Holiday season readiness: Your brand's ultimate checklist for peak-season success
If you’ve started planning for the holiday peak season, you’re probably already focusing on the essentials like expanding your marketplace footprint and stocking up on best-sellers.
But what if the essentials are no longer good enough?
The biggest threat to your holiday revenue isn’t a competitor’s ad spend. Rather, it’s a fundamental shift in how customers search for, and discover, products.
According to a new survey of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers, nearly two-thirds say they now use AI assistants to research purchases — meaning they may decide what to buy outside of the traditional shopping journey.
If your brand and products aren’t optimized for this new era of agentic commerce, you’re essentially invisible.
Success this year requires a new strategy.
To help ensure your brand stays ahead, we’ve compiled this checklist to provide an essential framework to delivering your most lucrative holiday-shopping period yet.
1. Prepare for the AI-powered shopping revolution
The game has changed.
With nearly 60% of U.S. consumers now using AI tools to help them shop, your brand must be discoverable by AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity.
Visibility isn't just about SEO anymore — it's about Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
Master GEO with these essentials:
Rich product data: Ensure every listing has complete descriptions, specifications, high-quality images and accurate inventory.
Natural language content: Write product descriptions and FAQs that mirror how customers actually speak and ask questions.
Multichannel presence: Your products must appear across all relevant platforms where AI models can find them.
Authentic storytelling: Create genuine content based on real customer questions and experiences.
Trust signals: Build credibility through verified reviews, certifications and transparent policies.
Why it matters: AI assistants recommend brands that provide comprehensive, trustworthy information. If your brand isn't easily discoverable, you're invisible to AI-powered shoppers.
GEO is the new SEO, and early adopters who embrace both will dominate holiday discovery.
2. Expand your marketplace footprint
Diversification drives growth. The brands winning this holiday season aren't relying on a single channel — they're present everywhere their customers shop.
Strategic expansion priorities:
Audit current presence: Evaluate performance across existing marketplaces and identify top performers.
Fill the gaps: Launch on two or three new relevant marketplaces before peak season hits.
Optimize profiles: Update all marketplace storefronts with holiday messaging and seasonal visuals.
Cross-channel inventory: Implement unified inventory management to prevent overselling.
The payoff: Multichannel brands see significantly higher holiday sales and greater resilience against platform-specific issues. Plus, broader presence feeds the AI-discovery engine.
3. Scale your inventory strategy
Stockouts kill momentum. Nothing hurts holiday performance like running out of your bestsellers during peak demand.
Data-driven inventory planning can help you avoid stockouts. Here’s how you can get ahead this season:
Build adequate safety stock levels (commonly 50% of lead time demand) and increase overall inventory based on historical holiday performance data.
Create gift-focused bundles: Package products into attractive gift sets to boost average order value.
Plan for extended seasons: Core holiday shopping runs from November through December, but don't forget January's post-holiday opportunities for clearance sales and gift card redemptions and stock accordingly.
Monitor competitors: Track competitor pricing and availability to stay competitive.
Smart brands start early: Begin inventory buildup in September, not November. The brands that plan ahead capture the most sales when demand peaks.
4. Launch strategic marketing campaigns
The holiday shopping season is starting earlier each year. In fact, new research suggests that the number of shoppers starting their holiday shop in September is up 6% versus 2024 — so brands that get ahead of the curve are naturally set up to capture the most sales this season.
Follow these campaign timelines and tactics to get ahead:
October launch: Begin holiday campaigns in October across all channels — both your own sites and marketplace advertising (Amazon PPC, Walmart Connect, eBay Promoted Listings, etc.).
Review acceleration: Launch review-collection campaigns across all platforms to boost holiday credibility.
Marketplace-optimized content: Develop gift guides for your D2C channels while optimizing marketplace listings with holiday GEO optimized content.
Cross-platform email sequences: Create automated flows targeting customers from all channels, segmenting by marketplace vs. direct customers and purchase history.
The multiplier effect: Consistent early marketing builds momentum that compounds throughout the season. Brands that wait until Black Friday miss weeks of potential sales.
5. Centralize your marketplace operations
Fragmented operations kill efficiency. Managing multiple marketplaces manually creates chaos during peak season.
Centralization can help you avoid this chaos. These essentials will help you get started:
Unified order management: Centralize orders from all marketplaces into one dashboard to eliminate the chaos of platform-hopping during peak season.
Automated inventory synchronization: Connect all channels to prevent overselling and ensure real-time stock updates across every platform when inventory moves.
Integrated shipping solutions: Use connectors to link your centralized orders directly to your 3PL, shipping carriers or fulfillment centers for seamless processing.
Cross-channel listing management: Syndicate product information, pricing updates and promotional changes across all marketplaces from one central hub.
Consolidated analytics: Get unified reporting on performance, fees and profitability across all channels to make data-driven decisions quickly.
The efficiency multiplier: Exceptional holiday experiences turn seasonal shoppers into year-round customers. Invest in operational excellence now to maximize long-term growth.
Your holiday success formula: Start now, succeed later
The 2025 holiday season demands a new playbook.
With AI agents reshaping discovery and customers demanding seamless experiences across every touchpoint, the brands that will dominate are those that:
Optimize for AI discovery with rich product data and authentic content.
Expand strategically across multiple marketplaces.
Stock intelligently based on data and early demand signals.
Market consistently across all channels from October forward.
Operate efficiently through centralized marketplace management. The countdown to the holidays is accelerating.
Bookmark this checklist and use it to audit your current readiness across all five areas, identify gaps and execute the changes needed for your most successful holiday season yet.
To discover how Mirakl can help your brand maximize results this holiday peak season, contact us today.
