How to Get the Most out of Winter Consumer Spending

It’s easy to think that marketing in the winter is all about the holiday season. Around this time there’s a lot of cash spent, but the campaigns that are generating those dollars have long since been in development and tend to focus on the holidays rather than winter. While some think Christmas should be celebrated all month long, there’s a nice chunk of winter that stretches out long past the time Kris Kringle has gone home.

January isn’t a slump—it’s arbitrage. While most brands go quiet, ad auctions shed their holiday bloat (think sweatpants after New Year’s). Costs ease, timelines stretch, and the feed gets less…shouty. Yes, consumer spending cools in January. That’s not a bad thing. It just means there’s more room in ad space with fewer people talking. That’s the time for your voice to be the loudest.

The Winter Consumer Spending Slump

In January 2025, U.S. retail sales declined 0.9 percent month over month. Many brands respond by cutting budgets. In fact, every winter, the same meeting happens: someone suggests “putting spend on ice” until spending heats up. The logic sounds tidy. If people are buying less, you should be advertising less. But markets are never that simple.

When competitors pull back, two things happen:

1. You buy reach more efficiently, and you accrue attention the quiet way—by showing up when others don’t.
2. When Jan–Feb are treated as “maintenance months,” advertisers spend less at the time but pay more later to win attention back.

What Actually Changes (and Why It Can Help You)

Auctions calm down after the Q4 frenzy, especially on social and video. The average person also sees fewer fire‑sale promos, which means your message doesn’t have to elbow its way through a doorbuster parade like it’s Black Friday again. January and February are great for establishing problem‑solution fit, building re-marketing pools, and warming up the accounts that will convert when timelines loosen.

Where to Lean (B2B Channels With Leverage)

LinkedIn for Mid‑Funnel Momentum 

Use thought leadership that actually leads somewhere: a clear POV, one practical framework, and a light gate (Lead Gen Form) tied to something useful—checklists, ROI calculators, or a webinar that answers a gnarly question your buyers are embarrassed to ask in public. Target by company size, function, and seniority so Sales doesn’t get a box of mixed puzzle pieces.

YouTube & Meta for Efficient Reach 

Winter is friendly to skippable video and broad social. Use two or three hooks per persona: concern statement, social proof, and an “imagine if…” future state. Retarget site visitors and video viewers with simple, static proof: a chart, a quote, a stat. Keep the tone helpful, not breathless; nobody in January wants to be yelled at by a banner.

Non‑Brand Search for the Problems People Actually Type 

Your prospects may not be searching for your brand, but they are searching for their headaches. Cluster queries by problem, not product features; give each cluster a tight ad group and a landing page that reads like a friendly guide, not a brochure. Paid search won’t always be cheaper in Q1, so you win with structure, relevance, and negative keywords—not wishful thinking.

Shift the Message: Solve, Don’t Sell

The new-year brain loves checklists the way it loves new gym memberships. Trade urgency for usefulness. Lead with difficulties you remove and frictions you smooth. Translate features into outcomes real people can feel: fewer tickets, faster closes, cleaner books, a team that stops living in spreadsheets. Sprinkle in proof—logos, a bite‑size stat, a before/after—instead of a wall of claims.

Winter‑Friendly Offers (Without the Fire Sale)

Instead of coupons, offer pilots that ship a measurable win in 30 days, workshops that diagnose gaps and hand over a plan, or extended trials that start onboarding now and billing later. Finance will like the annual prepay sweetener more than a blanket discount, and buyers will appreciate the start-now-roll-smoothly-into-spring energy.

A One‑Month Plan You Can Actually Do

Week 1: Set the Table

Audit last winter, refresh your top three creatives, update landing pages for winter use cases, and align Marketing + SDR on what a “good” lead looks like (in writing, not vibes).

Week 2: Launch With Intent

Ship a small test matrix on LinkedIn and YouTube. Open two or three non‑brand search clusters. Start building cohorts and set your lift study.

Week 3: Edit Ruthlessly

Kill losers fast. Move 20–30% of budget into winners. Introduce one offer (pilot, workshop, or extended trial). Kick off a nurture path for engaged non‑buyers with two emails that actually help.

Week 4: Scale the Right Things

Expand winning audiences. Publish one “authority” asset (guide or checklist) that Sales can send with pride. Book a March retargeting burst and hand the best leads to SDR with the context that makes for better first calls.

Consumer Spending Patterns in Winter

January and February consistently see the steepest drops in personal spending, with January often being the only month with a month-over-month decline. Since most brands cut back on advertising during this lull, competition (and ad costs) drop. This creates an underutilized window to make your dollars stretch further and your voice stand out.

Why Leaning in Beats Pulling Back (a Case for Increasing Your Ad Spend in the Winter)

When other brands go quiet, your brand’s share of voice can grow louder with less effort. Winter’s reduced advertising noise means your campaigns have a better chance to cut through, generate awareness, and build loyalty. These can typically be accomplished at lower costs per click or impression. By maintaining or even increasing spend during these months, you can capture market share that might otherwise be unreachable during peak seasons.

What Questions Are Your Customers Asking?

Slower sales months are the perfect time to focus on solving your audience’s problems and answering their most pressing questions. This isn’t just about running ads, it’s about building trust and staying top of mind so that when wallets open again, you’re the first brand they think of. Use surveys, social listening, and search data to identify these questions, then create targeted content and campaigns that address them directly.

Want to discuss a marketing strategy to help you conquer winter or any season of your choosing? Get in touch. We'll have hot cocoa. Or at the very least coffee, which is hot cocoa's older, cooler sister.