January is traditionally considered a “slow month” for fashion ecommerce. Customers have spent heavily during Christmas, promotional fatigue is high, and full-price demand can dip. But for brands that approach January strategically, it becomes one of the most important months for reactivation, retention and lifetime value (LTV) growth.

‍

As a fashion marketing agency, we see the same pattern every year: the brands that win in January aren’t the ones shouting the loudest, they’re the ones who re-engage December shoppers with timely, personalised, and strategically structured paid media.

‍

Retarget December Buyers While They’re Still Warm

‍

Christmas shoppers fall into two buckets:

1. Those who bought gifts
2. Those who bought for themselves

‍

Both behave differently but both are still highly re-engageable when January begins.

‍

Your goal in the first 10–14 days of January:
‍

Re-engage anyone who purchased or engaged heavily in December.

‍

Paid media actions:

• Create a purchaser audience for Dec 1–Dec 31
• Run a New Arrivals campaign
• Promote early-season collections (not discounts)
• Test messaging around “fresh new wardrobe”, “start the year with style”, “new season drops”

‍

Early January = warmest reactivation window.

‍

Launch a Post-Purchase Cross-Sell Sequence

‍

Christmas purchases reveal intent and that intent should drive your January ads.

‍

Examples:

• Bought a dress → show knitwear, boots, bags
• Bought partywear → show basics, loungewear, denim
• Bought outerwear → show accessories, layering edits

‍

This is where catalogue segmentation and custom product sets inside Meta shine.

‍

The best-performing sequences:

• 5–7 days after first purchase – Show complementary items
• 14–21 days later – Show new arrivals or transitional collections

‍

Cross-sell ads increase LTV and encourage customers to return sooner.

‍

Promote New Arrivals Instead of Relying on Heavy Discounts

‍

January sales are everywhere, but discount-driven shoppers are often not the highest-LTV customers.

‍

High-performing brands shift messaging early:

• “New year, new wardrobe”
• “Fresh styles just dropped”
• “Best sellers back in stock”
• “Start 2026 in style”
• “Our first drop of the year”

‍

Why this works:

• It avoids discount fatigue
• It repositions your brand outside the sale noise
• It connects your products to the seasonal reset behaviour
• It speaks equally to gift buyers and self-purchasers

‍

Fashion thrives on newness, and January is the best time to leverage it.

‍

Reactivate Christmas Browsers With Smart Retargeting

‍

Many people browsed your website in December but didn’t buy, especially last-minute shoppers who couldn’t meet delivery cut-offs.

‍

These are prime candidates for January reactivation.

‍

Run retargeting for:

• Product viewers (Dec 15–Dec 31)
• ATC audiences
• High-intent engagers
• Gift-guide visitors
• Sale-page visitors

‍

Messaging ideas:

• “Still thinking about it?”
• “New season styles you’ll love”
• “Your favourites are back in stock”
• “Missed our delivery deadline? Start fresh with January arrivals”

‍

This group converts at some of the lowest CPAs in early Q1.

‍

Run Meta Reminder Ads for January Drops or New Season Launches

‍

Reminder Ads are incredibly powerful for fashion brands and work exceptionally well in January.

‍

Seasonal opportunity.

‍
January is when:

• Wardrobe refresh behaviour increases
• Consumers look for “new me” styling
• Many go back to work/events
• Fitness, loungewear, and basics surge

‍

Use Reminder Ads for:

• First drop of the year
• New collection teasers
• Capsule launches
• Payday promotions
• Back-in-stock alerts

‍

This builds anticipation and recreates the buzz of December sales, without discounts.

‍

Increase Creative Volume to Combat January Ad Fatigue

‍

December burns through creative fast.

‍
January offers cheaper CPMs, but performance will still fail if your creative remains stale.

‍

Your January creative plan should include:

• New season lifestyle content
• Clean, minimal aesthetics (New Year tone)
• UGC try-ons
• “3 ways to style” videos
• Back-to-work edits
• Capsule wardrobe concepts
• Winter-to-spring transitional styling

‍

Creative resets are essential for January reactivation.

‍

Use Google PMax to Capture Returning Customers Searching Your Brand

‍

January sees a spike in branded and navigational search:

• Customers checking returns
• Browsing new arrivals
• Searching for sale extensions
• Looking for sizes or stock updates

‍

Make sure you’re capturing this demand:

• Keep branded search active
• Refresh PMax assets with new-season creatives
• Update feed attributes (collections, sale prices, new colours)
• Use custom labels for January-only promotions

‍

PMax often becomes a low-CAC channel in early Q1.

‍

Final Thoughts

‍

January doesn’t have to be a slow month for fashion brands. In fact, it’s one of the most valuable times to increase LTV, grow repeat purchases, and turn seasonal shoppers into loyal customers.

‍

The brands that win are the ones who treat reactivation as proactively as acquisition — updating creative, launching cross-sells, promoting new arrivals, and using smart retargeting to reach high-intent December customers.

‍

We’ve seen that the most successful Q1 campaigns come from brands that refresh quickly, personalise their messaging, and use both Paid Social and Paid Search or PPC to guide Christmas shoppers back into the funnel.

‍

‍