Why Early Customer Acquisition Is the Key to Holiday Success

October 9, 2025

7 min read

Written by:

Tara Johnson Senior Content Strategist

Tara Johnson is a marketing strategist with 10+ years of experience in digital strategy, content creation, and advertising. At Power Digital, she leads content planning, creating high-impact resources that boost visibility and drive results. Tara believes in no magic wands—just smart content and a passion for sustainable, authentic growth.

Reviewed by:

Power Digital Growth Marketing Partner

Power Digital is a full-service growth marketing agency helping brands accelerate their revenue with data, strategy, and execution. Known for our award-winning teams and nova technology, we bring clarity to complexity and build marketing that scales.

Table of contents

1. Building High-Intent Audiences Before Peak Season
2. A Glimpse at What the Data Is Saying
3. Why It Matters for Fashion Brands Specifically
4. Connecting Early Acquisition to Business Impact
5. Putting It Into Practice
6. Next Steps

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When holiday promotions finally kick off, the brands that win big aren’t the ones scrambling in late November—they’re the ones that have already invested in building their audiences. By October, fashion brands should be doubling down on upper-funnel efforts so that shoppers are warmed up, engaged, and ready to convert when the big deals drop.

This pre-holiday investment lowers acquisition costs during the most competitive ad weeks of the year and strengthens retention by turning one-time shoppers into repeat buyers. The path to Black Friday success starts now.

At Power Digital, our data and client work show that the most successful holiday seasons begin with smart acquisition strategies well before peak promotional weeks.

Building High-Intent Audiences Before Peak Season

October (and months leading up to it) are critical to focus on seeding and warming audiences:

Paid social and search: Prioritize prospecting campaigns now to fill your funnel while CPMs are still relatively efficient.
First-party data collection: Use gated offers, early gift guides, and SMS/email sign-ups to build owned channels before inboxes flood in November.
Retargeting efficiency: By the time promotions go live, you’ll have high-intent engagers already in the pipeline—making them cheaper and faster to convert than cold audiences.

As Madison Sternberg, Account Director in Power Digital’s fashion division, explains:

“When we acquire people in early Q4, prior to Black Friday, we tend to see them drive a higher LTV. They’ll shop before the sale, then again during the sale, and by that point, they’re already two purchases in. That momentum often carries into the new year”.

A Glimpse at What the Data Is Saying

We’re seeing signs that consumers are moving earlier in the calendar, which means brands who delay upper-funnel work risk missing opportunity. From our upcoming study, The Black Friday Cyber Monday 2025 Reset: From Discount Fatigue to Enterprise Value, teaser findings include:

Nearly half of shoppers said bundles, perks, or transparency matter more than blanket discounts.
Social discovery remains powerful; many consumers in the survey say creator content or social ads introduced them to deals before they even began their holiday shopping.

And there are external market trends that reinforce this:

According to a 2024 eMarketer report, 50% of U.S. holiday shoppers will begin shopping before Thanksgiving. (eMarketer)
Another eMarketer insight forecasts that mobile devices will power a significant share of ecommerce growth, with holiday ecommerce sales rising 13.4% year-over-year, reaching ~$140.65 billion. (eMarketer)

What this means: the pre-holiday window isn’t just nice to have, it’s essential to being competitive when the discounts and promotional noise hit.

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Why It Matters for Fashion Brands Specifically

Fashion is uniquely seasonal and emotional. Customers aren’t just chasing discounts, they’re chasing newness, gifting moments, and exclusivity.

Our 2025 Black Friday Cyber Monday Study found:

24.4% of consumers start shopping before Halloween.
62.6% of Gen Z discover BFCM deals through TikTok, Instagram, or creators, not search engines.
Luxury buyers expect exclusivity as much as value: 34.8% say a 15–20% discount feels “perfect,” but 35.9% will avoid luxury brands that don’t clearly signal value.

For fashion brands, whether luxury or accessible, the brands that engage customers early enjoy higher intent, better conversion, and lower marginal CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) when the big events and deals roll in.

Connecting Early Acquisition to Business Impact

For executives and boards, early acquisition isn’t just a tactical play—it’s about protecting enterprise value. Waiting until late November to scale spend often leads to:

Higher CAC: CPMs and CPCs spike as competition intensifies.
Lower efficiency: Cold audiences are less likely to convert, draining media budgets.
Weaker retention: One-and-done shoppers don’t build into long-term LTV cohorts.

By contrast, brands that invest this month set themselves up for two wins:

Lower CAC efficiency during peak weeks because they’re retargeting engaged audiences.
Higher repeat rates because October buyers are already primed for a second or third purchase during promotions.

This strategy aligns with what both our BFCM 2025 report and external sources show: consumers are rewarding brands that feel intentional, not transactional. Executives must think beyond holiday revenue spikes and focus on the lifetime equity of new cohorts. While short term success is important, you don’t want to lose sight of lifetime equity.

Putting It Into Practice

Here’s what fashion leaders should be prioritizing right now:

Gift guide campaigns: Launch early gift guides in October to inspire shoppers and capture lead-gen sign-ups.
Influencer or creator collaborations: Tap into TikTok and Instagram, where many consumers are already discovering deals.
Loyalty and early access perks: Reward your best customers with first pick at seasonal collections.
Balanced promotional cadence: Keep audiences engaged with compelling yet measured promos now, saving your biggest offers for BFCM week.

For more ideas on balancing discounts with brand equity, explore our blog: Winning Black Friday & Cyber Monday Without Joining the Race to the Bottom.

Next Steps

Holiday success doesn’t start on Black Friday – it starts now. Fashion brands that acquire customers this October not only lower CAC but also increase LTV, protect brand equity, and set the stage for stronger retention in Q1.

At Power Digital, we help fashion brands eliminate waste, maximize performance, and invest with conviction. Explore our Digital Marketing Services or connect with a Digital Marketing Agency that turns your ad budget into strategic firepower.