Omnichannel Holiday Shopping: 4 Strategies Advertisers Can’t Ignore in 2026

This post was originally published in 2024 and updated for 2026 with new stats and recommendations.

Shoppers Aren’t Staying in One Lane

Holiday shopping in 2025 is a moving target. A single purchase might start with a TikTok video, move into an AI chat for recommendations, shift to Amazon for a price check, and end with a click-and-collect pickup at a local store. More than 70 percent of shoppers now say they regularly move between online and offline touchpoints when buying holiday gifts.

That kind of behavior makes it clear: advertisers can’t afford to think in silos. A strong holiday campaign has to connect the dots between channels — and make the experience feel seamless, no matter where the shopper shows up.

If you missed our take on the new holiday timeline and why brands need to launch earlier than ever, catch up with our blog, The New Holiday Timeline: 4 Ways Advertisers Can Get Ahead in 2026.

Why Omnichannel Matters More This Year

Shoppers are being more deliberate about where their money goes, as more than two-thirds of Americans don’t feel optimistic about current economic conditions. Simultaneously, advertisers are facing pressure of their own. U.S. holiday retail sales are expected to grow 4.1% in November and December 2026, while 38% of U.S. marketers say rising media costs are their biggest concern heading into the holiday season.

With both shoppers and advertisers watching their dollars more closely, there’s less room for disconnected campaigns or wasted spend. That’s where omnichannel strategy matters. A shopper might discover a product on social, research it through AI, see it again on CTV, and ultimately buy through a retailer or in-store. The opportunity is to make those touchpoints reinforce one another instead of operating in isolation.

Where Shoppers Are Spending Their Time in 2025

Not every platform delivers the same return, and chasing every channel is a recipe for wasted budget. The biggest opportunities this holiday season come from the platforms shaping how people discover and buy:

• Social and Short-Form Video continue to drive discovery, especially for younger shoppers.
• AI assistants are becoming a real part of product research. During last year’s holiday season, traffic to U.S. retail sites from generative AI tools increased 693.4%.
• Amazon Ads and Walmart Connect remain the backbone of retail media. They combine search intent with closed-loop sales data that prove impact.
• Meta (Facebook + Instagram) still commands scale across generations, particularly for mid-funnel engagement.
• Connected TV (CTV) has become a holiday staple, building awareness while pushing shoppers to search and buy on retail sites.
• Google Shopping and Local Inventory Ads bridge online research with in-store pickup, especially for shoppers looking to avoid shipping delays.
• Physical retail remains tightly connected to digital behavior through mobile research, local inventory, and pickup options.

The key isn’t being everywhere. It’s picking the platforms your audience actually uses at each stage — and making sure your message carries through consistently.

Four Ways to Build a Smarter Omnichannel Holiday Campaign

1. Start with the shopper, not the channel

Omnichannel isn’t about showing up everywhere — it’s about showing up where it counts. 

Use first-party data, commerce signals, CRM insights, and site behavior to understand where shoppers enter the journey and what happens next. That also means thinking beyond traditional search. As AI assistants play a bigger role in product discovery and comparison, advertisers need to pay attention to where and how their brands show up in AI-powered research environments.

Example: A beauty brand might see younger audiences discovering products through short-form video, then turning to search, retail media, or AI tools when they’re ready to compare options. Instead of splitting spend evenly, the brand can use social to spark interest and search or commerce media to capture intent.

2. Sync creative across touchpoints

Holiday campaigns work best when they feel consistent, even as shoppers bounce between channels. That doesn’t mean copy-pasting creative. It means carrying the same value proposition across platforms. A promo code, bundle offer, or brand story should follow the shopper no matter where they click.

Example: A home goods retailer ran a “Holiday Bundle & Save” campaign. The offer showed up in TikTok reels, retail search ads, and connected TV spots. The creative looked different in each channel, but the same message and offer kept the shopper on track until checkout.

3. Connect online and offline experiences

Shoppers may start online, but many still finish in-store. Click-and-collect, curbside pickup, and local inventory ads bridge the gap between digital and physical. Highlight these options so customers see your brand as the easiest choice, not just the cheapest.

Example: A sporting goods brand promoted “Order Online, Pick Up Today” on social and search. Many shoppers browsing last-minute gifts on mobile converted because they could reserve and collect the same day, avoiding shipping delays.

4. Measure holistically, not in fragments

The biggest mistake in omnichannel campaigns is judging each channel in isolation. CTV may drive branded search. Social may introduce a product that converts later through retail media. An offsite commerce ad may influence an eventual in-store purchase.

With media costs rising, advertisers need to understand which channels are actually contributing to incremental outcomes, not just which one gets credit for the final click.

Holiday plans should also leave room to move. If one channel, audience, or creative is outperforming another, advertisers need the flexibility to shift budget quickly rather than sticking rigidly to the original allocation.

Example: A consumer electronics brand can look at how a holiday CTV campaign affects branded search, retailer activity, store visits, and sales among exposed audiences to get a fuller picture of its impact.

Omnichannel Wins the Holiday Shopper

This holiday season isn’t about picking the “best” channel. It’s about weaving channels together so the shopper’s path feels natural and consistent. Brands that align creative, lock in placements early, and connect online with offline will earn both attention and conversions.

And if you want to understand what’s driving shoppers’ decisions, start with Dear Advertiser: A Letter from Your Holiday Shopper.

Build Your Omnichannel Holiday Plan

For more strategies, creative tips, and channel-by-channel insights, download our 2026 Holiday Shopping Package.