5 UGC Tips to Prepare for the Holiday Season as an E-Commerce Brand 

Holiday 2025 is shaping up to be one of the most competitive retail seasons yet. 

Consumers are entering the shopping season bombarded with ads, influencer collabs, and algorithmic recommendations. But around this noise, what they still trust most are real voices such as authentic reviews, photos, and videos from fellow shoppers. 

79% of shoppers say UGC influences their holiday purchase decisions. Whether it’s a video review on TikTok, a customer photo on a product page, or a creator’s honest take in a gift guide, social proof now determines what gets added to carts. 

For e-commerce brands, that means your customers’ voices can, and should, become your most powerful holiday marketing tool. 

Here’s how to make it happen, with six practical UGC strategies that will help you boost visibility, drive conversions, and build lasting trust this holiday season. 

Tip #1: Start Collecting Fresh Gifted Reviews Early 

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♬ original sound – Revolve

When it comes to reviews, recency matters. Shoppers scanning product pages during the holidays are looking for recent proof that your brand delivers what it promises. 

Search engines also favor up-to-date reviews, boosting your products’ visibility during the most competitive retail window of the year. That means now, not December, is the time to start collecting. 

How to do it?

 Launch gifting campaigns 6–8 weeks before peak holiday traffic. Automate post-purchase requests to ensure every buyer is prompted to leave feedback, and offer small incentives (discounts, loyalty points, or early access) to increase response rates. 

Automation and timing make all the difference. Schedule your gifting campaigns so reviews start populating in October and November, right when consumers are in research mode. 

38% of consumers will not purchase a product if the only reviews available were published 90 days ago or more 

Here is our Gifting Checklist that will help you organize your strategy this holiday season. 

Don’t wait for customers to buy to start building trust. The sooner you refresh your social proof, the more visible and credible your brand will be when it matters the most. 

Tip #2 Turn Gifted UGC into Spark Ads That Convert 

Your gifted collaborations don’t have to end at posting. The real magic happens when you turn that authentic UGC into Spark Ads that drive measurable conversions. 

While polished brand ads blend into the holiday noise, gifted UGC stands out. These videos naturally blend into users’ feeds, keeping the creator’s authentic tone of voice that audiences already trust. 

Why it works? 

Spark Ads allow you to amplify gifted content directly from the creator’s profile, preserving the social proof and credibility that traditional ads lack. It’s your customers and creators speaking for you. 

How to do it? 

1. Gift early and strategically. Send PR boxes or festive bundles to loyal customers and micro-influencers who already engage with your brand. 
2. Request short, natural videos. Think unboxing, first impressions, or “before/after” clips. 
3. Secure permissions to run these posts as Spark Ads and boost them to lookalike audiences. 
4. Test variations such as creator-led intros vs. product-focused demos and track performance through engagement, CTR, and ROAS. 

Across campaigns, UGC-based ads deliver up to 9× higher engagement and stronger click-through rates than branded creatives. 

Gifted content is your most cost-effective way to fuel high-performing Spark Ads this holiday season. 

Tip #3 Showcase Visual & Video Reviews on Product Pages

 

Static product images and generic brand copy are no longer enough. Video and visual reviews, especially those created by real customers offer the kind of immersive proof that helps buyers feel confident right at the point of purchase. 

Video UGC is arguably the most persuasive proof you can place directly on your product pages. It conveys real-world use, context, emotion, and authenticity in a way that text simply cannot. Embedding consumer-generated videos and images on your PDPs reduces friction, fosters trust, and accelerates conversions. 

Case in Example is Dyson.   

They bring reviews to life with video. Dyson integrates a video reviews gallery directly on its product pages, allowing shoppers to see real customers using products like the Supersonic™ hair dryer or Airwrap™ styler. These authentic clips, ranging from unboxing moments to styling demos add social proof and reduce hesitation at checkout. By combining visual storytelling with reviews, Dyson boosts shopper confidence and drives higher conversion rates, particularly for premium, high-consideration products. 

How to implement? 

• Embed short customer videos (30-60 s) showing the product in use ideally in “seasonal use” settings (e.g., gift-opening, holiday décor, festive outfit). 
• Create image galleries comprised of user-shared photos: unboxing moments, styled setups, candid home usage. 
• Position this visual content above the fold or near the “add to cart” button so that authenticity sits right next to the purchase trigger. 
• Use labels or badges such as “Verified Customer Video” or “Holiday Use Case” to highlight relevance and recency. 

 
Prioritize seasonal contexts: for the upcoming holiday season, gather visual reviews that show your product in gifting, decorating, or festive social situations. This not only aligns with shopper mindset but also replicates the scenario they’re imagining increasing relevance and resonance. 

Nearly 80% of individuals report that watching product videos boosts their confidence in purchasing. 

By placing real customer videos and photos at the point of decision, you reduce buyer hesitation, shorten purchase pathways, and elevate the trust factor especially during peak seasonal moments when attention is fleeting and options are abundant. 

Tip #4 Activate Micro-Creators and Loyal Customers 

Micro-creators and loyal customers drive authenticity, deliver higher engagement, and cost less to activate. This makes them the perfect engine for scaling UGC ahead of the holiday rush. 

Compared to macro-influencers, micro-creators often achieve significantly higher engagement rates because their audiences are tight-knit and trust is strong. For example: smaller creators can achieve up to 60% higher engagement compared to larger influencer tiers. 

They’re more cost-efficient and agile, meaning you can activate a larger volume of voices in multiple markets. That’s exactly what you need for a successful holiday season. 

How to implement? 

• Identify your brand advocates early. Use your CRM, loyalty programme or social listening to find customers who already post positive reviews, share your product, tag you in stories or mention you organically. 
• Launch a “Holiday Creator Challenge”. Six to eight weeks before your peak season: send gift boxes or early-release products to these micro-creators + loyal customers. Challenge them to produce short-form content (15–30 sec unboxing, “why I love it”, festive moment with product). 
• Make content activation seamless. Provide a simple brief + guidelines, but allow freedom. Collect permissions in advance. Tag and catalogue the content for later reuse. 
• Deploy across channels. Use the content in Spark Ads, Instagram Reels, paid social, email banners, website hero carousels and homepage highlights. 
• Scale wisely. Because micro-creators cost less, you can work with multiple in each region/language increasing volume and localisation relevance. 

Repurpose across multiple formats: the same video can be used as a short for Reels, a 15-second cut for a TikTok ad, and a still frame for a homepage banner. This multiplier effect makes micro-creator content exceptionally efficient for holiday campaigns. 

Tip #5 Integrate UGC Across Channels, Not Just Social 

While social media remains the birthplace of most UGC, its real power emerges when it’s integrated across every brand touchpoint. Omnichannel activation ensures customers encounter authentic, trust-building proof wherever they shop, browse, or engage. 

Consumers no longer follow a linear path to purchase. They bounce between your website, ads, email campaigns, and even customer service interactions before deciding to buy. Embedding UGC across these touchpoints creates continuity and credibility at every stage. 

A report by Stackla (now Nosto) showed that 79% of people say UGC highly impacts their purchasing decisions, yet only 13% of brands integrate it beyond social media. 

How to implement? 

• On the Website: Add “Top-Rated” or “Most Loved” UGC carousels on homepages and category pages. Include authentic customer photos and snippets of real reviews near CTAs. 
• In Email: Feature customer testimonials or top-rated product visuals in cart-abandonment or post-purchase flows to re-build trust at key decision moments. 
• On Paid Media: Use UGC in retargeting campaigns — video snippets or creator quotes perform better than brand ads in recall and engagement. 
• In CRM & Loyalty Programs: Include UGC highlights or “fan of the month” shout-outs to humanize your brand within customer retention emails. 

Consistency is what drives credibility. The more often your customer sees real proof the stronger the trust reinforcement loop becomes.  

Conclusion 

UGC isn’t a last-minute add-on, it’s your highest-ROI asset for Q4. 

In a season dominated by promotions and endless product noise, authenticity is what stands out. Real customer voices such as their reviews, videos, and shared experiences provide the proof that turns browsing into buying and first-time shoppers into loyal advocates. 

Brands that start early, plan strategically, and activate UGC across every channel will be the ones that win both conversions and trust this season. 

Start collecting, activating, and amplifying UGC now and make your brand the one shoppers trust most this holiday season.