December 26th. Your competitors are switching off their ads, convinced the shopping season is over. Meanwhile, the smartest ecommerce brands are just getting started.
Welcome to Q5—the unofficial “fifth quarter” running from Boxing Day through mid-January. It’s the period most brands completely ignore, and that’s exactly why it’s one of the most profitable opportunities of the year.
The Economics Are Irresistible
Whilst everyone else celebrates the end of peak season, Q5 offers a rare combination that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the calendar:
Ad Costs Plummet: During peak season, Meta CPMs spiked to $17.70 on Cyber Monday—138% above the annual average. In January 2025, TikTok ads cost just £4.20 CPM. Some brands report reducing CPM by 35% during Q5 whilst maintaining conversion rates.
Competition Evaporates: All those brands fighting for ad inventory in November? They’ve spent their budgets and gone dark. You’re not competing with 50 other brands in the same feed anymore.
Consumers Are Ready to Spend: According to the National Retail Federation, 70% of holiday shoppers plan to shop the week after Christmas. They’re armed with gift cards, return credit, and the time to actually browse.
Do the maths: 35-50% lower costs plus similar conversion rates equals dramatically better customer acquisition economics.
Who’s Actually Shopping in Q5?
Q5 isn’t a dead zone—it’s a different shopping psychology:
- Gift card holders with money burning holes in their pockets (and most spend within weeks)
- Self-gifters treating themselves after weeks of buying for others
- Return exchangers who know exactly what they want now
- Resolution shoppers investing in New Year goals
- Bargain hunters expecting January sales but with less time pressure than Black Friday
And let’s not forget Boxing Day and post-Christmas sales—people are still on the lookout for bargains in key categories like white goods, electronics, and home essentials, making this window especially lucrative for brands ready to meet that demand.
These aren’t casual browsers—they’re ready-to-buy customers with specific intent and available budget.
What Actually Works in Q5
- Target Gift Card Holders Aggressively Create “Spend Your Gift Card Here” landing pages and offer bonus value (£50 gift card gets £55 worth). These are pre-qualified buyers with deadlines.
- Turn Returns into Revenue Offer 10-15% bonus store credit for returns instead of refunds. Brands using this see 35% higher exchange rates. Make exchanges frictionless and suggest better alternatives.
- Leverage Retargeting Gold Your retargeting audiences are massive after Q4. Everyone who browsed but didn’t buy during peak season is now ready without the pressure and competition.
- Reframe Your Messaging Drop the tired “New Year, New You” clichés. Focus on fresh starts, treating yourself, and making gift cards go further. Clearance becomes “New Collection Launch” or “Winter Refresh.”
- Stay Consistent Social media becomes more lucrative during this “quiet” time, when shoppers are actively spending (even whilst horizontal on the couch) and ad inventory is less competitive. Don’t go dark—reduce spend but maintain presence.
Channel-Specific Tactics
Meta: Aggressive retargeting of Q4 browsers, lookalike audiences from gift card purchasers, user-generated content from gift recipients.
TikTok: “What I got vs what I exchanged it for” content, behind-the-scenes brand stories, challenges whilst competition is low.
Google: Bid up on high-intent keywords now that competition has decreased, create gift card-specific landing pages.
Email: Your list is massive post-Q4 and inbox competition is minimal. Segment aggressively and email 2-3x weekly.
The Budget Allocation Strategy
Here’s where most brands get it wrong: they see Q5 as “leftover budget” territory.
Reserve 15-20% of your Q4 budget specifically for Q5. If you’re spending £50,000 in November-December, allocate £7,500-10,000 for late December through mid-January.
Better yet, front-load Q1 budget into Q5 when costs are lower and consumer intent is higher. Calculate based on efficiency, not volume.
Three Critical Mistakes to Avoid
Going Dark Post-Boxing Day: The brands that disappear lose massive ground. Consistent presence beats high volume.
Using Tired Q4 Creative: Your November creative is stale by January. Fresh creative acknowledging the new year performs significantly better.
Ignoring the Data: Survey data shows 92% of customers intend to keep shopping into Q5. They’re exchanging and returning gifts for what they actually want. Meet them there.
Why This Matters Now
Q5 remains relatively unknown to most ecommerce businesses. That’s your advantage—for now.
As this trend continues, expect brands to rethink their ad budget allocations, distributing spend more strategically throughout the year instead of over-investing in traditional peak periods.
In three years, Q5 won’t be an opportunity—it’ll be standard practice. The platforms are already pushing it because they’ve seen the data. Smart brands are already building it into annual strategies.
The question isn’t whether Q5 will become crowded. It’s whether you’ll establish your position before everyone else figures it out.
Your Q5 Checklist
Before Boxing Day:
- Reserve Q5 budget (don’t wait to see what’s left)
- Create fresh creative for January
- Build gift card-specific landing pages
- Set up return/exchange bonus offers
- Schedule ads to begin December 26th
During Q5:
- Monitor daily and adjust based on gift card/return behaviour
- Test new audiences whilst costs are low
- Maintain consistent email presence
- Capture learnings for next year
The Bottom Line:
Whilst your competitors celebrate the end of peak season, you should be doubling down on the period offering 35-50% lower acquisition costs, ready-to-buy customers, and dramatically reduced competition.
Q5 doesn’t officially exist. But the businesses that treat it like a real quarter—with real budget, real strategy, and real commitment—consistently outperform those that don’t.
The quarter that doesn’t exist might just be the most important one you’re ignoring.
Ready to dominate Q5 whilst your competitors take January off? Our team develops comprehensive strategies that capture every opportunity—including the ones others miss. Let’s discuss how to make Q5 your secret weapon.
