Amazon PPC Strategies to Keep Sales Rolling Through the Holidays

Story at a Glance 🎯

• December isn’t too late: Amazon’s Q4 2023 revenue surged to $170 billion, proving that shoppers are still buying gifts well into late December.🎄
• Focus on top-performing ASINs, not experiments, to protect margins amid high CPCs.💰
• Blend evergreen and gifting terms like “holiday deals,” “stocking stuffers,” and “last-minute gifts.”🔍
• Use dayparting and Marketing Stream to push bids during peak evening hours (7–10 PM).🕓
• Pair your PPC campaigns with coupons, Lightning Deals, and bundles to boost CTR and conversions.🎁
• Use festive imagery and copy like “Perfect for Christmas” or “Gift-ready packaging.”📸
• Capitalize on post-holiday buyers. Keep campaigns live after Christmas to capture gift card redeemers and clearance shoppers.🛒
• Start planning for Q1 growth. Early January is a prime time to pivot toward “New Year” products and maintain momentum.🚀

The holidays aren’t over yet, and neither are your opportunities to win sales on Amazon. While November’s rush may have passed, December is still one of the most profitable months for Amazon advertisers. With the right mix of PPC strategy, creative refreshes, and smart budget adjustments, you can maintain visibility, boost conversion rates, and clear out inventory even after the Christmas rush.

This guide breaks down the most effective Amazon PPC holiday strategies to help you finish Q4 strong and start the new year with momentum.

It’s Not Too Late: Why December Is Still a Prime Time for Amazon PPC

If you think you’ve missed the window, think again. December remains a high-converting period for eCommerce brands. In fact, Amazon recorded over $187.8 billion in Q4 revenue in 2024, a 10% year-over-year increase, largely fueled by holiday shopping spikes.

Shoppers continue browsing for last-minute gifts, stocking stuffers, and New Year essentials well into late December. And according to recent data from various experts campaigns that stay active after December 20 often see conversion rates 15 to 25% higher than those paused too early.

To capitalize, your Amazon PPC holiday strategy should focus on optimizing active campaigns, tightening creative messaging, and boosting budgets for high-performing ASINs.

Last-Minute PPC Tweaks to Capture Holiday Traffic

Even if you’re entering the season late, strategic adjustments can help you capture peak traffic before and after Christmas. Here’s how to keep your campaigns performing through the end of the year.

1. Focus on Proven ASINs, Not Experiments

Now isn’t the time to test new products. Concentrate your ad spend on ASINs with proven conversion data and healthy stock levels. Prioritizing top performers helps avoid wasting budget on low-performing listings during high-CPC periods, which can rise 30 to 60% in Q4.

Double-check that these listings are retail-ready. Optimized titles, clean images, and strong reviews are essential for maximizing PPC ROI during the final shopping push.

2. Leverage Auto Campaigns for Real-Time Search Trends

Consumer behavior changes rapidly in December. Shoppers use more conversational, gift-focused searches, such as “best gift for dad,” “under $50 gifts for coworkers”,  rather than product-specific keywords. Enable auto campaigns alongside your manual ones to capture these trend shifts in real time.

Use search term reports daily to identify new high-performing queries, then move them into exact-match campaigns to secure efficient placements. This dynamic approach helps your Amazon PPC holiday campaigns stay aligned with changing search intent.

3. Refresh Creatives for Gifting Intent

Visuals and copy that reflect the spirit of giving resonate far better during the holidays. Update your:

• Titles and bullets with keywords like “Perfect for Christmas,” “Gift-ready packaging,” or “Holiday essential.”
• Main images with subtle festive context (cozy lighting, wrapped boxes, or seasonal props).
• Video ads with short, emotionally engaging clips (15 to 30 seconds) showing the product as a thoughtful gift.

4. Adjust Budget and Timing

Don’t let your ads go dark midday. Increase daily budgets gradually (10 to 20% every few days) on your best-selling campaigns to prevent early spend depletion. Use Amazon Marketing Stream or dayparting tools to allocate more budget during peak shopping hours (7 to10 PM) when conversions tend to spike.

5. Pair Ads with Promotions

Combining PPC with promotions is one of the most powerful amazon advertising tips for the holidays. Here are some things to consider when planning for the holiday season:

• Coupons and Prime-exclusive discounts for visibility in search results.
• Lightning Deals or 7-day deals to drive urgency and boost CTR.
• Bundles or BOGO offers to increase average order value.

Ensure your ad creatives clearly display “Save X%” or “Holiday Deal” messaging to enhance click appeal.

6. Integrate Gifting and Holiday Keywords into Strategy

Your keyword mix should shift from generic to intent-based holiday queries. Blend evergreen keywords with festive variations such as:

• “Gift for him/her”
• “Christmas gift ideas”
• “Holiday deals” or “Stocking stuffers”
• “Fast delivery gifts”

Tools like Helium 10 and Jungle Scout can help you uncover seasonal keyword surges and eliminate terms suffering from seasonal keyword decay. Keeping your campaigns agile ensures your ads continue performing even as trends shift week to week.

Key Shopping Windows Left Before the Year Ends

Source: Adobe Stock

Understanding when shoppers are most active allows you to time your campaigns for maximum ROI. These final weeks of the year bring unique buying behaviors: from frantic last-minute shoppers to post-holiday bargain hunters. Adjusting your bids, creatives, and targeting according to each phase ensures that your Amazon PPC holiday strategy stays effective right through the New Year.

• 🎄 December 10 to 24: Christmas Rush

This is the peak period for gift-buying and fast-shipping urgency. Last-minute Prime buyers drive major volume. Ensure your listings highlight “Fast delivery” or “Arrives before Christmas.” Emphasize scarcity and guaranteed shipping dates in your ad copy to capture high-intent shoppers.

• 🎁 December 26 to January 5: Post-Christmas Clearance

Don’t pause ads here. Many shoppers use gift cards or exchanges, offering a fresh conversion opportunity. Run clearance promotions and remarketing campaigns to attract these buyers who are still in a spending mindset.

• ✨ Early January: “New Year, New Me” Cycle

After the holidays, search interest pivots toward personal goals—fitness, self-care, organization, and productivity. Reallocate budget toward these evergreen categories and tailor your messaging to reflect motivation, renewal, and lifestyle improvement.

Common Mistakes To Avoid During the Holiday Season

Even experienced sellers make costly errors during the final stretch. Avoid these pitfalls to preserve profitability and momentum.

Overspending on Untested Keywords

New keywords may look appealing but often lack conversion data. Focus instead on historically profitable search terms from your prior campaigns, adjusting bids only after reviewing real-time ACoS and conversion rates. Remember: Amazon CPCs can spike up to 20% higher on Black Friday and remain elevated through December.

To help you understand the importance of testing keywords, here’s a scenario that one of our clients experienced. A lifestyle accessories brand overspent on holiday-themed keywords like “stocking stuffer ideas” without prior performance data. After beBOLD’s audit, they reallocated 40% of their budget to proven evergreen terms such as “eco-friendly tote bag.” Within a week, ACoS dropped from 42% to 25%, and daily revenue rose by 18%.

Neglecting Listing Optimization

An optimized listing is your foundation for ad success. Missing alt-text, low-quality images, or generic titles can lower your conversion rate, even with great ads. Audit your top listings weekly, especially your mobile experience, since more than 70% of Amazon shoppers browse via mobile during peak season.

Here’s why listing optimization is crucial during the holidays: A beauty brand noticed declining conversions despite strong traffic. beBOLD refreshed their main images, added holiday-infused bullet points, and rewrote titles to emphasize “Perfect Holiday Gift.” The result? CTR improved by 32% and conversions doubled within 10 days.

Similarly, in beBOLD’s Henkel Professional Beauty case study, strategic listing and ad optimizations drove 30% growth while reducing ad spend, proving how small adjustments can unlock major efficiency gains during peak periods.

Forgetting Post-Holiday Ad Transitions

After Christmas, don’t pause all your campaigns. Transition your focus toward:

• Gift card spenders and clearance buyers
• “New Year” search terms
• Retargeting audiences who clicked but didn’t convert

January often delivers some of the most efficient ACoS metrics due to reduced competition and ongoing buyer intent.

For example, a fitness equipment brand nearly halted campaigns after Christmas. beBOLD advised pivoting to “New Year fitness goals” keywords and targeting gift card users. The shift generated a 35% sales bump in January and built momentum for Q1.

Cutting Budgets Too Early in January

While many brands scale back, smart advertisers keep momentum going. Adspert’s 2022 report showed that conversion rates jumped 24% in December and remained strong into early January. Sustaining your campaigns helps maintain ranking authority and clear slow-moving inventory at profitable levels.

Here’s an example on how cutting budgets can affect your performance: a pet supply seller reduced ad spend by 60% after December 25, leading to a ranking drop from page 1 to page 3. Once beBOLD reinstated strategic budgets with a clearance sale, the client recovered rankings and cleared 80% of remaining stock while maintaining a 28% profit margin.

Turn Seasonal Traffic Into Long-Term Profitability with beBOLD Digital

It’s not too late to make your Amazon PPC holiday strategy a success. December offers more than just a final sales push. It’s your bridge into Q1 growth. With the right combination of targeted campaigns, optimized listings, and agile budget control, you can finish the year strong and set the tone for 2026.  If you want your brand to stay visible when it matters the most, schedule a call with beBOLD Digital today. Our experts build custom Amazon PPC holiday strategies that include:

• Data-driven keyword and bid management
• DSP retargeting for past visitors and cart abandoners
• Creative refreshes aligned with gifting intent
• Performance monitoring to keep ROAS strong during Q4 peaks

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it too late to run Amazon PPC for Christmas?

Not at all. It’s definitely not too late to run Amazon PPC campaigns for Christmas. Many shoppers continue buying well into mid and even late December. The key is to focus your ads on fast-shipping ASINs and gift-related keywords to capture those last-minute buyers.

However, holiday ads generally perform best when launched early. This helps you build momentum, gather data, and optimize performance before the peak shopping rush hits.

How can I recover if I missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

Shift focus to last-minute gift shoppers and post-holiday buyers. Optimize listings for “gift,” “fast delivery,” and “holiday deal” queries to capture December traffic.

What’s the best budget strategy for December ads?

Prioritize your best-selling ASINs, raise bids gradually, and monitor performance daily. Reallocate funds to campaigns with high conversion rates.

Should I still run ads after Christmas?

Yes. Shoppers redeem gift cards, make exchanges, and buy clearance items after December 25. Continue running campaigns into January to sustain sales and brand awareness.

How do I retarget shoppers who visited my listing earlier?

Use Sponsored Display or DSP campaigns to re-engage past visitors. Highlight urgency (“Ends Soon”) or “New Year Specials” to convert undecided shoppers.