Like many retailers, you may plan on a strong Q4 to put a bow on your fiscal year. One means of support is to create a holiday gift guide that brings customers to your store and helps close sales. After all, every retailer knows the pressure: endless competition, shrinking attention spans, and customers who start hunting for deals long before Black Friday. 

As many as 91% of US adults plan to celebrate winter holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa this year, according to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) annual consumer survey. 

While 63% or respondents will wait until Thanksgiving weekend to do most of their holiday shopping, they’re already in the mood to browse, scout deals, set budgets, prioritize, and make plans. 

And they anticipate spending $890.49 per person on average this year on holiday gifts, food, decor, and other seasonal items. This is the second-highest amount in the 23 years of the NRF’s survey, just below last year’s record of $901.99.

Meanwhile, by the time most brands launch holiday marketing campaigns, they’re too late to capture nearly half their audience.

So the time to create a holiday gift guide is now. 

A well-designed gift guide simplifies decision-making for shoppers overwhelmed by options. It also keeps them engaged longer and helps your business move high-margin products or curated bundles that lift average order value (AOV). When done right, it’s not just seasonal content—it’s a high-converting sales experience.

Whether you’re creating your first gift guide or upgrading an old one, this guide helps you turn the holiday season into opportunity—and guides shoppers straight to “Add to cart.”

What is a holiday gift guide?

In retail, a holiday gift guide is used to help prospective and existing customers make buying decisions during the holiday season. Products are curated based on factors such as category, target audience, price point, and sales history. Nowadays, gift guides are usually digital, but they can also be printed and sent to your mailing list via direct mail. 

The main objective of making and distributing a gift guide is to create a frictionless shopping experience where customers can quickly pick up a gift without having to spend too much time thinking it over. Making it easier for shoppers to choose gifts helps you increase sales and boost revenue during the holiday season.

Today’s holiday gift guides are often omnichannel, bringing together curated products, themed bundles, and even interactive quizzes to help customers find the right gift faster. Instead of scrolling through endless product pages, shoppers can explore organized, visually engaging sections tailored to their needs.

Why gift guides are important

Gift guides do more than look good—they drive measurable results:

• Reduce friction: Shoppers spend less time searching and more time buying.
• Boost conversions: Curated layouts highlight your bestsellers and high-margin items.
• Capture data: Interactive elements like quizzes and opt-ins give you zero-party insights for retargeting.

And the opportunity keeps growing. During the 2024 holiday season, US online and non-store sales increased 8.6% year over year, according to the National Retail Federation.

How to create a holiday gift guide in seven steps

As a busy retailer, you may feel overwhelmed by the thought of making and distributing your gift guide. The good news is you don’t have to be. Follow these seven steps to take your idea from brainstorm to launch, using Shopify’s built-in analytics, simple design tools, and data-driven merchandising.

Step 1: Define your audience and goals

Every great gift guide begins with clarity: who you’re creating it for, and what outcome you want. Are your primary customers gift-givers buying for others or self-purchasers treating themselves? Each audience responds differently to product language, price anchors, and urgency cues.

Use this quick framework to get specific:

• Who are your shoppers? For example, they might be parents, coworkers, or partners. If you have more than one target audience, divide them into customer segments
• What’s their average budget? Under $25, under $100, or premium?
• What problem are they solving? They might be finding something thoughtful, looking for last-minute convenience, or seeking personalization.
• What’s your goal? Are you trying to raise order values? Increase customer lifetime value (LTV)? Boost conversions? Build your email list?

Write these answers down. They’ll guide your copy tone, categories, and imagery. Once you know who you’re serving and why, use that insight to shape everything from product curation to page layout.

Next: Turn those audience insights into product choices that sell.

Step 2: Analyze data and select products

Instead of guessing what to feature, use Shopify Analytics to review real sales performance and identify proven winners. Here’s a three-step mini playbook:

• Pull reports from last year’s Q4. Focus on bestselling SKUs, variants, and bundles that performed well
• Filter for high-margin, low-return products. These are ideal for gift inclusion—they drive profit and reduce post-holiday headaches.
• Fill gaps with complementary products. If your assortment feels thin, use Shopify Collective or trusted suppliers to round out your gift guide categories.

When deciding what not to include, eliminate products with poor reviews, supply chain risks, or long lead times. Connect this curation to your audience goals: If your shoppers value convenience, feature ready-to-ship bundles; if they value uniqueness, highlight small-batch or limited-edition items.

Tip: If you still aren’t sure what to include, look to holiday stores and other merchants in your niche for inspiration.

Next: Group your chosen products into intuitive categories to make shopping effortless.

Step 3: Organize your guide with compelling categories

Gift guides work best when they mimic how real people shop, not how inventory is organized. Arrange your guide using categories that tap into shopper intent. 

For example,

• By budget: “Gifts Under $25,” “Under $100,” or “Splurge-worthy Picks”
• By recipient: “For Him,” “For Teens,” “For the Office”
• By interest: “For Runners,” “For Home Chefs,” “For Gamers”
• By cause or theme: “Sustainable Gifts,” “Gifts That Give Back,” “Made in the USA”

Many Shopify merchants have gift guide examples that show this approach in action. Gymshark sorts gifts by activity and price range; Mejuri groups gifts into bundles and pieces that can be personalized; Chubbies adds humor with categories like, “For the Workout Warrior” and “For the Couch Captain.” These kinds of storytelling touches make your guide memorable.

Each collection page should internally link to related categories—this boosts both search engine optimization (SEO) and helps with onsite navigation.

Next: Bundle your best products into irresistible packages that raise average order value.

Step 4: Create high-value gift bundles

Shoppers want to find just the thing for the special someone they’re shopping for, and by grouping complementary items, you make gifting easier while increasing AOV. Win-win.

Try a few proven bundle formats:

• Themed kits: Combine items around an experience (like a “Cozy Night In Set” with a blanket, candle, and cocoa mix).
• Tiered pricing:Offer “Good / Better / Best” bundles to fit any budget.
• Cross-category gift sets: Pair related items (such as tech accessories and a travel case).

Holiday ecommerce tools can make this and other seasonal strategies easier. For example, the Shopify Bundles app automatically syncs inventory and pricing, so you can build flexible combos without overselling stock. Track bundle performance by comparing bundle AOV vs. single-item AOV in your analytics dashboard to see which themes drive the biggest lift.

Next: Create gift guides using easy-to-use tools that look great on any device.

Step 5: Design your gift guide with the right tools

You don’t need a designer to create a polished, on-brand gift guide. Professional design is now accessible to any business size. Start with these essential tools:

• Canva or Adobe Express for product graphics, banner images, and promo tiles
• Shogun, PageFly, or GemPages for drag-and-drop landing page design

Build your layout around a simple, reusable gift guide template:

• Hero section: A banner that announces your 2025 holiday gift guide, a bestselling product, or your theme, if you have one
• Category tiles: Organized by budget, interest, or recipient
• Bundles block: Showcase your top curated sets
• Interactive quiz placeholder: This is optional—more details in the next section
• CTA row: Feature the deals and prompts that get shoppers to click “Add to cart”—like free shipping or early-bird promotions

Keep fonts, colors, and photography consistent with your brand’s main site for a seamless customer experience. And keep in mind that the tool you choose likely has gift guide templates and design ideas to help you get started, even if you have limited design experience.

Next: Add an interactive element that keeps shoppers engaged from the first click.

Step 6: Go beyond static lists with an interactive gift quiz

A gift-finder quiz helps indecisive shoppers zero in on the perfect product while giving you valuable first-party data. With Shopify apps like Octane AI and Jebbit, you can build one in an afternoon.

Here’s what to do:

• Write 5–8 short, fun questions. Who is the gift for? What’s the budget? What are their interests? What’s their preferred style?
• Link each quiz result to an existing collection or bundle. That way, answers lead directly to products
• Add an email capture or SMS opt-in. Integrate with Klaviyo or your customer relationship management platform (CRM) for remarketing

Place the quiz at the top of your gift guide landing page or embed it as a popup. Shoppers feel like they’re getting personal help, while you gain data to refine campaigns.

Next: Before launching, ensure your inventory and logistics can keep up with demand.

Step 7: Plan your inventory

Inventory planning can make or break your holiday success. Even the best gift guide fails if items sell out too soon or arrive too late. Here are some tips to help you stay ahead:

• Review last year’s sell-through data. Pinpoint any SKUs that ran out early or were overstocked.
• Stock up on top-sellers and bundles. Increase safety stock for products featured in your gift guide.
• Align marketing with shipping cutoffs. Be aware of holiday shipping deadlines to time last-day promotions accurately.

Tools like Stocky help forecast demand based on real sales velocity. According to the National Retail Federation, US consumers consistently start shopping earlier each year, so your stocking strategy should, too.

Tip: Publish real-time stock updates directly on your guide’s landing page. It builds urgency and helps customers make confident purchase decisions.

With your guide planned and built, it’s time to promote it, through email, social, and smart collaborations that maximize its reach ahead of and during the holiday season.

How to market your holiday gift guide

Making a gift guide without developing a plan to distribute and market it is a waste of time and money. You’ll want to start early and promote it frequently via various channels. These five strategies turn your gift guide into a discovery engine that drives traffic, conversions, and repeat sales.

Create a dedicated landing page

Your guide deserves its own high-converting home base as part of your ecommerce store. A standalone gift guide landing page helps you capture traffic from every channel—email, ads, and organic search—while giving shoppers an easy path from browsing to checkout.

Make sure your page follows this high-converting structure:

• Hero banner: Feature a clear headline (“Find the Perfect Gift in Minutes”) and call-to-action (CTA) button like “Add to cart.”
• Curated categories: Break products into easy-to-scan sections using the categories you determined earlier (price, interest, recipient, etc.).
• Featured bundles: Spotlight sets that boost average order value.
• Interactive quiz: Embed your gift finder, if you have one.
• Trust badges: Add security, shipping, and returns icons near CTAs.
• Email capture: Offer early-access perks or free shipping in exchange for signups.

Keep the URL simple and shareable—something like yourstore.com/gifts. Make sure your page design is responsive and loads quickly on mobile. Globally, 1.65 billion people shop on mobile devices in 2025.

Launch a multi-part email campaign

The return on investment (ROI) for email marketing is3,600% ($36 for every $1 spent), and it’s 40% better at converting when compared to Facebook marketing. Use this inexpensive owned channel to send gift-guide email campaigns notifying your prospective and existing customers about your holiday gift guide. 

Plan a five-email sequence that runs from mid-October through December:

• Launch announcement: Introduce your holiday gift guide and invite subscribers to explore it early.
• Bundle highlights: Feature top-selling or themed bundles to raise AOV.
• Shipping deadlines: Remind customers when to order for guaranteed delivery.
• Last-minute gifts: Focus on digital products, gift cards, or local pickup options.
• Thank-you email: Wrap up the season with gratitude and a promo code for January.

Use personalization wherever possible—segment based on quiz data, past purchases, browsing behavior, or the recipient’s interests. Automation in Shopify Email or Klaviyo can trigger reminders when shoppers abandon the guide or a cart.

Leverage social media with influencers and paid ads

Creators and paid ads can put your gift guide in front of the right shoppers, and fast. Social media can do more than boost awareness—it can make your holiday gift guide shoppable. Partner with creators and influencers whose audience matches your customer base for content and affiliate marketing.

Combine organic creator content with strategic ad formats. For example:

• “Gift Quiz” awareness ads: Use short Reels or TikToks showing shoppers taking your gift quiz, and link directly to their results so shoppers can buy the same gifts.
• Affiliate content: An affiliate program can be a great way to get influencers on board. They publish a blog or social post and then earn a commission for every product sold using their personalized link.
• Retargeting ads: Serve carousel or collection ads featuring top bundles or popular categories.

Be sure to keep influencer partnerships authentic. Reuters reported this year that AI influencers are growing, but real creators still outperform synthetic ones in trust and engagement. That makes transparency, relatability, and brand alignment more valuable than follower count.

To measure ROI, track link clicks, conversions, and engagement via UTM parameters in Shopify Analytics. Extend your reach by creating share-worthy content your followers will want to repost. Schedule campaigns around social media holidays that fit your audience—like Small Business Saturday or Free Shipping Day—to keep visibility high throughout the season.

Collaborate with other brands

Two brands can double exposure while halving workload. Partnerships let you reach new audiences and split campaign costs, but be sure to look for complementary businesses—not competing ones—that share your target demographic.

Effective brand collaborations include:

• Co-branded guides: Curate a “Local Favorites” or “Eco Gift Picks” collection with shared links.
• Joint giveaways: Cross-promote on both brands’ email lists and social channels.
• Shared landing pages: Feature each brand’s hero products on a single destination URL.

Offline tie-ins can also amplify the results of your partnership. If you’re both local businesses, consider hosting a joint holiday popup event or trunk show.

Offer flexible fulfillment and targeted discounts

If you’re not already offering omnichannel order-fulfillment options, the holiday season is a great time to start testing them. Offer convenience-first delivery options such as:

• Buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS)
• Curbside pickup
• Local delivery

To make sure your customers are aware of the various options for online ordering and in-store pickup, and list the details in your holiday gift guide marketing campaigns as well as on the landing page. 

In addition, offering flash sales or special offers on your holiday gift guide is a great way to incentivize shoppers to pick up products or bundles from your retail business instead of from the competition. It also encourages customers to make purchases earlier in the season if they know they’ll get a discount that won’t be available later. 

For example, you can offer: 

• Tiered bundle discounts
• Countdown timers or banners tied to shipping cutoffs
• Special offers that align with the launch of your holiday gift guide
• Limited incentives only available to the first 10 shoppers who purchase products from the gift guide

When is the best time to launch your holiday gift guide?

Consumer behavior has shifted dramatically toward earlier holiday shopping. 

According to the National Retail Federation’s annual consumer survey, 42% of shoppers plan to begin browsing and buying for the holidays before November. Respondents indicated their leading reasons for early shopping are to spread out their budget (54%) or avoid last-minute shopping stress (41%). 

Tariffs are a driving factor for many, with 85% of respondents expecting to see higher prices. These shoppers are prone to take advantage of early October “holiday kickoff” events, including Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days and Walmart Deals. They may also anticipate price increases as retailers replenish stock from overseas.

Small retailers who wait until late November risk missing that window of early discovery, which is why you should aim to launch your holiday gift guide in October. This gives you time to build visibility, test messaging, and use lead time for optimizations.

Once it’s live, you can refresh and tweak it in stages as you collect data and hit major milestones throughout the holiday shopping season:

• Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday: Introduce urgency and bundle-heavy promos.
• Shipping cutoff week: Highlight BOPIS, local delivery, or digital options.
• Post-cutoff: Shift focus to gift cards and other digital gifts for last-minute shoppers.

This article originally appeared on Shopify and is available here for further discovery.