Powering Peak Performance

With Peak 2025 fast approaching, and shoppers ready to spend more than ever, brands and agencies need to make sure they’re prepared. By focusing on purchasing trends, consumer behaviours, and marketing strategies, brands can take control of their peak period and increase sales.

Our newest white paper – Powering Peak Performance – is based on team Productcaster’s decades of experience in online retail and provides marketers with the tools they need to get ahead of the competition as we enter Q4.

Read our summary below or download the full white paper.

The Current State of Retail

2025 has seen a return to form for the online retail space, but a difficult year for the UK economy means retailers still face an uphill battle.

• There’s optimism around Peak 2025 as online retail has outperformed in-store revenue for the first time since the pandemic.
• However, inflation and the Consumer Price Index have been rising across the UK and Europe.
• Consumers are also preferring to invest their money in banks and savings accounts, rather than spending excess earnings.
• However, product sales are consistent with previous years, meaning there are opportunities to raise AOVs through increasing customer spend.
• Brand building is vital for peak retail as customers are more considerate about where they’re spending their money – the use of comparison shopping services (CSS) continues to rise as consumers shop around more before buying.

What to Expect for Peak 2025

With Black Friday falling later this year (28th November), there are fewer shopping days before Christmas – this means marketers must take advantage of some less conventional shopping peaks over the festive period.

Days to target for Peak 2025

• Deals start earlier: Discounts are likely to start much earlier as consumers start looking for products long before they plan to purchase.
• Amazon Big Deals Day: Demand begins with Amazon Big Deals Day on 7-8th Oct. This event brings a rise in clicks for retailers, but CPC costs are still down compared to Black Friday.
• Singles’ Day: 11th November is becoming a more important event on the Peak calendar, with many deals running from this date all the way to Cyber Monday.
• Fake Friday: The Friday before Black Friday saw 85% of Black Friday’s demand in 2024.
• Deals beyond Black Friday: The weekends before and after Black Friday are vital for retailers as we see customers continue to shop for deals.
• Super Saturday: The Saturday before Christmas is becoming an increasingly busy day as customers squeeze in their last-minute shopping.

The Customer Mindset Around Peak

• Products, not brands – Customers are no longer shopping with specific brands in mind, and instead, focusing on products and promotions.
• AI shopping – AI has changed how we search, and how we shop – consumers are now shifting from keywords to a more flexible, conversational approach.
• Trading down – Second-hand products and trading down have become more popular among younger shoppers as value and convenience are prioritised.
• Comparison shopping – We’ve seen a 5% increase year-on-year in comparison query searches.
• Loyalty programmes – Half of consumers shop with brands they have existing loyalty programmes with.

Our Top Tips for Peak

Target the Right Customers

• Tie into customer mindsets, intents and interests to drive active decision making.
• Consumers are always on – brand visibility across all channels is key.
• 70% of users will buy from a brand they haven’t used before which means acquisition is vital for Peak.
• Make it clear when promos and events are happening in advance to drive traffic at the right time.

Optimise Your Content

• Images and videos are essential for storytelling, capturing seasonal messaging, and brand awareness.
• Social media and online advertising are key in spreading awareness of promotions.
• Align paid advertisements with web content to create a cohesive user experience.
• Make sure your deals are front-and-centre – 50% of shoppers are likely to notice deals shared on social media.

Test your Feed

• Use catch-all and zombie campaigns to test your campaigns and boost reach – it’s never too late to optimise your feed before going live.
• Search is multi-modal and AI-powered – meet intent with intuitive, real-time cross-platform responses to efficiently convert customers.
• A quarter of shoppers make their purchase during major sales events; however, you can boost your performance today, while CPCs are cheaper, to maximise ROI.

Review Targets

• Ensure your business goals are aligned across channels – use real time data to inform and amend strategies.
• Shopping is now seamless and non-linear which means frictionless buying is essential across multiple digital touchpoints.

What Can Productcaster Do for You?

Using a CSS such as Productcaster is a great way to access cheaper CPCs, increase ROI and visibility. However, the full suite of Productcaster products can do so much more to power your Peak.

• Productcaster CSS is the all-in-one premium CSS solution – offering additional support with campaigns and advanced support from Google for best-in-class service.
• ProductMaximiser allows you to recover revenue lost from low performers by identifying gaps in performance through SKU-level analysis and automated dashboards to unearth hidden insights.
• FeedManager powers performance through enhancing the relevancy of your product data, both automatically and manually – maximising visibility.
• ProductTester helps you know which optimisations work and drive higher CTR by identifying what works well through rapid testing and analysis.

To find out even more about how to power your performance this peak: check out the full white paper.

Or if you’re ready to start your Productcaster journey today, get in touch with the team at info@productcaster.com and find out how Productcaster can save you up to 20% on your CPCs, and so much more.