87% of shopping occasions end in a purchase during Q5.
If that number doesn’t make you reconsider your post-Christmas ad spend, nothing will.
“Q5” is the unofficial name for the period between December 26 and mid-January—the weeks after the holidays when most businesses assume shopping is over. It’s not. According to Google’s data, this window sees more purchase completion than almost any other time of year.
The difference? Shoppers aren’t buying for others. They’re buying for themselves.
They’ve got gift cards burning holes in their pockets. Holiday bonuses just hit. And after weeks of buying for everyone else, they’re finally ready to click “purchase” on the things they actually want. Meanwhile, most businesses have paused their campaigns, assuming the season is over.
That gap between consumer intent and advertiser presence is where Q5 opportunity lives.
What Makes Q5 Different
Q5 shoppers behave differently than holiday shoppers:
High intent: 87% of shopping occasions end in purchase, compared to 50-60% during browsing-heavy periods earlier in the season.
Self-gifting mindset: Gift cards don’t feel like “real money.” Holiday bonuses feel like windfalls. The psychological barriers to purchasing drop significantly.
Deal expectations: Post-Christmas clearance conditioning means shoppers expect discounts—but they’re also ready to buy, not just browse.
Research already done: Many Q5 purchasers spent November and December researching. They know what they want. They just didn’t buy it yet.
The businesses that win Q5 aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones who showed up when everyone else went home.
What We’ve Seen With Our Clients
Last Q5, one of our e-commerce clients in the outdoor recreation space maintained their Google Ads presence while competitors went dark. The results:
- Cost-per-click dropped 23% compared to December 15-24
- Conversion rate increased from 2.8% to 4.1%
- January revenue exceeded December despite 40% lower ad spend
The key wasn’t spending more—it was spending consistently when others stopped. Their remarketing audiences, built from November and December browsers, converted at nearly double the rate of cold traffic.
What Aritzia Got Right
Canadian fashion retailer Aritzia faced a challenge familiar to any growing brand: how do you break into a competitive market without burning cash on inefficient advertising?
Their answer was counterintuitive. Instead of going all-in on the Black Friday-to-Christmas frenzy and then disappearing, they built a strategy that extended through Q5.
The tactics:
- Local inventory ads connected their physical store inventory to Google Ads, showing shoppers exactly what was available nearby. This captured the “research online, buy in-store” behavior that dominates Q5.
- Performance Max campaigns let Google’s AI allocate budget across Search, Shopping, YouTube, and Display based on real-time performance rather than manual channel management.
- Always-on presence through Q5 meant they were visible when competitors went dark.
The results: 55% lift in holiday demand. 42% growth in e-commerce revenue. Their strongest holiday performance ever.
Aritzia’s results are impressive—but they’re also a well-funded retail brand with dedicated e-commerce teams. For smaller businesses, the lesson isn’t “do exactly what Aritzia did.” It’s “don’t disappear when your competitors do.”
The Technical Side: What Actually Matters
Feed Management
Q5 success requires accurate, real-time product data. Nothing kills conversion like “in stock” ads for out-of-stock products.
Your product feed needs:
- Inventory accuracy: Update at least daily, ideally in real-time. Overselling destroys trust.
- Price accuracy: Post-Christmas sales mean price changes. Stale feeds show wrong prices, wasting clicks.
- Sale attributes configured: Google Merchant Center supports
sale_priceandsale_price_effective_date. Use them.
<item>
<g:id>SKU-12345</g:id>
<g:title>Winter Jacket - Black</g:title>
<g:price>298.00 CAD</g:price>
<g:sale_price>199.00 CAD</g:sale_price>
<g:sale_price_effective_date>2025-12-26T00:00:00-07:00/2026-01-15T23:59:59-07:00</g:sale_price_effective_date>
<g:availability>in_stock</g:availability>
</item>If you’re running Google Shopping campaigns and your feed isn’t configured for Q5 pricing, you’re either showing outdated prices or missing sale annotations that drive clicks.
Audience Signals
Q5 shoppers are different from holiday shoppers. Your targeting should reflect this.
Cart abandoners from November/December: They researched but didn’t buy. Now they’re ready. Create a custom audience of users who viewed product pages or added to cart but didn’t purchase. These aren’t cold prospects—they’re warm leads with holiday cash.
Past purchasers: Someone who bought from you in Q4 is primed to buy again, especially if you’re running clearance on complementary products.
Self-reward messaging: Shift your ad copy from gift-giving to self-gifting. “You spent all season giving. Time to get something for yourself.”
Budget Pacing
If you’re running Performance Max or any automated bidding strategy, remember that the algorithm needs time to learn. Turning campaigns off on December 25 and back on December 27 resets the learning phase. You’ll spend the first few days of Q5 in inefficient “learning” mode while competitors with continuous campaigns capture the demand.
Reduce budgets if you need to. But maintain continuity.
The Case For Q5 Investment
1. Lower CPCs. Many competitors reduce spend after Christmas. Less competition means lower cost per click for the same inventory.
2. Higher conversion rates. That 87% purchase completion rate speaks for itself. You’re advertising to buyers, not browsers.
3. New customer acquisition. People flush with gift money are willing to try new brands. Q5 is discovery season.
4. Inventory clearance. Move holiday stock before it becomes dead weight eating warehouse space.
5. Q1 momentum. Starting the year with strong sales sets the tone for budget allocation and team morale.
The Honest Caveats
1. Margin pressure. Q5 is deal-driven. If you’re discounting heavily, volume gains may not translate to profit. Know your margins before you scale.
2. Return surge. Q5 is also return season. High sales volume can be offset by high return rates, especially in apparel. Factor return logistics and costs into your planning.
3. Inventory risk. Advertising products you can’t fulfill damages reputation and wastes spend. Q5 requires operational readiness, not just ad budgets.
4. Team capacity. Your team is exhausted from the holiday push. Q5 effort requires either pre-planning or bringing in help. Don’t assume you can “just keep going.”
5. Not all industries benefit equally. Q5 is strongest for retail, fashion, electronics, and home goods. Service businesses see less dramatic lift—though “new year, new [service]” positioning can still work.
If You’re Reading This in December 2025
Q5 is happening right now. Here’s what to do immediately:
1. Don’t pause your campaigns. If they’re already paused, unpause them. Reduce budgets if cash flow is tight, but maintain presence.
2. Update your ad copy. Shift messaging from “perfect gift” to “treat yourself” and “new year, fresh start.”
3. Audit your feed. Check that prices and inventory are accurate. Run a Merchant Center diagnostics check for errors.
4. Launch remarketing. If you haven’t already, create audiences from your November/December site visitors and target them specifically.
5. Check your budget pacing. If you’re running automated bidding, make sure you haven’t set end dates that kill campaigns on December 25.
Planning for Q5 2026
If you’re reading this after Q5 2025 has passed—or if you want to do this properly next year:
October: Build Q5 audiences. Start collecting site visitors, cart abandoners, and email subscribers who will become your Q5 remarketing pool.
November: Calendar dedicated Q5 budget. Don’t let it get absorbed into “Q4” or “Q1.” Treat it as its own mini-season.
Early December: Prepare Q5 creative. Self-gifting messaging, clearance announcements, “new year” positioning—have it ready before the holiday rush consumes your team.
December 20-25: Brief your team (or agency). Everyone should know that campaigns continue through Q5 and what the goals are.
December 26: Execute. Monitor performance daily. Q5 moves fast.
The Window Is Open
December 26 isn’t the end of shopping. It’s the beginning of a three-week window where customers are more ready to buy than any other time of year.
Most businesses will pause their campaigns, assume the season is over, and wait for January planning meetings to think about advertising again. Their customers will still be searching. They’ll just find someone else.
The only question is whether you’ll be there when they search.
If your campaigns are paused, unpause them. If your feeds are stale, update them. If you need help making Q5 work for your business, reach out—we’ve been through this cycle with clients before and know what actually moves the needle.
Sources:
- Think with Google — Q5 Strategy
- Google Merchant Center Help
- Performance Max Campaigns — Google Ads Help
Written by Peter Jaffray, Google Ads certified specialist with 10+ years managing e-commerce and retail campaigns. Last updated December 2025.
Related: Conversational Search Is Here — Is Your Schema Ready? — Make sure Google understands your products before you advertise them.