For retail, the ‘most wonderful time of the year’ is more than just a catchy jingle – it’s an opportunity to lay the foundation for long term customer loyalty. While holiday sales can generate as much as 20% of annual revenues, the real value comes from leveraging the momentum of the season to create lasting relationships that extend beyond the holiday rush.
With more retailers able to utilise powerful tools like predictive AI, the busy season offers major potential for understanding and influencing customer behaviours. Though the holiday season may be over, forward thinking retailers know it’s just the beginning of a long term strategy.
Instead of focusing solely on the immediate sales surge, these retailers use the season to test different approaches, capture valuable insights, and deepen customer connections.
Here are how some major retail brands are thinking when it comes to maximising seasonal impact, creating value, and ensuring they remain top of mind long after the decorations come down.
Banking on loyalty: anticipation and return
Two prominent grocery retailers show how strategic planning can drive innovation well before the holiday rush. Woolworths’ ‘Bank for Christmas’program allows customers to save points throughout the year, redeemable only during the holiday season. This initiative supports holiday budgeting and builds a sense of anticipation and reward, keeping shoppers continuously engaged. Similarly, Asda’s ‘Christmas Cashpot’ rewards loyalty members with meaningful savings accrued over the year.
The two points-locking systems meet the needs of budget-conscious shoppers’ by combining the appeal of immediate incentives with long term rewards. The programs create customer loyalty while delivering the ‘magic’ of seasonal surprises.
Gamification: turning loyalty into play and payoff
Executing a gamification strategy is not always easy, but Loblaws’ ‘Seasonal Challenge’gets it right. Customers earn points by purchasing products from curated seasonal categories and bonus points for completing entire categories. Short term win? Increased basket sizes. Long term win? New product discovery that extends the impact beyond the holiday season.
During the holidays, Tesco’s Clubcard Challenges initiative got a festive rebrand to become Christmas Challenges. The gamification program utilises AI to create customised, shopper-specific challenges drawn from insights into that customer’s past purchase history, preferences and other contextual data points. Christmas Challenges offers customers relevant value on items they’re predicted to purchase and drives incremental revenue for Tesco at a critical time.
Both initiatives show how personalised gamification strategies can be used to reward shoppers for exploring a variety of product ranges, turning loyalty into an engaging and fun experience.
Extending rewards across in-store and online channels can boost basket sizes in the short term while encouraging a greater variety of customer interactions.
The exclusive touch: how to build brand Love
A sense of exclusivity can elevate your seasonal retail campaigns from a moment of temporary reward to something extraordinary. Take Liberty’s Beauty Advent Calendar, which has become a cherished seasonal touchpoint for customers – consistently selling out due to high demand. Subscribers to the Liberty Beauty Drop loyalty program are rewarded with early access and the option to use their Beauty Drop Savings towards purchase.
While the tactic of blending holiday shopping with year round rewards is familiar, Liberty’s calendar has become part of customers’ emotional connection to the brand and a holiday tradition. It shows how creating a sense of ‘members-only’ access can make seasonal campaigns feel special, driving engagement during the holiday season and reinforcing brand affinity throughout the year.
Personalisation and AI: your (not-so-secretive) secret to building loyalty
It wouldn’t be a retail article in 2025 without amention of AI. Seasonal retail campaigns are perfect vehicles for generating excitement and “driving” short term profits, but how do you ensure shoppers aren’t conditioned to engage only during this time?
The answer lies in relevant, personalised promotions that go beyond the blanket discount approach.
And this is where AI truly excels. AI helps retailers analyse the vast amount of data collected during the seasonal rush, empowering them to dynamically adjust offers based on customer interaction patterns, preventing promotion fatigue.
AI also accelerates personalisation at scale, helping retailers deliver tailored rewards that resonate with each customer’s preferences and habits. Finally, AI enables retailers to identify insights from the peak period and turn these into long-term and meaningful personalisation opportunities.
The gift that keeps on giving
The best holiday programs build trust and offer value by providing a personalised, omnichannel experience that customers expect. Retailers like Woolworths Australia, Asda, Loblaws Tesco and Libertyshow how seasonal initiatives can be paired with strategic engagement tactics to deliver value all year round.
The true measure of holiday success isn’t just about what you sell in the moment; it’s about how many loyal advocates you create and inspire to return time and again.