Holiday ads 2025: when they started, what they sold
We tracked 1,083 Facebook and TikTok store ads that started between 1 October and 31 December 2025. The busiest launch week was 10 to 16 November, two weeks before Black Friday, and only 8% of the ads started in Black Friday week itself.
- 10 to 16 Novthe busiest week for new holiday ads, two weeks before Black Friday120 new ads that weekSee the chart ↓Link to this figure
- 8%of last season's holiday ads started in Black Friday week itself91 of 1,083 adsSee the chart ↓Link to this figure
- 1 in 3holiday ads was already running by the end of October336 of 1,083 ads by 31 October 2025See the chart ↓Link to this figure
- 46%of last season's holiday ads were still running ten months on503 of 1,083 ads seen in October 2026See the chart ↓Link to this figure
When they started
1,083 store ads that started between 1 October and 31 December 2025: 1,031 on Facebook and Instagram, 52 on TikTok, from 648 advertisers.
The busiest week was two weeks before Black Friday
Of 1,083 Facebook and TikTok ads that started between 1 October and 31 December 2025, the busiest launch week was 10 to 16 November 2025 with 120 new ads, two weeks before Black Friday.
Starts climbed through October and early November, peaked in the week of 10 November, and fell back once Black Friday had passed. December still brought 315 new ads, but the push came before the sale, not during it.
Busiest week, 10 to 16 November Black Friday week, 24 to 30 November
Show the numbers
| Week starting | New ads |
|---|---|
| 29 Sep 2025 | 33 |
| 6 Oct 2025 | 63 |
| 13 Oct 2025 | 76 |
| 20 Oct 2025 | 103 |
| 27 Oct 2025 | 70 |
| 3 Nov 2025 | 107 |
| 10 Nov 2025 | 120 |
| 17 Nov 2025 | 105 |
| 24 Nov 2025 | 91 |
| 1 Dec 2025 | 78 |
| 8 Dec 2025 | 80 |
| 15 Dec 2025 | 77 |
| 22 Dec 2025 | 56 |
| 29 Dec 2025 | 24 |
Few started in Black Friday week, a third by October
Only 91 of 1,083 holiday-season ads (8%) started in Black Friday week itself, while 336 (31%) were already running by 31 October 2025, four weeks ahead.
Half of all the season’s ads (558 of 1,083) had started by 14 November 2025. Among the 740 ads that started before Black Friday, the median start was 23 days ahead of it.
What they sold
The product categories behind the ads, what the products cost, and which ads kept running after the season.
Jewelry and home goods drew the most advertisers
Jewelry and accessories had the most holiday advertisers, 118 of the 648 behind 1,083 ads launched in Q4 2025, just ahead of home and kitchen with 116. Car and motorcycle (80 advertisers), baby and kids (79) and pets (77) came next.
Categories follow the product search each ad was found under, so they show what holiday advertisers sold, not each category’s share of all US ad spend.
Show the numbers
| Category | Advertisers | Ads |
|---|---|---|
| Jewelry and accessories | 118 | 193 |
| Home and kitchen | 116 | 138 |
| Car and motorcycle | 80 | 173 |
| Baby and kids | 79 | 114 |
| Pets | 77 | 116 |
| Beauty and personal care | 69 | 108 |
| Phones and gadgets | 62 | 104 |
| Health and fitness | 53 | 108 |
| Outdoor and travel | 19 | 29 |
December ads sold cheaper products
The median listed price in holiday ads launched in October and November 2025 was $54.95 (336 ads), against $38.50 for ads launched in December (146 ads).
Across all 482 ads with a readable US price the median was $49.99, and half sat between $29.95 and $89.99.
Prices are the ones listed on the store page when the ad was last checked, not necessarily the 2025 sale price.
Most holiday ads outlived the holidays, home goods did not
Nearly half of the 1,083 holiday ads launched in Q4 2025 (503, or 46%) were still running in October 2026, but only 26 of 138 home and kitchen ads (19%) were, against 69 of 114 baby and kids ads (61%).
Car and motorcycle (58%), pets (54%) and jewelry and accessories (53%) also kept running well past the season. Beauty, phones and gadgets, and outdoor ads sat between 34% and 38%.
All categories, 46%
Show the numbers
| Category | Still running | Ads | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jewelry and accessories | 102 | 193 | 53% |
| Home and kitchen | 26 | 138 | 19% |
| Car and motorcycle | 101 | 173 | 58% |
| Baby and kids | 69 | 114 | 61% |
| Pets | 63 | 116 | 54% |
| Beauty and personal care | 39 | 108 | 36% |
| Phones and gadgets | 39 | 104 | 38% |
| Health and fitness | 54 | 108 | 50% |
| Outdoor and travel | 10 | 29 | 34% |
Your Black Friday 2026 calendar
If sellers follow last year's pattern, the week to have holiday ads live is 9 to 15 November 2026, not Black Friday week.
| Moment | 2025 | 2026 equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Four weeks out (a third of ads live) | 31 Oct 2025 | Fri 30 Oct 2026 |
| Busiest launch week | 10 to 16 Nov 2025 | 9 to 15 Nov 2026 |
| Half of the season’s ads live | 14 Nov 2025 | Fri 13 Nov 2026 |
| Black Friday week | 24 to 30 Nov 2025 | 23 to 29 Nov 2026 |
| Black Friday | Fri 28 Nov 2025 | Fri 27 Nov 2026 |
Black Friday 2025 was 28 November; Black Friday 2026 is 27 November, so the 2026 dates are the same number of days before it.
How we measured
Measured 17 October 2026 on data refreshed up to 14 October 2026.
The sample
Every ad in the SpotPeaks ad library whose start date falls between 1 October and 31 December 2025: 1,083 ads (1,031 Facebook and Instagram, 52 TikTok) from 648 advertisers. The library only holds ads that its scout found running, so ads that ran briefly and stopped before collection are missing. 1,061 of the 1,083 were seen in June 2026 or later.
Dates
Timing uses the ad’s start date as the ad library reports it. “Still running” means the ad was seen on or after 1 October 2026.
Categories
Categories group the product search each ad was found under (132 search terms into 9 groups). Counts reflect what we searched for as well as what advertisers sold, so they are not a share of the whole market.
Prices
Prices are the product price listed on the linked store page when last checked, in US dollars. Prices without a currency on country-domain stores (.de, .uk and similar) were left out, as were zero prices and other currencies: 482 of 1,083 ads have a usable price. The December gap holds when each advertiser counts once ($39.99 against $50.00).
Not a US-only sample
500 of the 1,083 ads also reported reach in the EU or UK. The ad libraries do not publish US reach, so no reach or sales figures are used anywhere on this page.
No revenue, sales or spend figures are claimed. Nothing on this page comes from a forecast or a model.
Use these figures
You are welcome to use any figure on this page in your own writing. Please link to this page, or to the exact figure: the headline numbers each have their own link and a ready-made citation.
Measured and published by Nicolas van Arkens, founder of SpotPeaks, in Copenhagen. About SpotPeaks
Writing about this and need the method or the full data? Email hello@spotpeaks.com.
SpotPeaks, “Holiday ads 2025”, measured 17 October 2026, https://spotpeaks.com/holiday-ads-2025
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