Despite lingering inflation and economic caution, the 2025 holiday shopping season is on track to deliver solid growth—though at a more moderate pace. According to Deloitte, retail sales are expected to climb 2.3–3.3% versus last year, reaching between $1.58 and $1.59 trillion. E‑commerce remains a key growth engine, projected to increase 7–9%, with online sales nearing $289–$294 billion.
Notably, Deloitte’s 2025 Retail Holiday Buyer Survey found buyers anticipating average holiday sales growth of 4.5%, reflecting cautious optimism among industry insiders.
AI is also reshaping holiday commerce: Salesforce predicts AI will drive $260 billion in global online sales and a staggering $1.6 trillion in in‑store sales during the 2025 holiday season. That’s a powerful case for blending digital and physical campaigns this year.
Connecting With Holiday Shoppers Using OOH Advertising
Even in today’s digital‑first world, most holiday purchases still happen in stores, which is why OOH holiday advertising remains one of the most powerful ways to capture attention at the point of purchase. Consumers are actively traveling to malls, shopping centers, and big‑box retailers—creating key moments to influence decisions with out‑of‑home ads. From billboards to in‑mall displays, placing your brand in these high‑traffic zones keeps it top‑of‑mind as shoppers enter the point of sale.
Here are three of our top‑performing OOH advertising options to maximize your holiday marketing impact in 2025:
Holiday Marketing Trends 2025
Place this section right after the opening intro to frame the rest of the page. These are the
holiday shopping trends 2025 shaping smart holiday marketing strategies 2025 across OOH and digital:
- AI‑powered personalization at scale: Retailers are using AI to tailor product
recommendations, creative, and offers by audience and moment. Mirror this in your
digital holiday campaigns with dynamic copy and creative swaps tied to intent signals. - Hybrid shopping journeys: Click‑to‑collect and same‑day delivery keep rising. Connect
OOH holiday advertising to mobile with QR codes, store locators, and geotargeted reminders near
malls and big‑box retailers. - Value + premium “treat” bundles: Shoppers are price‑sensitive but still trade up for gifts.
Test tiered offers (good/better/best) and limited holiday bundles to lift AOV. - BNPL and flexible payments: “Buy Now, Pay Later” continues to influence conversion. Surface
payment options clearly in creative and landing pages to reduce drop‑off. - Sustainability signals: Eco‑friendly packaging and responsible sourcing messages improve
consideration with Gen Z and Millennials—highlight these proof points in short, bold copy. - Short‑form video & creators: Reels/TikTok‑style assets drive discovery and social proof.
Repurpose creator content on CTV/YouTube for efficient reach.
Pro move: Plan creative systems (static, digital, short‑form video) that share one core message,
then tailor the CTA by placement—brand lift from OOH, drive‑to‑store locally, and promo‑led conversions online.
Billboards
We have to start with the classic. Billboards remain one of the most powerful ways to reach holiday shoppers—big, bold, and impossible to ignore. Their sheer scale and visibility mean your message gets noticed, and noticed often. A Nielsen report found that over 90% of people notice billboards, with four in five recalling one within the past week. That’s an exceptional level of audience reach for any medium.
One of the billboard’s biggest strengths is location flexibility. Inventory is available almost anywhere, from busy commuter routes to right outside key shopping destinations. Placing billboards near malls, retail centers, or big-box stores keeps your product top of mind as shoppers head toward the point of purchase.
Billboards also offer unmatched messaging versatility. For holiday campaigns, that could mean spotlighting a seasonal deal with a QR code that links to an exclusive discount—or simply building brand awareness so your name is fresh in the shopper’s mind when they see your product in-store. Whether you’re driving urgency for a limited-time offer or cementing long-term recognition, billboards deliver results throughout the holiday season and beyond.
Wild Posting®
Wild Posting®—a proprietary format of papering posters across walls, barricades, and other high-traffic spaces—remains one of the most immersive ways to advertise during the holiday rush. With the right placement, you can quite literally own a city block, saturating the environment so thoroughly that shoppers can’t help but notice your message multiple times in a single trip.
For the holiday season, Wild Posting® can also serve as a direct driver of sales by including incentives right on the posters. Examples include:
- Adding a QR code for a limited-time holiday coupon
- Driving traffic to a seasonal landing page
- Offering an in-store discount when customers mention the poster
With the right creative, Wild Posting® becomes more than just an attention-grabber—it’s a holiday conversion tool that works 24/7 in the busiest shopping corridors.
In-Mall Ads
Malls remain a cornerstone of the holiday shopping experience—especially for younger shoppers. Half of Gen Z say they plan to shop at the mall this holiday season—well above the overall 40.8% average across all age groups. This is a prime opportunity to connect with a high-value demographic still shaping their brand loyalties and spending habits for decades to come.
Mall advertising comes in many forms. The classics still work—static posters, banners, and placements in digital ad networks—but 2025 calls for more immersive, interactive approaches. Beyond the basics, consider:
- Deploying brand ambassadors with free samples or exclusive holiday coupons
- Launching an experiential pop-up that doubles as a social media photo opp
- Using floor decals or stencils to create a path leading shoppers to your store
- Installing ceiling-hung sky banners for high-visibility messaging
- Wrapping ads around elevators or escalators for unavoidable exposure
- Placing eye-catching standalone backlit displays throughout high-traffic areas
When done right, in-mall advertising isn’t just seen—it’s experienced, remembered, and shared, making it one of the most powerful holiday-season OOH tactics.
Connecting With Holiday Shoppers Using Digital Advertising
While e-commerce still represents a smaller share of total holiday sales compared to brick-and-mortar, its growth remains unstoppable, creating massive opportunities for brands running digital holiday campaigns to influence buying decisions before customers even leave their homes. Shoppers are increasingly blending online and in-store journeys, researching products digitally before buying in person, or ordering online for same-day pickup.
Reaching consumers where they spend time online ensures your brand stays top-of-mind at the moment of decision—mirroring the strategic advantage of outdoor advertising.
Here are four of our top digital advertising tactics for maximizing holiday season impact in 2025.
Social
Well, duh. The average person now spends roughly 2.5 hours per day scrolling through social media — and for younger audiences, that number pushes closer to three hours. If they’re online, chances are they’re on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, or the latest breakout platform.
That screen time makes social a prime space to target holiday shoppers. The ad algorithms have only gotten sharper in 2025, letting you pinpoint audiences based on hyper-specific interests, seasonal shopping intent, and even recent engagement behaviors — meaning you can serve the right creative at exactly the right moment.
Google Shopping Ads
Think of these as the online equivalent of in-mall advertising — you’re reaching shoppers right at the moment of purchase intent. These ads surface when someone is actively searching for a product you sell, and they’re designed to showcase the most relevant offer based on the user’s search behavior.
In 2025, Google Shopping Ads have become even more dynamic, with smarter AI-driven product recommendations and richer visuals (including 3D product views) that increase click-through rates. They can also appear alongside your text ads, creating more on-screen real estate for your brand and significantly boosting performance.
Display
You might compare online display ads to billboards — they’re everywhere, highly visible, and flexible in creative execution. In 2025, new targeting tools and AI-driven audience segmentation make it easier than ever to get your message in front of the right people, right when they’re most receptive.
While a strong call to action is still essential for driving clicks, modern display formats also allow for interactive elements, dynamic holiday-themed animations, and personalized messaging. That means you can use them for direct conversions or simply to keep your brand top of mind throughout the holiday season.
Video
You can buy video advertising across a wide range of platforms — from YouTube and streaming services to TikTok, Instagram Reels, and connected TV — reaching audiences during their downtime as they scroll or binge content. In 2025, advanced targeting and shoppable video formats make it even easier to turn viewers into buyers in just a few taps.
You can keep production simple with user-generated-style clips or go all out with polished, high-concept creative. Either way, it works — 84% of people say a video ad has convinced them to make a purchase.
Interested in pursuing any or all of these ad formats? Get in touch with us today to create data-driven holiday marketing strategies 2025 that integrate OOH holiday advertising and digital holiday campaigns for maximum seasonal impact.