How Advertisers Are Spending Their Paid Media Budgets This Holiday Season (2025 Trends)

The 2025 holiday season is shaping up to be one of the most competitive paid media environments in years, and brands are adjusting their budgets accordingly. With rising CPMs, higher consumer expectations, and increased pressure to show measurable ROI, advertisers are shifting how they allocate dollars across Meta, Google, TikTok, and programmatic channels. This season, the strongest strategy is clear: optimize budgets early, lean into automation, and invest heavily in creative testing.

One of the biggest holiday trends in paid media is the move toward front-loaded spending. Rather than pushing the majority of dollars in mid-December, advertisers are spreading spend earlier into November to capture peak discovery moments before auction prices hit their highest levels. This shift allows brands to warm audiences sooner, build stronger remarketing lists, and lower overall acquisition costs before the holiday rush peaks.

Another major change this year is the heavy investment in AI-driven campaign structures. Brands are using Meta Advantage+, Google Performance Max, and TikTok Smart Performance Campaigns more than ever. These automated systems allow advertisers to scale faster, reach broader audiences, and adapt to real-time auction trends—key advantages during a competitive season. The brands seeing the best results are giving algorithms more room to optimize by reducing manual targeting, eliminating unnecessary audience layers, and consolidating campaigns.

Creative testing is also playing a huge role in how budgets are being spent. With holiday content quickly saturating feeds, advertisers are allocating more dollars toward creative diversification, including UGC-style videos, hyper-seasonal offers, micro-content variations, and AI-enhanced visuals. High-performing brands are testing multiple hooks, formats, and message angles each week to maintain relevance and push algorithmic efficiency. Creative volume is no longer optional—it’s one of the biggest performance drivers of the season.

Retention marketing is another critical priority. As acquisition costs rise, advertisers are increasing spend on remarketing, email-sms warm audiences, and loyalty campaigns designed to boost lifetime value. Brands are also using paid media to reinforce existing relationships by promoting seasonal bundles, gift guides, early access offers, and subscriber-only discounts. This shift reflects a broader trend: holiday success in 2025 isn’t just about new customers—it’s about keeping existing ones engaged.

Cross-platform diversification is also shaping paid media budgets this year. While Meta continues to dominate holiday advertising, we’re seeing more investment in TikTok Spark Ads, YouTube Shorts, and shoppable Google placements as brands chase high-intent audiences across multiple touchpoints. The strongest holiday strategies combine discovery, engagement, and conversion in a seamless multi-platform funnel.

As we move deeper into the 2025 holiday season, advertisers who adapt quickly—embracing automation, testing aggressively, and maximizing warm audiences—will see the greatest return on their paid media budgets. With smart planning and strategic execution, brands can cut through the noise, outperform competitors, and finish the year with strong, profitable results.