Brands Told to Move Seasonal Media Spend Earlier as Shopping Journeys Shift

Back-to-school buying clusters around August and September, while holiday shopping lands mainly in November and December. Those tentpole windows are among retail's most predictable demand cycles, but many brands still approach them as a last-minute sprint rather than a long-term strategy.

The result is familiar: budgets are activated only weeks ahead of peak shopping, creative is pushed into market in a hurry, and campaigns are optimized after consumers have already started purchasing. By that point, the most valuable window has often closed.

Shoppers have become more methodical. They research products, compare prices and read reviews on news sites and forums before committing. By the time advertisers sharply increase spend, many consumers have already narrowed their options or completed a purchase.

Justin Jefferson, vice president of strategy and insights at Keen Decision Systems, points to a broader pattern: marketers tend to allocate budgets around the moment they want sales to happen, rather than around when the purchase journey actually begins. Investing sooner and reacting to evolving consumer signals, he argues, lets brands influence consideration, build momentum and capture demand before competition intensifies.

Seasonal demand may follow familiar patterns, but the route consumers take to a purchase keeps changing. Shoppers squeezed by rising inflation and a slowing economy may spend less or switch to a different product, while those dissatisfied with last year's choice may go looking for alternatives.