnings. In the past two years, the peak for New Year’s Day consumers was a full month and a half beforehand, so the shift to a new mindset starts emerging in November. These shoppers may still be looking for great post-holiday deals along with wellness, fitness, and other goal-setting-related purchases.
Back to School
Date: September 1.
Duration of the peak: Three weeks.
Back-to-school season is approximately September 1, though it may be a bit earlier or later, depending on the region. The consumer peak for this event is about three weeks, so early August is the right time for advertisers to start using relevant copy and creative and calling out any special deals or offers for students of all ages.
Amazon Prime Day
Date: Mid-July.
Duration of the peak: One week to one month.
Amazon’s Prime Day has expanded to a full four days, and offers businesses an opportunity for a sales spike in midsummer. As the event has grown, so has consumer awareness and browsing ahead of the event. In 2023, the peak was 10 days, while in 2025, it was a full month. If you’re taking part in Prime Day, get started early to target your audience and generally make sure your offers are on your users’ radar.
Independence Day
Date: July 4.
Duration of the peak: Three weeks.
This midsummer U.S. holiday sees the consumer purchasing peak about three weeks ahead of time. Advertisers in food and beverage can take advantage of the holiday with special offers and discounts, and larger purchases like cars, outdoor furniture, or grills are popular. Themes of patriotism and history are relevant on this day, so see how you can reflect that uniquely in your creative.
Presidents’ Day
Date: Third Monday in February.
Duration of the peak: Three days to three weeks.
This holiday is a smaller event, with, most recently, a three-week peak for consumers. This holiday often sees specials on things like mattresses, appliances, and furniture. Winter clothing and items like ski gear may also have special offers during this time, so consider how you might target this one-day event wisely.
Juneteenth
Date: June 19.
Duration of the peak: Four days.
Juneteenth is a newer federal holiday in the U.S., offering advertisers another summer event to highlight items like outdoor furniture and decor, and food and beverage. This holiday also offers a chance for books, media, and other items for education on this Black history event. Consider how to balance celebration and reflection in your ads.
Labor Day
Date: First Monday in September.
Duration of the peak: One to two weeks.
The end of summer holiday also usually overlaps with Back to School, so you might combine the two or highlight one over the other, depending on your products. Labor Day often sees sales on outdoor gear like grills, and big appliances like refrigerators usually have sales since new models come out in September and October. You can try various creative approaches, depending on your products and how you’d like to position this event.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Date: Third Monday in January.
Duration of the peak: 11 days.
This winter holiday is educational and historical in the U.S., with a peak of 11 days before the event last year. In recent years, streaming services have also offered special deals on or around this day, and some retailers may start TV purchase offers now ahead of the Super Bowl in early February. Though a smaller holiday, you might consider a campaign with targeted celebratory and informational creative.
Veterans Day
Date: November 11.
Duration of the peak: Five to seven days.
Veterans Day in November is ahead of the holiday season, but has developed its own themes around celebrating military service. Consumers may shop for discounted restaurant meals, clothing, and home improvement goods at retailers, with special offers for veterans and active-duty military personnel. There’s also a creative opportunity for patriotic colors and American flags.
Key Takeaways
Mistimed campaigns risk being buried in ad noise. Make sure you don’t start your efforts too late, and remember that every holiday is different. Don’t ignore post-holiday events like Christmas Day or smaller but gift-centric holidays like Valentine’s Day.
Digital marketing demands precise timing and data-informed decisions to succeed in crowded marketplaces during shopping events like the holidays. Realize captures specific trends and data points so that advertisers can make the best decisions for their own budgets and campaigns to get the most out of audience attention during these busy times.
Plan your campaigns on time for the holidays to maximize performance. Realize.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What time of year do people shop online the most?
Generally, the time between Black Friday (the fourth Friday in November) and New Year’s Day is the busiest online shopping period. As the Realize data shows, other holidays are still valuable for advertisers to target, especially if they time their offers right. Smaller holiday events like Amazon Prime Day, Mother’s Day, or Back to School can all offer a lot of opportunity when timed and targeted correctly.
What is the most popular shopping day during the holiday season?
Black Friday tops the list in terms of busy shopping days, as it kicks off the holiday shopping season the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S. Started as an in-person event to draw shoppers into stores as early as Thanksgiving evening, it’s grown broadly online, too. Retailers target this day with special deals and offers, targeting users for peak sales. Last year, 81.7 million consumers shopped in-store on Black Friday, with 87.3 million shopping online.
What are the trends in holiday spending?
For the 2025 holiday season, research found that 53% of shoppers plan to spend about the same amount that they did in the 2024 holiday shopping season, which was a record-breaking year. You can use Realize to discover details on peak times for advertisers to capture holiday shopping timing, and our Trends tool can offer guidance on headlines, trending topics, and more.
