Holiday shopping season is here, and Americans are still ready to spend. The National Retail Federation expects U.S. retail sales to reach $1.013 trillion in November and December, up 4.2% from last year.

But shoppers are becoming more selective. Deloitte reports that 79% of consumers expect higher prices, and nearly four in ten are actively seeking better value through promotions, rewards, and lower-cost alternatives.

For marketers, that means another generic holiday discount might not be enough to stand out. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday approaching, the opportunity is to make shopping easier, offers more compelling, and campaigns more relevant.

Here are five ways to make the most of the season:

• Make promotions feel worthwhile. Go beyond blanket discounts with exclusive bundles, gifts with purchase, loyalty rewards, or early access. Make the savings and benefits easy to understand.
• Think beyond Black Friday. Build interest early with gift collections and product recommendations, then use targeted offers and retargeting to convert shoppers during major promotional events. Keep December’s last-minute buyers in mind, too.
• Help shoppers find the right gift. Create gift guides organized by budget, recipient, or interest. Product quizzes, curated collections, and helpful SEO content can make discovery easier.
• Turn social inspiration into purchases. Use short-form videos, creator recommendations, and customer reviews to show products in action. Connect that content to relevant product pages with clear next steps.
• Remove checkout headaches. Make shipping deadlines, return policies, delivery costs, and pickup options easy to find. A confusing mobile checkout can undo all the work that brought shoppers to your site.

Adobe expects U.S. online holiday sales to reach $275.1 billion this year, including $12.9 billion on Black Friday and $15.1 billion on Cyber Monday.

There’s plenty of opportunity ahead. The brands that make it easier for shoppers to discover products, recognize value, and complete purchases will be better positioned to capture it.

Head to Carney for more.

Ever wonder why your competitor keeps showing up above you on Google Maps?

GMB Everywhere is a Chrome extension that helps you dig into local SEO performance. You can audit Google Business Profiles, analyze competitors’ categories, review strategies, and explore local ranking factors directly from Google Maps.

It also offers tools for tracking reviews and checking how businesses optimize their profiles. Pretty handy when you’re trying to figure out what’s working for the competition.

Don’t miss the latest episode of The Daily Carnage Show, where we explore how States are taking social media regulation into their own hands—and what that could mean for platforms, users, and advertisers.

From teen screen time limits and age verification to algorithmic feeds and restrictions on addictive design, new state laws and legal agreements are reshaping how social media platforms operate.

In this episode of The Daily Carnage Show, Shannon breaks down the growing wave of social media regulation, including Meta and TikTok’s agreements with states, New York’s Safe for Kids Act, and Florida’s push for stricter restrictions.

🎙️ Plus, catch up on Season 2:

• Apple’s Secret Ad Tech Blocklist: What Marketers Need to Know (11:04)
• AI Is Killing Entry-Level Marketing Jobs (12:55)
• Microdramas Are Taking Over Marketing (10:43)
• AI CEOs Want to Slow Down. The AI Race Won’t. (11:39)
• Reddit Is Changing SEO & AI Search (10:55)
• The Creator Economy Rules Gaming (43:53)
• Dissecting the Brand Apology (11:35)
• Google Image Search is… Pinterest? (9:26)
• Sony & The Death of Physical Media (8:57)

🎙️ Now streaming on Youtube, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Music.

Let’s take this party outside of the inbox, Carnies!

Connect and network with over 20,000 marketers to get (and give) advice, feedback, support, and LOLs.

• 💬 Join r/TheDailyCarnage on Reddit
• 👍 Join The Daily Carnage Facebook Group

😎 See ya there.

The Daily Carnage reaches decision-makers at brands, agencies, SaaS companies, and startups who are actively researching solutions, evaluating vendors, and making purchasing decisions every day.

Now, we’re opening up a limited number of Friends of The Daily Carnage partnerships for brands that want to build a consistent presence with our audience, not just run a one-off ad.

Friends get discounted sponsorship inventory, priority booking, first access to unsold placements, bonus opportunities, and performance reviews throughout the year.

Partnership levels include dedicated newsletter features, premium placements, podcast pre-rolls, classified ads, social promotion, and more.

Past sponsors include Canva, HubSpot, Salesforce, Mailchimp, Marketing Brew, and dozens of other leading brands.

Interested in reaching marketers who actually click? Reach out to get started!

David Schwimmer is chasing a red sweater again. Friends fans might have some déjà vu.

In Quince’s new campaign, the actor becomes obsessed with a red cashmere sweater that keeps appearing everywhere he looks. What starts as a dream turns into a surreal chase through New York City as he desperately tries to get his hands on one.

The joke is a nod to a classic Friends episode, where a forgotten red sweater becomes the key to revealing the father of Rachel’s baby.

Twenty-five years later, Ross still can’t escape that sweater.

Owl Drug Stores, 1958