October starts this week, and for many small businesses the next three months matter more than any other stretch of the year. The good news is that you do not need a huge budget to be ready. You need a plan, a few weeks of steady preparation, and a clear picture of where your customers will be looking.
This checklist covers five areas worth tackling now, while you still have time to make changes calmly instead of in the middle of the rush.
What the 2026 Holiday Forecasts Tell Us
The early forecasts point to a busy but careful season:
- Overall spending should grow. Deloitte projects U.S. holiday retail sales of $1.70 trillion to $1.71 trillion from November 2026 through January 2027, up 4.0% to 4.8% from the same period a year earlier. It expects e-commerce to grow faster, by 7.5% to 8.4%.
- Online shopping keeps climbing. Adobe expects U.S. shoppers to spend $275.1 billion online between November 1 and December 31, 2026, up 6.7% from last year, plus another $95.8 billion online in October alone.
- Shoppers are watching value. Deloitte reports value-seeking behavior across income levels, including switching among brands and retailers and using promotions to manage spending.
Timing matters too. The National Retail Federation says that for the last several years, about two out of every five holiday shoppers have started browsing and buying before November. Put these dates on your calendar now: Thanksgiving is November 26, Small Business Saturday is November 28, and Cyber Monday is November 30.
The takeaway is simple. People will spend, but they will compare carefully, and many will start early. Businesses that are easy to find, easy to buy from, and easy to trust have the advantage.
1. Local SEO and Google Business Profile: Holiday Edition
For local shoppers, your Google Business Profile is often the first thing they see. You do not need a full local SEO overhaul before the holidays. Focus on a few timely updates:
- Set special hours for every holiday. Google lets you schedule special hours for holidays and events without changing your regular hours. Google also suggests confirming your hours for official holidays even when they match your usual schedule, so customers know the information is accurate.
- Schedule your holiday posts. Business Profile posts can promote sales, events, and offers on Google Search and Maps. An Offer post needs a title plus start and end dates, and you can schedule posts to publish later. Load your Small Business Saturday offer or gift card promotion now.
- Ask for reviews before the rush. Google recommends sharing a review link or QR code with customers and replying to reviews. Start asking in October, while you have time to respond thoughtfully. Keep it honest: Google prohibits offering discounts or free items in exchange for reviews.
If local search needs more than a holiday tune-up, our SEO team can help with the bigger picture after the season.
2. Website Speed and Checkout Readiness
A slow or confusing website can quietly cost you sales at the exact moment traffic peaks. Adobe expects mobile devices to account for 57.4% of online holiday spending this season, and a record 63% on Thanksgiving Day. Test everything on a phone first.
- Check your speed. Run your key pages through Google’s free PageSpeed Insights tool. Google’s Core Web Vitals guidance says the main content should load within 2.5 seconds, the page should respond to taps and clicks within 200 milliseconds, and the layout should stay stable while loading.
- Walk through your own checkout. Place a test order on your phone. Count the steps, look for surprise fees, and confirm that order confirmation emails arrive.
- Publish your holiday details. Make shipping cutoff dates, return policies, gift card options, and holiday hours easy to find.
- Review payment options. Adobe forecasts that Buy Now Pay Later will account for $21.3 billion in online holiday spending. If your customers ask for flexible payment, talk with your payment provider about what fits your business.
- Finish big changes early. Make major site updates in October so you have time to fix problems before Thanksgiving week.
If you would like a second set of eyes, our website design and development team can help with speed, mobile experience, and checkout flow.
3. Social Media and Short-Form Video
Social channels are gaining ground during the holidays. Adobe expects social media’s share of holiday online revenue to grow 17% this season, and affiliates and partners, which include social influencers, to grow 12%. By comparison, it expects paid search’s share to rise 4%.
Short-form video suits small businesses well because a phone and good lighting are often enough to get started.
- Map out a simple content calendar from now through December: gift ideas, behind-the-scenes clips, quick how-tos, and answers to common customer questions.
- Batch-record short vertical videos now, before your busiest weeks leave no time to film.
- Add captions so your message works with or without sound.
- Team up locally. Partner with complementary businesses or local creators to reach new neighbors.
- Use free Small Business Saturday materials. American Express offers free downloadable Shop Small social posts, stories, and printables for merchants.
Our social media marketing and video production teams can help plan, create, and manage holiday content.
4. Email Marketing
Email is the one channel you truly own. In Klaviyo’s recap of Black Friday through Cyber Monday 2025, email and text messages drove 42% of total revenue across its customers, and revenue from repeat customers grew 13.5% year over year. Klaviyo also found that brands offering the smallest discounts saw the highest growth. Those are one platform’s numbers from last year, but the lesson holds: your existing customers are your best holiday audience.
- Check your sender setup. Google’s email sender guidelines require everyone sending to Gmail accounts to set up SPF or DKIM authentication. Senders of more than 5,000 messages a day also need DMARC and one-click unsubscribe. Ask your email provider to confirm your setup.
- Send only to people who signed up. Google advises against buying email lists and recommends keeping spam complaint rates below 0.10%, and never reaching 0.30%.
- Ramp up gradually. Google warns that sudden spikes in sending volume can lead to rate limits. If you usually email monthly, start sending a little more often in October instead of jumping to daily emails in Thanksgiving week.
- Plan your sequence: early access for subscribers, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, last shipping day, and last-minute gift cards.
- Grow your list in person. Invite in-store shoppers to join at checkout.
Our email marketing team can help you plan and send your holiday campaigns, and we also design email templates.
5. Paid Ads
Paid ads can put your offer in front of shoppers when they are ready to buy. They work best when the plan is set well before the busiest days.
- Set a total holiday budget and decide how much goes to October, Cyber Week, and December.
- Build your audiences early, such as past website visitors and email subscribers.
- Match every ad to a landing page with one clear offer and one clear next step.
- Use Google Ads seasonality adjustments carefully. Google calls them an advanced tool for short events of one to seven days and recommends them only when you expect major changes in conversion rates, since Smart Bidding already manages seasonal events.
- Think beyond search. If your customers are mostly local, radio or TV spots can support your holiday message. Plan scripts and production early.
- Track what works. Confirm conversion tracking is in place before you spend.
If you want help pulling these channels into one plan, our digital marketing and advertising services cover online ads, email, search, and video promotion, and our team also handles pay-per-click, radio, and television advertising.
A Simple Timeline
- Now through mid-October: test your website, check email authentication, set holiday hours, request reviews, and batch-record content.
- Late October to mid-November: launch early offers, warm up your email list, and start ads.
- November 26 to 30: run your plan, reply to customers quickly, and watch results daily.
- December: highlight shipping cutoffs and gift cards, then thank your customers.
Let’s Get Your Business Holiday-Ready
You do not have to tackle every item on this list at once. Pick the steps that matter most for your business and start this week. If you would like a partner for any part of it, we would be glad to help.
Request a quote at https://requiredmarketing.com/quote-request/ and tell us about your holiday goals. You can also email us at [email protected] or call our main line at (844) 978-1051.
