By Angela Mertz, EGC’s VP of Integrated Media It may only be September, but the holiday season is already underway for advertisers. This isn’t because consumers are necessarily ready for holiday commercials, decorated storefronts, and nonstop promotional messaging. They are, however, beginning to think, search, save ideas, and notice brands. That early consideration period matters more than ever. According to Basis, 68 percent of consumers shop early to avoid delays, while 57 percent look for deals throughout the year. The holiday shopping season no longer begins on Black Friday. It stretches from September into January, with consumers moving between search, social media, streaming content, retailer websites and, increasingly, AI tools as they decide what items to buy. For advertisers, the takeaway is simple: You cannot wait until November to introduce your brand and expect a holiday offer to do all the work. Plant the Seed Before the Sale Performance media is incredibly effective at capturing existing demand. But who creates this demand in the first place? If a consumer is already searching for a specific product, comparing prices, or adding something to a cart, brands that helped shape that decision have an advantage. That’s because these brands are familiar and have already communicated their value to their target audience. If their impact is particularly strong, these brands may even be included in the consumer’s mental shortlist before the search begins. That is why holiday planning needs to start with more than promotional dates and conversion campaigns. Brands should be using the weeks leading into the traditional holiday season to plant the seed through video, CTV, social media, creators, content, and other discovery-driven channels. The objective at this stage should not be to make an immediate sale. Advertisers should instead introduce the product and demonstrate why it stands out. This will give consumers a reason to remember it when they are ready to buy. As time goes on and purchase intent builds, the practices that include search, retargeting, retail media, and promotional messaging may help close the loop. AI is Becoming Part of the Shopping Journey Artificial intelligence (AI) adds another layer to this process and potentially changes which brands are considered by consumers in the first place. With tools like ChatGPT and Gemini available, consumers are able to ask many more specific questions: “What should I buy for a 19-year-old college student who already has everything?” “Are there any new meaningful gifts for someone who loves to cook on the market?” “Where are the best deals for luxury gifts under $200?” Rather than reviewing pages of search results, shoppers receive a short list of recommendations. As a result, brands have fewer opportunities to be noticed. Earning a place on that list therefore becomes much more valuable. We saw how quickly this behavior grew last season. Adobe reported that traffic to retail websites from AI-powered shopping assistants and chatbots increased nearly 700 percent during the 2025 holiday period. While this may still represent a relatively small share of total traffic, the trajectory is hard to ignore. Being Discoverable Now Means More Than Buying Search Brands need to consider not only how consumers find them, but how AI platforms understand and describe them. Clear product information, reviews, FAQs, gift guides, comparisons, and consistent brand positioning all contribute to how AI tools recognize where a product fits and when it should be recommended. The better a brand explains what it offers, who it is for, and why it is different, the easier it becomes for both consumers and AI platforms to make that connection. This is where media, content, search, and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) need to work together. Paid media introduces the brand and creates interest. Strong content gives consumers and AI systems the information needed to evaluate it. And search and retail media capture demand as shoppers move closer to purchase. Importantly, none of these channels should be working in a silo. Plan Around How People Actually Shop Deloitte expects U.S. holiday retail sales to grow as much as 4.8 percent this year, but consumers remain highly focused on value. And their focus is not necessarily the lowest price but the sense of confidence they feel that the purchase is worth the cost. Brands need time (and the right media strategy) to build that confidence. The advertisers that perform best this holiday season will not necessarily be those with the biggest Black Friday budgets. If they use media to build awareness early, remain visible as consumers move across channels, and capture demand when shoppers are ready to buy, their success is assured. While holiday sales take place in November or December, the media that helps influence them should be happening right now.
