It’s September, which means if you don’t already have your Q4 ecommerce strategy in place, the clock is ticking! No pressure, of course. The busiest shopping season of the year is also the most competitive, and the brands that thrive are the ones that prepare early. As the saying goes: fail to prepare, prepare to fail.
Q4 is make-or-break for many ecommerce businesses. With cost-of-living pressures shaping consumer behaviour, rising ad costs, and competition for attention fiercer than ever before, you can’t afford to go into peak season without a clear plan. Again, no pressure.
The State of Q4 2025
This year’s Q4 is shaping up to be more complex than ever, and a few clear trends are emerging that should shape how retailers think about their strategy:
- Consumer uncertainty. Inflation, global unrest, and financial anxiety mean many shoppers are tightening their belts. The IPA reports that 43% of people expect to feel more financially anxious this Christmas, which will push value and trust front and centre. Discounts still matter, but positioning and messaging are just as important. Brands need to earn confidence, not just clicks.
- Earlier (but also focused) shopping. While a small portion of Brits complete their shopping as early as summer, the majority still buy in November and the first week of December, aligning with Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The percentage of people planning to do most of their festive shopping during Black Friday has grown steadily, now at 17% (up from 13% in 2022). With this in mind, it seems like it would make sense to save your budget for November to catch your peak audience, but we have a more effective way to use spend to maximise results that we’ll touch on later!
- Channel shifts. TikTok continues to rise as a source of discovery, particularly for gift inspiration. But with nearly half of Brits splitting their shopping between online and in-store, and a third shopping mostly or exclusively online, PPC still dominates at the intent-driven end of the funnel.
The takeaway? Spending may not surge, and attention is scarcer. Brands will need sharper targeting, more thoughtful messaging, and airtight measurement to win their share of Q4 sales.
PPC: Strategy First, Spend Second
The golden rule for PPC in Q4? Prep is everything. We recommend communicating your plans for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas to your PPC agency at the start of October, or mid-October at the latest. Giving them at least six weeks’ lead time means they can set up, test, and optimise campaigns to maximise returns.
Why so early? Because you can’t just dump your budget into the week of Black Friday and expect magic. Google will happily spend it, but without a trained algorithm, you’ll end up with scattershot results instead of focused wins. Incremental budget increases, fed in the weeks leading up to key events, give the algorithm time to learn what works and where to place your money.
Start by looking back at last year’s performance. When did your sales peak? Use that as a guide for pacing this year’s budget. Building momentum gradually, instead of going all-in at once, almost always delivers stronger returns.
- On Google and Microsoft Ads, expect higher CPCs as more advertisers pile in. That makes budget pacing and daily monitoring crucial. Performance Max campaigns and seasonal bid adjustments can help keep you efficient, but don’t “set and forget”, be ready to shift spend to where it’s performing best.
- For Amazon Ads, Sponsored Products and Sponsored Display campaigns are your go-to for cutting through the noise. Sponsored Products keep you visible in search results and on product detail pages, while Sponsored Display extends your reach to shoppers who’ve viewed similar items or need a timely reminder. Together, they help you capture both active search intent and browsing-stage buyers.
However, ads only drive traffic, it’s your product listings that convert. Refresh titles, imagery, and bullet points, and make use of A+ Content where possible. The stronger your listing, the higher your conversion rate, and the more efficient your ad spend will be.
Social: Capturing Attention Wherever It’s Given
It’s not enough to just be present, you have to earn attention, social ad exposure windows may shrink, so you’ll need big impact in fewer moments.
Meta (Facebook / Instagram)
- Use Advantage+/ASC (Advantage+ Sales Campaigns) to lean into automation and creative optimisation. These tools help you test many creative versions and let Meta’s algorithm find what resonates best. Perfect for a season when manual tweaking is harder and costs climb.
- Start retargeting earlier, not just during Black Friday. Warm audiences respond better to messaging built up over time, for instance getting your audience familiar with offers, highlighting free shipping, or making gift suggestions.
- Refresh ad creative regularly to combat fatigue. If it is possible within the bounds of your brand that you have, use nostalgia, festive tones, or humour, since consumers are telling us they prefer ads that evoke stronger emotion or story, rather than purely product-driven pitches.
Pinterest & Visual Discovery Platforms:
- Since many people begin gift-planning weeks (or even months) before the peak, platforms like Pinterest are excellent for catching early intent. Use mood boards, gift ideas, lifestyle shots to build inspiration early.
- Shoppable Pins or similar feed-based product resources help bridge the gap from inspiration to purchase. The more seamless the path from idea to cart, the better, especially as attention gets scarcer.
SEO & PR: Solid Foundations, Not Last-Minute Magic
While PPC and Social bring fast wins, SEO is more about ensuring nothing breaks under the Q4 surge. This isn’t the time to start brand-new campaigns, but you definitely should keep the engine running smoothly to support your paid strategies.
Technical SEO
- Check that site speed, mobile responsiveness, and checkout flow are all watertight. Even minor friction points can cost thousands in lost sales when traffic spikes.
- Seasonal landing pages like “Christmas Gifts for Him/Her” or “Black Friday Deals”, should already be live, indexed, and functioning correctly.
Digital PR
- Gift guide outreach remains one of the few PR activities that can still impact your season. Most journalists close Christmas content by October, so getting your products in front of them now can boost both referral traffic and backlinks.
- PR wins may not always give instant sales, but they improve visibility and credibility that supports your paid campaigns.
To wrap it all up
Q4 is fast, competitive, and unforgiving, but with the right preparation, it’s also an enormous opportunity. Paid channels like PPC and Social can deliver immediate impact, but only if your foundations - from site performance to seasonal landing pages to PR outreach - are rock solid.
Data and measurement are your compass. Make sure GA4, ad platform tracking, and cross-channel attribution are tested and accurate before campaigns go live. Define your benchmarks, ROAS, CPA, revenue targets, and customer splits, so you know exactly what success looks like. And stay agile, when you spot early wins, be ready to reallocate budget quickly to capitalise on momentum.
If you need support turning your Q4 strategy into results, our team can step in to help with PPC, Social, SEO, and PR, ensuring every pound of your marketing budget is working as hard as possible.