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In 2024, e-commerce brands increased their ad spend by 25% from October to November on average.
That kind of jump doesn't happen by accident. It takes planning, testing, and months of groundwork to confidently scale spend in Q4. Yet every year, too many brands wait until November to launch campaigns, hoping for a last-minute breakthrough.
If you want to make the most of your Q4 budget, you need to start now.
Q4 Is Not the Time to Start Testing
Black Friday is no longer just a weekend. For high-growth brands, it's the payoff of months of optimization.
Campaigns launched cold in Q4 rarely perform well. Ad costs are higher, customer attention is more fragmented, and the competition is intense. The brands that succeeded last year had already put in the work. They had:
- Tested offers and creative
- Built retargeting audiences
- Identified high-performing products
- Dialed in their measurement tools
When November rolled around, they knew what was working, and they had the data to scale it.
The Timeline That Works
Here’s what a strong Q4 prep schedule looks like:
August: Launch and Test
Start running campaigns now so you can collect early signals.
Start running campaigns now so you can collect early signals.
September: Analyze and Learn
Use performance data to evaluate what’s resonating and what’s not.
Use performance data to evaluate what’s resonating and what’s not.
October: Optimize and Scale What’s Working
Double down on your top-performing creative, offers, and audiences.
Double down on your top-performing creative, offers, and audiences.
November: Execute With Confidence
Invest that extra 25% in campaigns you already know will convert.
Invest that extra 25% in campaigns you already know will convert.
Why You Need Data Before You Increase Budget
That 25% average increase in ad spend wasn’t a shot in the dark. It was a strategic decision by brands that already had performance insights.
Without that kind of data, your biggest month can turn into your biggest waste of budget.
ThoughtMetric gives you the clarity to make smarter calls ahead of the holiday surge. Track campaign, product, and bundle performance all in one place. Know what to promote, where to promote it, and who to target.
Don’t Wait for November
If you want your holiday campaigns to hit, the prep work starts now.
Book a demo and we’ll show you how to turn early insights into Q4 wins.
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