Holiday Season 2025: Best Practices for Walmart Sellers

Every year, Walmart Marketplace transforms into one of the busiest shopping destinations. As millions of customers hunt for the best deals from October through December, sellers who plan early and execute strategically are the ones who stand out, and sell out.

With the 2025 holiday season approaching, competition will be tougher, ad space will fill up faster, and shoppers will expect more value than ever. Whether you’re a seasoned Walmart seller or gearing up for your first big Q4, these proven strategies and best practices will help you turn peak season traffic into long-term growth.

1. Start Early: Build Momentum Before Peak Traffic

As the holiday season approaches, early preparation is key. Walmart’s fall high-traffic event kicks off the season, running from October 7-12, and the momentum continues with Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas.

Pro Tip:

Launch your campaigns early, preferably by October, to secure your spot before the peak traffic hits. By front-loading your holiday budget, you can build relevancy and secure the best ad placements early in the season.

👉Learn more about Walmart’s high-traffic events and strategies for success here.

2. Be Retail-Ready: Optimizing Listings for Maximum Impact

No matter how great your ad strategy is, your listings must be optimized to ensure visibility and conversions during high-traffic periods.

Key Actions to Take:

1. Ensure Correct Category Placement: Check that your product is listed in the right category for optimal discoverability.
2. Complete Product Attributes: Fill out all relevant attributes (e.g., size, color, material) to meet Walmart’s 5.0 spec sheet standards. Find the official Walmart 5.0 Spec Sheet guidelines here.
3. Keyword Optimization: Use Walmart Search Insights to refine your keyword strategy, ensuring that your listing targets high-intent customers. Explore Walmart Search Insights for keyword analysis.

3. Full-Funnel Advertising: Maximize Reach and Conversions

A full-funnel approach is the best way to ensure your brand stands out during the holiday rush. Combine Search Ads and Display Ads to meet customers at every stage of their journey:

Search Ads:

• Sponsored Products: Target high-intent shoppers looking for products in your category.
• Sponsored Brands: Showcase your brand’s full product range and enhance discoverability.

Display Ads:

• Use on-site display ads to raise awareness, and video ads to engage customers as they browse. Combine both to create a full-funnel advertising strategy that drives higher conversions.

Pro Tip:

Combining Sponsored Search + Display Ads is proven to increase purchase likelihood by 3x and drive 40% larger baskets.

4. Promotions and Holiday Messaging: Connect with the Season’s Spirit

Holiday shoppers are looking for deals and value. Make sure your promotional strategy is in line with what customers expect during this busy season.

Best Practices:

• Promote Discounts: Highlight your holiday promotions with visible price reductions. Even a 10-30% discount can encourage conversions.
• Seasonal Messaging: Use family-oriented visuals and holiday-related copy to emotionally connect with your audience. Showcase products for gifting, entertaining, and creating memorable holiday experiences.

5. Optimize Campaigns in Real Time: Continuous Monitoring

Once your campaigns are live, the work isn’t over. Continuous optimization is essential for driving the best results:

Actions to Take:

• Monitor Performance : Regularly check pacing and performance reports to adjust bids, keywords, and budgets in real-time.
• Refine Targeting: Use insights from Search Term Reports to optimize your keyword targeting, focusing on high-converting terms.
• Explore Walmart’s Search Term Performance Reports

6. Creative Best Practices: Make Your Brand Stand Out

The holidays are a time of celebration, and your creative content should reflect that. Whether it's through festive imagery or compelling product benefits, use your creatives to inspire action.

Creative Recommendations:

1. Family-Centered Imagery: Show real-life holiday moments to emotionally connect with shoppers.
2. Bundle Products: Feature complementary items as holiday bundles to inspire customers to shop more.
3. Highlight Savings: Reinforce the value proposition with clear savings messaging and holiday-specific offers.

👉Check the Display Ad Creative Guide here

7. Leverage Walmart Connect’s AI: Supercharge Your Campaigns

This holiday season, let Walmart Connect’s AI-powered automation take your campaigns further. With tools like

• Automatic Targeting: Walmart’s AI automatically identifies the best audiences, placements, and keywords based on shopper intent. It continuously learns from performance data, helping your ads appear where they’re most likely to convert.
• Smart Bidding: The system adjusts your bids in real time, increasing them when there’s a high chance of conversion and reducing them when demand drops. This ensures you stay competitive without overspending.
• Goal-Based Optimization: Walmart’s AI dynamically reallocates your budget toward the campaign objectives that matter most (e.g., conversions, clicks, or awareness), so every dollar delivers measurable impact.

Sellers using these automation tools have seen up to 1.7× higher return on ad spend compared to manual campaigns.

👉Explore Walmart Connect opportunities at scale on Walmart’s website and app in 2025.

Conclusion

The 2025 holiday season is a massive opportunity for Walmart sellers to drive growth and build brand loyalty. With the right preparation, ad strategy, and creative approach, you can ensure your success in this highly competitive time.

‍

‍

‍

‍