Most brands think the holiday season ends on December 25.
But the smartest marketers know the real opportunity is after the gifts are opened.
Welcome to Q5, the post-holiday period from December 26 through mid-January where purchase intent spikes, competition drops and shoppers buy for themselves at record rates.
According to Google’s own consumer insights, the weeks after December 25 drive dramatically higher shopping action rates, with 87% of shopping occasions ending in a purchase (Google Holiday Playbook, Google Marketing, 2024).
This is not a cooldown period.
This is a conversion accelerator.
Why Q5 Matters More Than Ever in 2025
1. Self-Gifting Is Surging
After a season focused on gifting others, shoppers shift their mindset and start buying what they truly wanted.
Google’s retail research notes that “self-gifting and upgrading drives a measurable lift in demand immediately after December 25” (Google Retail Holiday Trends, 2024).
Self-purchase behavior is less price-sensitive, faster, and more impulsive, which means your brand needs to stay visible.
2. Gift Card Redemptions Flood the Market
Gift cards convert into high-intent traffic within 48–72 hours after the holiday.
Google has repeatedly highlighted that gift card redemption windows correlate with higher AOV and higher repeat actions (Google Shopping Insights, 2024).
If you’re not promoting gift card usage in Q5, you’re leaving revenue on the table.
3. CPMs Drop While Intent Rises
As many brands pull back budgets between Christmas and New Year’s, competition falls.
Google Ads’ seasonal guidance confirms that CPCs and CPMs typically decrease in the final week of December, while conversion likelihood remains elevated (Google Ads Seasonal Guide, 2025).
It’s the perfect storm: cheapest traffic, highest intent.
4. Multi-Channel Influence Peaks
TikTok discovery surges.
Google Search queries shift from gifting to self-improvement.
Performance Max and Shopping placements see faster purchase cycles.
This is the most multi-touch moment of the year, and your brand must be findable across all surfaces.
Aritzia’s Strategy: How One Brand Unlocked a 55% Lift in Holiday Demand
Aritzia’s recent U.S. expansion offers a masterclass in Q5-ready performance strategy.
By taking an “omni-first” approach, Aritzia connected digital messaging with in-store availability using local inventory ads, Performance Max, and full-funnel search support.
Google’s case study reports a 55% lift in demand and a 42% increase in net e-commerce revenue in its strongest holiday quarter ever (Google Think With Google Retail Case Study: Aritzia, 2024).
The takeaway:
Brands that bridge search, local, social, and inventory-driven signals outperform those relying on isolated channel activations.
How to Win Q5: Your Action Plan for 2025
1. Keep Campaigns Live, Do Not Pause
Always-on visibility captures the surge of traffic from self-gifting, returns, and gift card redemptions.
Pause = losing the cheapest clicks of the season.
2. Refresh Your PDPs for Self-Purchase Psychology
Shift from “gift for them” to:
“Treat yourself”
“Upgrade your setup”
“Start the year strong”
“New Year essentials”
Shoppers are motivated by personal benefit and season reset energy.
3. Run Gift Card Redemption Messaging Everywhere
Email, SMS, homepage banners, PDP upsells.
Make it easy for customers to convert their balance into a purchase.
4. Use Local Inventory + PMax for Full-Funnel Capture
Like Aritzia, merging online performance campaigns with real-time local availability creates a measurable lift in both online and offline sales.
5. Scale Creative Faster with AI Tools
Google’s Nano Banana Pro and Gemini 3 creative expansion tools now allow marketers to generate on-brand creative variations in seconds.
Google states these tools “enable rapid iteration of seasonal creative, translations, and asset scaling within campaign workflows” (Google Gemini Creative Tools Launch Notes, 2025).
This is perfect for Q5 message refreshes.
The Bottom Line
Q5 is the hidden growth window that too many brands overlook.
The data is clear: shoppers buy more items, across more categories, with higher intent, and significantly less friction.
Brands that stay active, shift their messaging, and leverage AI-driven creative and performance tools will enter Q1 with momentum instead of a slump.
Need Help Capturing Q5 Revenue?
If you want a Q5 strategy tailored to your brand, from product feed optimizations to AI-driven creative to full-funnel performance, we can help.
At National Positions, we ensure your campaigns are live, your creative is refreshed, and your customer journey is optimized for the highest-intent weeks of the year.