Every year around mid-December, a familiar panic sets in for millions of holiday shoppers. It’s the shipping cutoff, that ominous date when guaranteed delivery by Christmas becomes impossible without exorbitant fees.
For many retailers, this date represents the psychological finish line for online shopping. But this is a strategic error. According to retail industry insights, the shipping cutoff isn’t the end; it’s an opportunity.
While marketers view the calendar in distinct shipping windows, shoppers view it through the lens of fulfillment options. Last year, shoppers completed, on average, about a quarter (24%) of their holiday shopping in the two weeks before Christmas (Dec. 11—25).1 And with the predicted Black Friday rush now behind us, Sensormatic Solutions’ forecast points to Saturday, Dec. 13 and Saturday, Dec. 20 as the next two major holiday shopping days.2
Smart brands and retailers know how to capture this demand by pivoting their focus from e-commerce logistics to omnichannel fulfillment. Here are three tactics winning retailers use to turn the late shopping season into a holiday revenue victory lap.
Use digital ads to drive omnichannel revenue
The insight: Shoppers in mid-to-late December are time-crunched and strategic. They are navigating the physical world via mobile and seeking certainty before they start their cars.
New research from Google suggests that 85% of in-store purchases are researched online first.3 And two-thirds (66%) of Americans planning to shop for the holidays say they will confirm online that an item is in stock before going to buy it.4 They aren’t simply browsing; they are verifying before taking action.
This behavior creates a massive “digital assist” effect where online ads drive foot traffic and ultimately in-store sales. In fact, in marketing mix models (MMMs) run by TransUnion among retail advertisers in the US, Google channels drive $1.60 in-store revenue for every $1 in online sales.5
Take action: The right post-shipping cutoff strategy unlocks incremental revenue by guiding consumers to a variety of fulfillment options. Beyond driving foot traffic, start by offering an in-store pick up option and partner with a last-mile carrier service to handle the final leg of the delivery process — from a local hub or store directly to your customer’s doorstep.
Make it easy to find local, available inventory
The insight: As shipping windows close, the primary value proposition for the consumer shifts from cost to availability and loyalty wanes.
For millennials and Gen X, the ability to find available products in-store was cited as the “primary purchase driver” by 55% and 56%, respectively.6 This is where buy online, pickup in-store and same-day delivery services become critical. These options allow consumers to continue shopping online days, or even hours, before their holiday celebrations.
Take action: Simply offering a buy online, pickup in-store option isn’t enough. You have to broadcast product availability. Local inventory ads let shoppers know that your store has the products they’re looking for. Retailers who use local inventory ads in addition to Shopping ads see both a 21% increase in-store visits and a 9% increase in online conversions for products that are available in-store.7
Capture high-value ‘late’ shoppers
The insight: While Baby Boomers often finish shopping early to avoid stress, Gen Z and millennials are more likely to wait for late-breaking deals.
The generational divide is stark: 22% of Gen Z shoppers won’t even start their holiday shopping until Black Friday or later, compared to only 8% of Baby Boomers.
Perhaps most surprisingly, younger generations are deeply committed to physical stores during the holidays (yes, you read that correctly). While digital drives their behavior — in the US, Gen Z are the most likely to rely on Google/YouTube for their holiday shopping8 — the storefront remains their transaction point. A staggering 75% of Gen Z holiday shoppers expect to shop in-store this holiday season.
Take action: Local Ads on Google Search, Maps, and Waze offer an elegant solution to capture in-the-moment demand. When a time-crunched Gen Z shopper searches “electronics near me” on December 23, visibility through Local Search Ads on Google Maps is a good way to capture that foot traffic.
Take a holiday revenue victory lap
Don’t trip on the finish line after running a heroic race! The crunch time between ground shipping cutoffs and Christmas is a period of high efficiency and spending, but only for retailers who can bridge the digital-physical divide.
The winning strategy for the final weeks of the holiday shopping season is simple: Fund the digital channels that drive foot traffic, same-day delivery, and buy online, pick up in store.
The winners of this holiday season won’t necessarily be the retailers with the lowest prices or the flashiest creative. They will be the retailers who understand that the consumer isn’t done until the wrapping paper is torn off, by making the last mile the easiest mile.
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This post was created by Google Ads with Insider Studios.
1 Google/Ipsos, Holiday Shopping Study, online survey, n= 1,177 Americans 18+ who conducted holiday shopping activities in the past two days, Dec. 12, 2024—Dec. 25, 2024.
2 Sensormatic Solutions, Holiday 2025: Sensormatic Solutions reveals global predictions for retail’s busiest days, Sept.16, 2025
3 Google-commissioned Ipsos Holiday Shopping Study, US, online survey, consumers 18+ who conducted holiday shopping activities in the past two days. n=2,722 reported in-store holiday purchases, Oct. 9, 2025—Nov. 19, 2025.
4 Google-commissioned Ipsos Consumer Continuous Study, US, n=654 online consumers 18+ who plan to shop for the holidays, Sept. 2, 2025—Sept. 5, 2025.
5 Google-commissioned TransUnion Retail MMM Advanced Benchmarking Meta-Analysis, US, 25 retail divisions, measuring $8B+ in marketing investment, Q1 2023—Q4 2024.
6 AlixPartners 2024 Holiday Survey, Out-of-stocks drive 66% of consumers to another retailer, Nov. 1, 2024.
7 Google Data, Global, July 2023—July 2024.
8 Google-commissioned Ipsos Holiday Shopping Study, online survey, US, consumers 18+ who conducted holiday shopping activities in the past two days, n=8,465 (Gen Z n=1,301, millennial n=2,661, Gen X n=2,324, baby boomers n=2,020), Oct. 10, 2024—Jan. 8, 2025.
