Meta Releases Holiday Planning Guide

By Brittany Siminitz | June 15, 2026

As we near the midpoint of the year, consumers may be focused on their summer vacations, but retailers should be thinking about holiday shoppers.

For this planning time, Meta has released its 2026 Holiday Playbook—which focuses, per its title, on “winning hearts and boosting carts” as it offers insights on how to maximize holiday sales.

The guide’s overarching message is clear: Build trust with consumers now, and sales conversations will happen more easily later.

According to research cited by Meta, 82% of consumers need to trust a brand before making a purchase. At the same time, 79% say convenience is an important deciding factor at the point of sale.

Addressing this dual mandate should shape a retailer’s entire holiday strategy, according to Meta.

To build trust, Meta recommends partnering with social media content creators to help sell products. Some 71% of consumers make a purchase within days of seeing creator content on Meta platforms, the company noted.

“This is about earned credibility at scale,” Meta said in its press release about Holiday Playbook highlights. “A brand telling you ‘Our product is great’ is expected. A creator you trust showing how they actually use that product? That’s persuasive.”

Reels and other “authentic storytelling” are also tools for building trust, Meta said, while AI-powered optimization, personalized recommendations, and omnichannel capabilities help streamline the path to purchase.

Holiday planning should already be underway, according to Meta. The second quarter of the year—which ends in a few weeks—is the time for laying the foundation: identifying creator partners, developing strategic content briefs, and planning campaigns.

Q3 (July through September) is all about launching and optimizing, Meta said. This phase includes activating creator partnerships and sponsorships, testing sales campaigns, and refining omnichannel attribution strategies. It’s an opportunity to determine what resonates with consumers, so you can scale it up in the fourth quarter.

Once Q4 arrives, retailers will aim to turn trust into transactions during the busiest shopping season of all. “The head start from Q2 and Q3 is what separates strong holiday performance from expensive guesswork,” Meta stated.