The annual rush of holiday-related revenue comes with a significant bonus: an influx of highly valuable data that you can use to adjust your campaigns for the next big go-round.

Yet marketers often fail to fully leverage this data, either by failing to reference the reports, making some fundamental set-up errors, or drawing the wrong insights to use in subsequent campaigns. This post aims to fix that problem by calling out three reports we constantly reference for our clients, then diving into set-up and analysis best practices.

Let’s start with:

*Path-to-conversion analysis *

This report, which you can run in GA4 or third-party attribution platforms like Rockerbox or Northbeam, helps you understand how different channels (affiliate, paid social, paid search, email) worked together in the Q4 journey. Ultimately, your goal should be to assess whether certain channels were over-credited or undervalued the year before, which will give you a healthier starting point for budget allocation heading into the upcoming Q4.

*Incrementality analysis by publisher and publisher type *

In this report, I recommend pulling data from the last Q4 and the current year to date to get two perspectives on the incrementality of platforms in your publisher mix.

*Performance reports by offer and creative *

This report gives you a handy way to review which discounts, bundles, or messages resonated most by audience segment. Q4 is often where offer fatigue sets in, so knowing timing and saturation levels is critical for the next high season. Run a side-by-side comparison of monthly promotions for 2024 vs. 2025 to get a quick snapshot of how your user base may react to promotions this Q4.

Now that you’ve got your list of reports to prioritize, let’s dive into…

*Reporting set-up best practices *

In order of operation, here are some imperative best practices to follow to make sure you’re able to glean performance gains from your data:

• Define hypotheses clearly, e.g. “A 15% discount drives more incremental new customers than free shipping.”
  
• Use proper controls – audience splits, geo holdouts, or time-based A/Bs – so you can isolate true lift.
  
• Pre-plan your real-time reporting cadence. Don’t wait until January to analyze; set checkpoints during Q4 so you can adjust your initial approach with the learnings you gather in the current high season.
  
• Centralize documentation. Archive results in a shared system (business intelligence dashboards, strategy decks) so they aren’t lost after the holiday rush. The more organized you are this year, the less effort you’ll need to exert next year when you are circling back to your Q4 2025 analysis and Q4 2026 planning.
  

*How to act on the insights from your reports *

Make sure you’re not analyzing your reports on the eve of Q4; you’ll need to give yourself plenty of runway to incorporate any adjustments, particularly when third parties like publishers are involved. That said, here’s a list of opportunities you’re likely to see in the data:

• Reallocate budget toward high-incremental channels/publishers identified during the previous Q4.
  
• Revise commissioning structures to incentivize publishers who drive new customers or early-funnel engagement.
  
• Refine promotional calendars, e.g. avoid overuse of deep discounts in December if the previous year’s data shows fatigue, and lean into early-November offers if they proved more efficient. (Remember, “Black Friday” is now not so much as a day as it is weeks of promotions starting in early November, so don’t miss the rush by waiting until November 28th!)
  
• Optimize your creative mix by doubling down on high-performing messaging themes while retiring underperforming ones.
• Plan dynamic Q4 execution: instead of static spend plans, build flexible budgets that can pivot based on real-time signals validated against last year’s learnings.
  

Remember, in your Q4 planning, that each year’s holiday season is different. This year, for instance, the impact of tariffs (both real and perceived) stands to change user behavior in ways we’ll need to closely and frequently monitor. But strategic implementation of last year’s Q4 data and YTD data will provide a relatively strong start point for campaign planning that puts you in a great competitive position as purchase intent surges