From Macy’s to Urban Outfitters, see how brands blend emotion, humor, and speed to drive holiday sales in a leaner 2025 market.
As the 2025 holiday season kicks off, U.S. retailers face a complex challenge: inflation may be easing, but consumers remain cautious, prioritizing value, experience, and trust in every purchase. According to Mastercard’s 2025 Holiday Spending Outlook, retail sales growth is projected to cool compared to recent years, with online channels seeing modest increases and shoppers leaning into curated, affordable options rather than big-ticket splurges.
For marketers, this means one thing: relevance matters more than ever. To win, brands must design campaigns that blend emotional storytelling with operational excellence, all while navigating a fractured attention landscape.
Five campaigns stand out this year for innovation, execution, and cultural resonance. They show how leading brands are mastering the delicate balance between conversion now and long-term brand building.
Macy’s: “100 Days to Christmas” & The Top 100 Gift Guide
Macy’s, a perennial holiday powerhouse, kicked off its 2025 campaign with “100 Days to Christmas”, a bold early-start strategy that blends tradition with modern retail tactics. The centerpiece is the Top 100 Holiday Gift Guide, a curated collection across price points, designed to reduce decision fatigue while inspiring discovery.
This year’s campaign stars Alison Brie as the “Macy’s Gift Guide,” a relatable persona who guides shoppers through curated assortments. Alongside this, Macy’s launched nationwide in-store activations, including the iconic Holiday Lane and a traveling “Santa Tour” designed to turn shopping into a memorable family experience.
Why it works: By starting the holiday countdown in September, Macy’s owns the “early planner” audience while keeping value and experience at the forefront. Its multichannel approach — spanning TV, digital, social, and immersive in-store events — proves that nostalgia and operational precision can coexist.
Urban Outfitters: “Happy LOLidays” — Humor Meets Affordability
Urban Outfitters is winning with a campaign tailor-made for Gen Z and young millennials. The “Happy LOLidays” initiative brings humor and pop culture into the shopping experience. It features creator collaborations, TikTok challenges, and the playful “UO Carol” spot, positioning Urban Outfitters as the hub for quirky, affordable finds.
With 700+ gift options under $25, Urban Outfitters strikes the sweet spot of affordability without feeling like a discount retailer. Products are framed as “discoveries”, not markdowns, preserving their cultural cachet while encouraging impulse buys.
Why it works: Humor drives social sharing, while accessible price points appeal to financially stretched consumers. Urban Outfitters demonstrates the transformation of value messaging into a culturally relevant narrative rather than a race to the bottom.
e.l.f. Cosmetics: Live Commerce Takes Center Stage
Beauty has always thrived on visual storytelling, and e.l.f. Cosmetics is redefining how that story is told. In 2025, the brand doubled down on live commerce, hosting interactive streaming events across TikTok, Twitch, and YouTube. These sessions combine product demos, real-time creator interactions, and one-click purchasing, collapsing the discovery-to-purchase funnel into a single moment.
The star of e.l.f.’s campaign is “The E.L.F. Time Show”, which turns shopping into entertainment. With influencers demonstrating products live, shoppers get instant social proof and FOMO-driven urgency — leading to dramatic spikes in conversion rates during streams.
Why it works: Live commerce leverages immediacy and trust. When consumers see a product demo and can purchase it instantly, the barrier between intent and action disappears — a powerful formula for beauty, where texture, tone, and application matter deeply.
Puma: Winning the Last-Minute Shopper
While other brands focus on early planning, Puma zeroed in on a persistent holiday behavior: last-minute shopping. Recognizing that a significant portion of customers delay gift-buying until mid-December, Puma’s campaign uses urgency-driven messaging like express shipping promises, delivery cutoff reminders, and segmented email flows to capture late-season demand.
The strategy isn’t flashy, but it’s highly effective. By reassuring customers they can buy late without risking disappointment, Puma turns logistical capability into a creative hook.
Why it works: During a season defined by stress and time pressure, operational promises — fast delivery, easy returns, transparent inventory — can be as persuasive as discounts. Puma shows that logistics, when marketed well, can become a brand differentiator.
John Lewis: Emotion as the Ultimate Differentiator
Though based in the UK, John Lewis continues to inspire U.S. marketers with its emotionally charged campaigns. Its 2025 ad, “The Gifting Hour,” leans into nostalgia and community participation. The campaign features real customers performing in a talent search, positioning John Lewis as both a storyteller and a platform for shared holiday traditions.
Why it works: In a retail environment where discounts are easily matched, emotional storytelling creates differentiation. By anchoring gifting in feelings — love, nostalgia, connection — John Lewis builds enduring brand equity that pays dividends long after the holidays.
Strategic Takeaways for Marketers
These five campaigns share common threads that reveal where holiday marketing is headed:
- Marry emotion with immediacy.
Emotional storytelling builds affinity, while tactics like express shipping, curated gift guides, and live commerce drive real-time conversions. - Design for micro-moments.
Today’s holiday journey happens in bursts: a TikTok scroll, a one-click email, a two-minute livestream. Each touchpoint must be optimized for frictionless purchasing. - Leverage creators as cultural translators.
From e.l.f.’s live streams to Urban Outfitters’ TikTok challenges, creators bridge brands and communities. - Operational excellence is a creative strategy.
Puma’s success proves that guaranteed delivery and transparent logistics can be as compelling as any TV spot. - Curate, don’t complicate.
Macy’s Top 100 Gift Guide exemplifies how curation can simplify choice and drive conversion without requiring heavy tech investment.
The 2025 Context: A Leaner Growth Year
Macroeconomic indicators suggest a tighter holiday season than the post-pandemic boom years. Both Mastercard and PwC have flagged cautious consumer sentiment and value-seeking behavior, underscoring the need for precise, relevant campaigns. Retailers that combine empathy with efficiency — understanding what matters to consumers and delivering it seamlessly — will capture market share even in a slower growth environment.
Conclusion: Holiday 2025 as a Strategic Inflection Point
The 2025 holiday season isn’t just about short-term sales; it’s a proving ground for long-term brand strategy. With consumers trading down on splurges and prioritizing meaningful purchases, the winners will be those who connect emotionally while delivering operational excellence.
Macy’s, Urban Outfitters, e.l.f., Puma, and John Lewis each showcase a different playbook — from emotional storytelling to humor-driven affordability, live commerce, and logistics as a brand promise.
The mandate for CMOs and marketing leaders is clear: treat the holiday as a series of connected moments, each optimized to convert attention into action while reinforcing the brand story for the year ahead.
As 2025 unfolds, these campaigns remind us that holiday magic isn’t just in the products we buy — it’s in the experiences, connections, and stories surrounding them.
