Welcome to Glossy’s Holiday Countdown, a bi-weekly guide to the new and noteworthy strategies brands and retailers are employing to capitalize on holiday spending.
There are fewer than 80 days until the end of 2026. That means just a few weeks until many consumer brands expect their biggest sales period of the year: the holiday shopping season.
“Usually over the last couple of years, Q4 was a really big chunk, maybe even over 50% [of annual sales],” said Jamie Litvack, president of Bagatelle International, parent company of Avec Les Filles. The brand, known for its outerwear, expanded this year to handbags priced at $198-$298. Two of those bags sold out at launch, which makes getting them restocked before the holiday season all the more crucial.
“We’re going to be replenishing bags for the first week of November. So everybody who is on the wait list will be able to get one,” said Litvack. “And then there might even be a sneak peek of a new one coming up right around December as well.”
Avec Les Filles is far from the only brand keeping a close eye on Q4 sales. Bain & Company forecasts that retail sales over the Black Friday through Cyber Monday weekend will exceed $85 billion, an 8.75% rise over 2025. But for some shoppers, the holiday shopping season has already begun. According to CNET’s annual holiday shopping survey, 32% of U.S. adults plan to start holiday shopping for deals before November.
But even with Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions being a major sales driver during the holiday period, some brands are hesitant to offer major discounts during the period. Litvack said Avec Les Filles aims to keep prices accessible throughout the year, rather than offering steep discounts in November.
“We’re a 12 months of the year business with newness dropping all the time,” said Litvack. “So it doesn’t necessarily mean there will be a blanket sale right across, but there’ll definitely be a Cyber Black Friday Cyber Monday shop with some amazing incentives.”
Glossy+ Research’s holiday report found that most brands don’t plan to offer steeper discounts than the 2025 holiday season, and bundling options may be more attractive for smaller brands that can’t absorb the costs of steep discounts.
Advent calendars, a popular and sometimes controversial category, are back this year, too. Even while consumers have criticized the high prices of advent calendars, some luxury brands are still going with a bigger-is-better model to clinch the holiday purchase.
In October, luxury fragrance brand Byredo launched a $955 advent calendar with mini and full-sized perfumes, body washes and candles. French niche fragrance brand Maison Francis Kurkdjian exceeded four digits with a $1,200 “countdown calendar” containing perfumes and candles.
Other brands are returning to collaborations to stir up holiday buzz. On Tuesday, J.Crew announced a holiday collaboration with American Girl, including matching outfits for kids and their dolls. Grace Wales Bonner and Adidas extended their long-running collaboration with a Holiday 2026 collection featuring rich green and brown sneakers.
Collabs aren’t the only way brands are looking to excite consumers. After years of muted, neutral tones dominating fashion, Avec Les Filles is expecting a return to bold colors for holiday shoppers.
“We’re definitely seeing color emerging now,” said Litvack. “The Avec Les Filles girl loves red, but even primary colors and pops and everything.”
Trendspotting with LTK: What the search data says about shoppers’ pre-holiday habits
Influencer affiliate platform LTK is already seeing shoppers planning holiday looks for events ranging from coordinated family photos to work parties.
As of October 14, searches for “Christmas party dress” were up 75% week over week, and searches for “Christmas outfit” were up 42%. Users also turned to the platform for holiday photo inspiration, with searches for both “Christmas family photos” and “holiday family photos” doubling week over week, according to LTK data shared with Glossy.
Early LTK trends suggest we’re set for another “Ralph Lauren Christmas,” with searches for the look up 43% week over week. It was the top-searched trend on LTK during the 2025 holiday season, peaking in early- to mid-November.
Other holiday-perfect trends are also gaining traction: Shoppers are increasingly looking for clothing styles with richer textures and festive details, including sparkle, satin and velvet. For example, searches for “glitter and gingham” increased 88% week over week.
As for gifting, consumers are thinking ahead: LTK searches for “stocking stuffers” are up 167% week over week, and searches for “gift guides” are up 67%. –Jill Manoff
Holiday news to know
- TikTok Shop is also rolling out holiday data. The company revealed that #holidayshopping content was up 263% month over month in September, luxury resale is gaining momentum, and jewelry is having a moment, with searches for “gold jewelry” surging 1,134% month over month from May to September. In addition, collectibles are emerging as a major holiday trend, live shopping continues to accelerate, and major retailers are expanding their presence on the platform. (Sephora, Ulta Beauty, Best Buy, Michael Kors and Victoria’s Secret are among brands that have joined TikTok Shop this year.)
- On Tuesday evening, Ulta Beauty invited editors, creators, brand founders, and Ulta Beauty leaders to Studio 525 in NYC for the company’s annual holiday event, which introduced the retailer’s holiday campaign and exclusive products. With the company launching on TikTok Shop earlier this year, this was the first time the event featured a large display of TikTok Shop-exclusive items, including product bundles and novelty products seeing strong traction on the platform. It was also the first time Ulta invited TikTok creators — 35 to be exact — to attend the event. Eighty members of the media were also expected.
- New data from wholesale platform Faire shows that Advent calendars are becoming more important to independent retailers’ holiday assortments. From June 1 to September 30, wholesale orders rose 63% year over year, and retailers spent nearly 4 times as much on Advent calendars to keep them in stock throughout the season. –Jill Manoff
