After the rush of the Thanksgiving to Christmas period, it’s easy for advertisers to pause efforts and turn their attention to the new year. But Q5 — the span of time between December 26 and mid-January — can be a treasure trove for prospecting and converting users, as many consumers are still shopping and often have a different intent than they did during Cyber Week.
The 6 Reasons Q5 Is a Golden Opportunity on the Open Web
In 2024, the period between December 25 and January 1 saw the highest sales growth compared with any other period, according to Mastercard data, and 75% of TikTok users planned to spend the same amount of time or more shopping in Q5 compared to the rest of the year. Self-gifting, New Year’s resolutions, and other trends are all driving the value of Q5, and performance marketers can create a strategy to capture all this activity.
As costs rise and the typical channels become oversaturated and less dependable, advertisers are expanding their playbook. Creating new channels for performance includes experimentation and rethinking the typical ways of operating. Taking advantage of Q5 can help marketers finish the year strong, building momentum for Q1 and using cheaper rates to conduct A/B testing. Below, I’ll break down all the reasons you should approach Q5 with intent.
1. Ad Costs Drop
Because so many brands are accustomed to reducing budgets after the holiday rush, Q5 has less competition for ad space, even as user engagement remains high. With fewer advertisers, inventory becomes cheaper, lowering CPM. Cost per click (CPC) dropped 10% across devices during Q5 of 2024, while impressions surged 94% in the U.S., according to Search Engine Land. As timing is key for performance marketers, consider that Q5 may even extend until late January or up until Super Bowl advertising starts.
2. Gift Cards Entice Shoppers
Popular holiday gifts include gift cards to favorite stores or websites, with the market for these estimated to be worth $1.24 trillion in 2025. The post-Christmas period is ripe for targeted advertising and deals targeted toward those looking to make the most out of their gifts. Over half of respondents to one survey said they use cash or gift cards they received in the weeks immediately after the holidays, so consider targeting audiences who might be new to a particular brand, or add urgency to ads to use gift cards.
3. Consumers Set New Year’s Goals
Post-holiday mindsets often shift quickly to self-care and setting resolutions, whether exercise, diet, career goals, or more. According to TikTok data, 94% of users have at least one personal goal for the new year. These shifts can be prime time for advertisers, particularly in the wellness space, to attract and convert new, focused users.
4. It’s Time to Treat Yourself
Self-gifting becomes popular in Q5 as consumers turn their attention inward after a busy season buying gifts for others. A Google survey found that 45% of Americans enjoy shopping after Christmas, and the percentage of those shopping for themselves was significantly higher during Q5 than the rest of the season.
5. Shoppers Are Laser Focused
In Q5, consumers tend to have focused intent on what they’re shopping for. Post-holidays, shoppers are very likely to buy, with 87% of shopping occasions resulting in a purchase. It’s an opportunity for performance marketers to engage and re-engage users and prospects to drive conversions and sales.
6. There’s Lots of Appetite for Bargains
On top of self-gifting and an appetite for New Year’s goals, there can be excellent post-holiday sales for consumers to enjoy in Q5. One survey found that 77% of consumers said they could find better deals after the holidays versus during them, with 51% planning to take advantage of these deals to make big purchases. These discounts and offers may be the best of the year, depending on the industry, so advertisers can get creative with images and copy to entice and convert users.
Key Takeaways
While the post-holiday period in late December and early January may typically be quiet, savvy advertisers can take advantage of this Q5 period to attract and convert high-intent users. In Q5, ad costs are usually lower, consumers are focused, and performance marketers can tailor offers accordingly to finish out the year on a high note.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why do advertising costs drop significantly during Q5, and how does this create a budget advantage?
From late December to mid-January, many brands have typically paused ad spending, leading to reduced competition for ad space and lower CPM and other metrics. This creates an opportunity for performance marketers to extend their reach, perform testing affordably, and acquire new prospects and customers. With cheaper ad space, advertisers can maximize their reach and ROI, nurture leads and expand lists, build brand presence, and increase visibility and share of voice when other businesses might not be present.
This is a time to take full advantage of Realize features that can help you move quickly, like automated bidding and automated A/B testing, dynamic retargeting to reach users with product-specific ads, and automated budget protection.
How does the consumer’s mindset during Q5 differ from Q4, and what kind of messaging is most effective?
The Q4 consumer mindset is typically urgent and external, with a focus on gifts for others. Q5 brings a period of self-gifting and self-improvement, along with bargain-hunting. Performance marketers and advertisers can use these trends to craft messaging accordingly. You may focus on consumers looking for gifts for themselves, as well as New Year goal setters who want to change habits or improve other aspects of their lives. Messaging around value and big discounts can also be very successful, along with focusing on home items or winter gear that consumers might not have purchased in the lead-up to Christmas. Q5 can also be a great time to build brand loyalty with newer customers from Q4.
Use platforms like Realize to easily create and test various display options like vertical, carousel, and video to see where and how messaging breaks through during this period of time. Consider the automated landing page builder to save time, too.
What is the long-term strategic value of investing in Q5, rather than pausing advertising until Q1?
Pausing advertising for a week or two might not seem significant, but it can be a missed opportunity during the Q5 period. Performance marketers can use this time of lower competition and reduced ad costs to build brand awareness and momentum to strengthen the pipeline for the new year. Restarting campaigns after pausing likely requires higher costs, and the decline in sales and market share can be hard to rebound from. Investing in Q5 can mean a lower-cost time to test creative and engage new audiences, and with platforms like Realize, you can use AI and automation to stay cost-effective in your bidding and A/B testing strategies.
