The Fifth Quarter: How Brands Can Be Successful After the Holidays

You may be asking yourself, “What is the fifth quarter and why does it matter to me or my business?” The fifth quarter is that time between Christmas and the New Year when consumers are no longer focused on purchasing gifts for family, friends, co-workers and everyone else in their lives, and can finally turn the focus on themselves. This is their time to think about the things that they want and purchase the holiday gifts that will feed their soul. 

For many, this may look like health and wellness, workout gear, beauty products or new clothes that make them feel confident about jumping into a new year. It can also look like a new gym membership, classes, self-care services or even a brand new car! Whatever it is, it’s a time when consumers can finally put themselves first after a season of shopping for everyone else. 

Why Is the Fifth Quarter Important for Retailers?

The fifth quarter gives both brick-and-mortar businesses as well as online retailers the opportunity to shift their messaging from focusing on what has been essential in the months of the pandemic to focusing on items that bring about new beginnings and hope. Although focusing on sanitation and protection is still important, companies can start to think beyond “safe” in the fifth quarter and market comfort and indulgence.

Despite the economic uncertainty of 2020, 12% of consumers expect to spend more this holiday season, and 65% of consumers expect to shop differently this year, meaning they’ll be doing a lot more digital shopping.

Why Does a Fifth Quarter Digital Strategy Matter?

Life took a lot of twists and turns this year, so it’s important to recognize that almost all companies and industries have turned to the digital landscape to promote their products and services. What used to take five to seven touchpoints for a consumer to know, like and trust your brand, can now take up to 16 to 18 touchpoints, so a robust and comprehensive digital marketing strategy is essential to your success in the fifth quarter.

It’s crucial to make sure you are creating a cyclical conversation that drives traffic to your website and that, once someone lands on your website, you are capturing their information through a pop-up/irresistible offer. A single visit is good, but being able to market to the customer many times once they leave your site is gold. It’s also important that you create keyword-focused content on your site and share that content throughout all of your social channels in a strategic way to build awareness and visibility. 

How Do I Create a Fifth Quarter Strategy?

After this year, we’re all eager for an end-of-the-year break, but don’t log off for the holidays just yet. You need to have your fifth quarter strategy in effect now. At Elevate My Brand, we’ve worked with numerous B2C clients in retail to develop successful fifth quarter strategies. Whenever you’re ready to talk strategy, call or email us—but don’t wait because the fifth quarter will be here before you know it!

Biana Lerman, Account Executive
Elevate My Brand

Back to List

This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to collect information about how you interact with our website and allow us to remember you. We use this information in order to improve and customize your browsing experience and for analytics and metrics about our visitors both on the website and other media. To find out more about the cookies we use, see our Privacy Policy.

Continue