Peak season is when many retailers make or miss their year. After 18 seasons in the trenches, here is a rapid-fire playbook you can actually run: practical, punchy, and prioritised for results. Not every tactic will fit every brand. Pick the ones that move the needle for you and get them live.
1) Earn links while the press is hungry
Round-ups like “best Black Friday deals” and gift guides explode at this time of year. Pitch your strongest offers and bundles, and secure high-authority backlinks to lift organic performance well beyond peak.
2) Offload dead stock (smartly)
Identify slow movers and end-of-line SKUs. Discount them aggressively, badge them clearly, and use “% sold out” counters to create urgency. Clearing shelves now frees cash and warehouse space for winners.
3) Segment holiday shoppers from day one
Tag anyone who buys discounted, gifting or seasonal items. They behave differently and should be messaged differently next year.
4) Early access = list growth
Give VIPs first dibs, or gate early access behind email sign-up. It builds your CRM and boosts day-one conversion when the sale opens.
5) Inject urgency into email
Run short, sharp promos such as 24-hour flash sales to move old stock. If response is strong, extend once, clearly and sparingly, to maximise momentum.
6) Run a “12 Days” campaign
Tee up daily deals or themes. It is a reliable cadence that keeps you top of inbox and top of mind without blowing your margin in one go.
7) Win-back is easier at Christmas
Lapsed customers suddenly have a reason to shop. Use gentle re-introduction plus strong gift angles and last-order cut-offs.
8) Personalise picks
Use recommendation blocks and personalised codes so each customer sees a high-intent offer. Even one hero product per day can work.
9) Warm up deliverability
If you will email more in November, start ramping frequency now. Encourage clicks and replies to strengthen sender reputation before the big push.
10) Go live on TikTok and Instagram
Unbox newness, tour the warehouse, show limited quantities landing. Repurpose the live as a video at the top of your sale and gift pages.
11) Run giveaways with care
Use giveaways to capture relevant emails, not freebie hunters. Prize slow-moving stock or short-dated items. Follow with a tight conversion sequence.
12) Show the gift-wrap experience
Unboxing sells. Add short videos of your premium wrap on product and cart pages so gifters feel confident sending direct.
13) Cross-sell with partner brands
Create co-branded bundles such as shirt plus tee or candle plus matches. You both increase average order value and share audiences.
14) Share behind-the-scenes
Stacks of outbound parcels, engraving in progress, team picking orders. Social proof nudges on-the-fence buyers to act fast.
15) Pivot keywords to gifting
Launch seasonal collections such as Gifts for Mum, Under £25, and Stocking Fillers early so search engines can index them. Use the pages for SEO and paid.
16) Track the assist from paid to email
Lots of paid clicks will convert later via email. Tag sign-ups by channel so you do not cut spend that is quietly filling your pipeline.
17) Bundle in dead stock
If most customers buy two items, offer Buy 2, Get 1 Half Price. Make the third selection from slow movers. Clear shelves without trashing margin.
18) Family bundles that match
Sell coordinated sets with simple size pickers. One decision, multiple gifts, higher basket.
19) Stress-test your stack
Shopify is robust, but apps and scripts can choke under traffic. Load-test, check rate limits, and have a rollback plan for anything brittle.
20) Tame express checkouts
Ensure Shop Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay respect multi-item baskets. If they open a single-item express flow from product pages, adjust settings or remove those buttons on peak pages.
21) Double points now, redeem later
Run boosted loyalty points in November and December, then invite customers to use them in January and February. Turn peak buyers into repeat customers during the quiet period.
22) Premium packaging with thresholds
Offer upgraded gift wrap free over a set spend, or sell it as an add-on. Push average order value and delight gifters.
23) Pivot daily
Hold a five-minute stand-up every morning. What sold yesterday? What is low on stock? Which channel is hot? Change today’s hero, budgets, and messaging accordingly. Use Shopify and ad platform data for early reads. Do not wait for laggy analytics to validate obvious moves.
Check out the full podcast here.
This episode was brought to you by Nick Trueman, Director of PPC & SEO Agency, Spec Digital