CPG brands already know that selling through direct-to-consumer (DTC), pure play, and retail ecommerce channels comes with a unique set of challenges and opportunities. But when it comes to seasonal peaks, the stakes are even higher.
For every marketer, planning for seasonal shopping (like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day, and beyond) means high-pressure strategizing. The reward? Winning over consumers at the most crucial times of the year. With the latest shopping trends and tools at your fingertips, you can position your brand to compete and thrive.
Now that the broader opportunity has taken shape, here’s a breakdown of what’s happening each season—and practical strategies to dominate holiday shopping trends without blowing your marketing budget.
Halloween has transformed into a serious revenue driver for CPG brands—especially those in the candy and beauty categories.
It’s not just candy—costume-related products saw massive growth as well. Items like lipstick (+145%) and eyeshadow (+215%) continue to top seasonal ecommerce charts as part of the Halloween shopping frenzy.
Pear strategy tip: Lean into themed campaigns. Want your products in shoppers’ carts during the Halloween rush? Make your shopping experience as festive as possible. Create themed Landing Pages featuring your seasonal stock, with tools like shoppable media to connect people directly to local retailers carrying your products.
Plus, brands selling through Amazon can also take advantage of their quick shipping times. Check out how Liquid Death pushes sales through both Amazon and retail ecommerce using Pear’s Shoppable PDP on their Severed Lime Sparkling Water product page.
Holiday ecommerce spending continues to break records—and for good reason. Gift shopping and seasonal promotions make these months a goldmine for CPG marketers.
Pear strategy tip: Use urgency to your advantage. Shoppers are primed to spend during these major retail holidays, but time is of the essence. Tools like Pear’s geolocation shopper insights help brands target audiences with last-minute deals, driving impulse buys in areas where shoppers can still receive their orders on time.
Love is sweet—and so are the profits from Valentine’s Day shopping. CPG brands in the candy, gifting, and personal care sectors see incredible spikes during this period.
Notably, shoppers increasingly opted for larger pack sizes, signifying a shift in consumer behavior to maximize value during holiday spending sprees.
Pear strategy tip 💌 : Target loyal (and last-minute) shoppers. Highlighting gift-ready items in tailored promotional emails or ads is a tried-and-true tactic. Use tools like your Pear-powered Shoppable PDPs to make checkout as seamless as possible for your audience.
Every CPG brand is vying for attention during the hustle of seasonal shopping. The key? Offer simple pathways to purchase and utilize tools that provide real-time insights.
Make the shopping experience as straightforward and easy as possible by meeting your consumers wherever and however they like to shop. This means supporting paths to purchase through your website, pure play (e.g. Amazon), and retail ecommerce.
Understanding and balancing your marketing strategies between these three ecommerce channels to make the most of the high-impact seasonal months.
Pear Commerce provides CPG brands with the shoppability and insights needed to achieve seasonal sale growth, particularly through retail ecommerce.
1. Create holiday-specific shopping experiences 🎁
Stand out this holiday season by tailoring your campaigns to the festivities. With Pear Commerce tools, you can make any campaign seasonally relevant. For instance, American Licorice created a dedicated Halloween shopping page with a festive design and user-friendly layout, providing a one-stop shop for seasonal treats.
2. Leverage daily inventory scanning 📦
Avoid frustrating your potential shoppers with unavailable products. Pear’s inventory tools provide daily updates on stock availability by location, allowing you to geo-target campaigns with precision. Confidently launch campaigns that ensure better ROI and satisfied shoppers.
3. Eliminate barriers at checkout 🛒
The second-largest reason shoppers abandon their carts? Forced account creation during checkout. For retail ecommerce, this is a non-issue. Use Shoppable PDPs or Store Locators as landing pages to provide seamless pathways to purchase through major retailers like Walmart, Target, and Amazon.
4. Rethink your retail ecommerce performance marketing 📊
Why wait until the end of a campaign to evaluate results? Pear’s performance marketing tools let you track shopper behavior in real-time and adjust strategies instantly. Optimize campaigns on the go based on actual consumer behavior, ensuring every campaign delivers maximum impact.
From Halloween’s candy aisles to Cyber Monday’s virtual carts, seasonality remains one of the most lucrative opportunities for CPG brands. With rapid inventory insights, targeted performance marketing, and streamlined purchasing tools, you’ll not only meet your audience where they’re shopping—you’ll outshine competitors doing it.
Implementing these strategies sets the stage for not just one-time wins, but brand loyalty that extends far beyond the holiday season.
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