Billboards Deliver During the Holiday Shopping Season and Beyond

The holiday shopping season is shifting into high gear. Despite warnings of economic headwinds, Deloitte forecasts that overall retail sales will rise an estimated 3.7 percent in 2025. That bodes well for retailers. Research shows that holiday shopping continues to start earlier than ever with consumers already shopping in September and October.

Here are a few strategic ideas of how retailers can leverage Clear Channel Outdoor’s (CCO) nationwide network of billboards to place their messages in the path of holiday shoppers. A move that can deliver what they want most for the holidays—increased awareness, sales and revenue:

In-store shopping is still high on the holiday shopping list

Nearly 45% of consumers in the U.S. said they planned to shop in-stores during the 2024-2025 holiday season. Some surveys put that figure as high as 68%. Either way, this is news that brick-and-mortar retailers can use as they develop strategies for the upcoming holiday shopping season.

An ideal way to actualize those insights is to harness the proven power of CCO’s advertising solutions to drive consumer action. Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising, which largely consists of billboards, is a trusted medium with 61 percent of consumers surveyed saying they view OOH ads favorably, and 85 percent finding OOH ads useful. In fact, consumer perception of OOH helped drive a 133 percent lift in in-store visits for a popular jewelry brand among consumers exposed to the ad campaign. 

Take a look at how some retailers leveraged OOH to spread their brand of holiday cheer:

Promoting Unique Gifts

Many holiday gift-givers take their responsibilities to heart. They’re determined to find a gift that will make even the hardest-to-please recipient smile. Unique, one-of-a-kind gifts tend to be the domain of local retail shops. OOH ads effectively drive traffic to local businesses with messages promoting special events like Small Business Saturday, limited-time doorbuster deals, uncommon gift options, and directions to retail locations:

Leverage OOH to help holiday shoppers go the distance

Popping in-and-out of stores during the holidays is tantamount to a workout. Fast food chains and QSRs should seize the opportunity to give consumers the boost they need to shop ‘til they drop. Leverage CCO’s printed and digital displays to encourage consumers to grab a snack. Surround them with messages highlighting exclusive deals, promoting the return of much-anticipated seasonal treats or point them to your location a mile ahead on the right.

For marketers with a time-locked promotion, our Roadblock solution delivers high impact and  drives a sense of urgency among consumers to take notice and take action! We can synchronize every digital billboard display in a single market, or nationwide, to go live simultaneously. And this can be done with a real time countdown ahead of the promotion to drive consumers to your location, so they won’t miss out on a tasty deal.

Quick Service Restaurant brands and franchises have long used the power of our printed and digital OOH display formats to deliver the right messages at a time that matters most and that can change in real time:

Gift cards give recipients the freedom to choose

The U.S. gift card market is expected to reach $447 billion by 2025, largely due to a shift toward digital gift cards. With nearly half of shoppers' holiday budgets projected to go toward the purchase of gift cards, retailers can leverage OOH’s ability to drive purchase intent with a campaign highlighting the benefits of giving gift cards that consumers find most attractive—convenience, instant deliver, and the desire to give something meaningful without the risk or hassle of a gift ending up in the return or regift pile.

Here's a few examples of gift card campaigns from retailers embracing the power of OOH:

Shop online anytime from anywhere

E-commerce holiday sales grew nearly 8.7 percent in 2024, with continued double-digit growth expected in 2025. Studies show that OOH advertising drives online engagement. Our research shows that 76 percent of adults took action with their mobile devices after seeing an OOH ad. And with 83 percent of shoppers planning at least some online shopping, retailers can position themselves to benefit from that anticipated growth in revenue with a CCO OOH campaign, that drives consumers to their websites.

_{Source: Deloitte.wsj.com, 2025; Business.Adobe.com, 2025; Retaildive.com; Deloitte.Wsj, 2025; OAAA, Morning Consult, 2023; OAAA, The Harris Poll, 2022; Capitaloneshopping.com, 2025; Business.adobe.com, 2025; Circana.com, 2024}