Peak season is right around the corner. For many ecommerce brands, it marks the biggest sales opportunity of the year. The holiday rush isn’t just busy; it’s when most retailers generate 20% or more of their annual revenue in just a few short weeks. November and December can make or break the entire year.
But here’s the catch: higher traffic doesn’t automatically equal higher profits. To truly capitalize, brands need more than luck—they need a rock-solid game plan. That means knowing when to start planning, how to budget, what promotions to run, and, most importantly, how to keep products moving when demand is at its highest. A fulfillment strategy that blends data, technology, and customer behavior is the real difference-maker. Yet, many brands still struggle to get it right, especially in a climate shaped by tariffs, shifting consumer expectations, and economic uncertainty.
That’s why we sat down with one of our in-house experts, Lance Dowell, Director of Merchandising, whose day-to-day is all about guiding brands toward success. He’s seen what works, what doesn’t, and what separates the winners from those left scrambling after the season ends.
Holiday Ecommerce Strategies to Implement
How far in advance should brands start planning their holiday fulfillment strategy, and what are the most important first steps?
Ecommerce brands should ideally start planning their holiday fulfillment strategy as early as possible. The exact timing really depends heavily on production and product order lead times. For example, for imported products planning often begins 8–12 months in advance, while domestically produced products can typically be planned 3–4 months out.
As planning begins, the most important first steps are looking at the past. That means reviewing historical sales and fulfillment performance, analyzing promotional pricing strategies, and identifying both what worked, and what didn’t. From there, layer in forward-looking considerations: what promotions you’ll run this year, how your competition is likely to position themselves, and how those factors might impact demand. By combining a deep look at your own performance with market expectations, you can more accurately forecast needs, secure the right inventory, and ensure your fulfillment network is ready to deliver during peak season.
How can brands better align inventory with demand during the holidays?
For inventory alignment, ecommerce brands need to, again, look at forecasting, but also ensure they set the stage for flexible execution. The first step is leveraging historical SKU-level performance to understand demand patterns by category, price point, and promotion. Pair that with real-time market intelligence, like competitive pricing and industry trends, to refine forecasts.
It’s also critical to build scenario plans. Peak season is unpredictable, so brands should model for best-case, expected, and worst-case demand to avoid both stockouts and costly overstocks. Tools like demand-sensing technology, which uses near-real-time signals from marketplaces and advertising performance, can provide a sharper view of shifts as they happen.
Shipping speed is always top of mind—how can brands set realistic yet competitive expectations with customers?
Today’s shoppers have been conditioned to expect same-day and next-day delivery as the new normal, while two-day shipping is now considered the bare minimum. Brands that can’t meet or exceed this standard risk losing customers to competitors who can.
That said, “realistic” is just as important as “competitive.” The best approach is to be transparent about delivery timelines at every stage of the shopping journey. If delays are possible, it’s better to set expectations up front than to disappoint customers later. Our teams at Spreetail actually have a tool we built for this exact purpose. It’s called ‘Promise Pro’ and allows brands to dynamically display ship speeds for each SKU providing both transparency and accuracy.
Operationally, brands can set themselves up for success by pre-positioning inventory in multiple fulfillment centers close to end customers, securing reliable carrier capacity well in advance, and using technology to dynamically update delivery estimates based on location and order cut-off times. Clear holiday cut-off dates for guaranteed delivery should also be front and center.
Holiday Ecommerce Mistakes to Avoid
What’s the biggest mistake brands make when preparing for peak season, and how can they avoid it?
One of the biggest mistakes ecommerce brands make when preparing for peak season is playing it too safe, particularly when it comes to pricing and ad spend. Brands that are too conservative risk blending into the noise while competitors capture attention with bold promotions and aggressive marketing. During the holidays, customers expect deals, and the brands that lean in strategically discounting, bundling, or offering limited-time promotions are the ones that win market share.
But it’s not just about slashing prices. The smarter approach is to align promotional strategy with strong forecasting, ensuring you can support demand without eroding margins unnecessarily. Pair aggressive, customer-friendly pricing with well-timed ad campaigns that amplify visibility where your audience is already shopping.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from past peak seasons that could help brands this year?
The biggest lesson from past peak seasons is simple but powerful: start early, and don’t take your foot off the gas. Too often, brands wait until the last minute to push promotions, only to find themselves slashing prices or overspending on ads to clear excess inventory after the holidays. The reality is that if you don’t promote early and often, you’ll end up paying more to move products once peak demand has passed.
Kicking off campaigns earlier not only captures shoppers who buy ahead of the rush, but it also gives brands time to build momentum, test messaging, and optimize spend before the highest-traffic days hit. Keep in mind that promotions during this time should align with inventory strategy. You don’t want to push sales aggressively too soon only to run out of stock midway through peak. Data-driven forecasting, paired with a phased promotional calendar, helps ensure the right products are in the right places at the right times.
From your perspective, what separates brands that handle peak flawlessly from those that struggle?
The biggest difference comes down to discipline in execution. Successful brands don’t leave anything to chance; they plan well in advance and review every detail to make sure execution is seamless. That means aligning production, order flow, advertising, pricing, and listing health months before the holiday rush. When each of these elements is synchronized, the customer experience feels effortless, even though it’s the result of rigorous preparation behind the scenes.
By contrast, brands that struggle often take a reactive approach. They ramp up promotions or adjust pricing too late, overlook listing updates that impact discoverability, or fail to account for how fulfillment capacity will be strained. These gaps create costly ripple effects that frustrate customers and erode margins.
Overall, winning peak season is about planning smart, moving fast, keeping the customer in mind, and not being afraid to go bold. Winning brands are leaning into data and AI to forecast smarter and pivot quicker. And as those tools keep evolving, so will peak strategies. The brands that embrace them now won’t just survive the holiday rush…they’ll own it.
Growth Marketing Specialist
