Christmas 2025 sparked uncertainty for some brands, as less healthy food restrictions and subdued consumer spending had an impact on marketing strategy.

Looking back over the period, this Christmas proved “consistency pays off”, according to System1 chief customer officer Jon Evans, whether that’s from simply re-running the same ad or repeating a brand character.

“People like to change everything for Christmas. But Christmas is actually about familiar – familiar things, nostalgia, tradition – and advertising works best when it leans into that,” he states.

According to System1, 2025 was the “best year” it had ever measured in terms of Christmas advertising, with the average star rating for an ad sitting at 4.6 out of 5.9, and the winners were “largely the most consistent ones”. This includes Amazon, which brought back its ‘Joy Ride’ advert from two years prior to score 5.9 stars.

The System1 team had “never seen as many five star ads or 5.9 star ads” at Christmas as they did in 2025, with the “overall standard being exceptionally good”.

2025 was a ‘vintage year’ for Christmas marketing, says Ipsos  

From Ipsos’ Race to Christmas data, John Lewis, Waitrose, Amazon and Aldi saw the biggest year-on-year increases in ad recognition. John Lewis specifically saw a 17-percentage point increase from 2024 to 2025 (39% to 56%), which Ipsos senior director for creative excellence UK, Samira Brophy, calls “exceptional”.

According to Brophy, 2025 showed brands can use a variety of techniques for effective marketing if they matche the “mood of the nation”.

While some brands opted for short, episodic content, Waitrose released a four-minute-long film for its festive campaign. Brophy says consumers could relate to the film as it wasn’t too “over the top” and had a “simple” product – the pie – at its centre. Waitrose was ultimately named the nation’s favourite ad in the Ipsos’ Race to Christmas ranking.

Evans agrees, claiming Waitrose’s work was “particularly good” and the “breakout star”, topping the System1 rankings in part due to its “perfect story arc” which defied the notion that 30 seconds is the optimum time to hold attention.

Grappling LHF

For the grocers in particular, less healthy food regulations (LHF) – voluntarily applied before the January enforcement- meant yule logs, mince pies and Christmas puddings couldn’t be front and centre.

Yet the regulations made storytelling “even more exciting”, according to research from the Ipsos community panel, which still found the advertising “exciting” despite the absence of unhealthy foods.

Just 25% of UK adults aged 18-75 noticed any difference in how food was presented in festive ads, according to Ipsos.

Going into 2026, Brophy feels the regulations can be turned into an opportunity rather than a limitation.

“It’s actually pushed people inadvertently, consciously or unconsciously in the right direction, in terms of using TV or linear video very effectively,” she adds.

While the regulations meant there were limits on what could be shown on TV, this didn’t mean no ‘unhealthy’ food was bought. More than 30 million mince pies were sold at Lidl from September onwards and the retailer’s refreshed Deluxe party food range delivered triple-digit growth, with its cheesecake and tiramisu panettone selling out on the first day of sale.

Seasonal chocolate tubs were also bought by nearly 1 million more shoppers, with sales for the category rising 19% in the four weeks to Christmas, according to data from Worldpanel by Numerator.

Last year, Evans claimed the LHF guidelines meant “more pressure to build a brand”. Brophy agrees, describing advertising as a “key brand building force” and this year there was a focus of demonstrating the “best bits” of brand.

Searching for value

Value has also been heavily referenced in the retailer trading statements released so far this year. Interim Primark CEO Eoin Tonge wants to get the brand back to being a “value leader” in the market, while Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts said the grocer’s focus on value in the golden quarter is “not going to change” as it heads into 2026.

According to Worldpanel, the discounters achieved their largest ever share of festive sales, reaching a total of 16.8%. Aldi and Lidl both exceeded £1bn in turnover once again over Christmas.

In total, take-home sales across all the grocers reached a record £13.8bn, an increase of 3.8% year-on-year, as shoppers spent an average of £476 at supermarkets during the four weeks to 28 December – an additional £15 in comparison to December 2024.

Christmas is actually about familiar – familiar things, nostalgia, tradition – and actually advertising works best when it leans into that.

Jon Evans, System1

Premium own brand sales also exceeded the £1bn milestone for the first time in December 2025, according to the Worldpanel data, signalling shoppers looking for both value and quality.

Sainsbury’s dubbed its Taste the Difference range the “fastest growing premium own label in the market”, while Tesco “delivered double-digit sales growth” across its Finest range.

Alongside the demand for premium products, spend on promotions and deals made up 33.3% of festive sales – a 1.3% increase from last year – claiming the highest proportion of overall sales since December 2019.

This reflects a desire among shoppers to treat themselves – but cautiously – in the context of a “really tough year” where value defined retail conversations and shopper choices, says Brophy.

Kurt Stuhllemmer, partner at Hall & Partners, claims rising premium own brand sales show people “still spending on moments of luxury” despite the tough market. He believes Aldi and Lidl’s Christmas narratives worked as they showed “empathy” with the consumer within the tougher context, which paid off in higher turnover.

A ‘cautious’ retail landscape

While grocers did experience rising sales, the retail landscape as a whole was described as “drab” by the British Retail Consortium, which reported that while sales rose 1.2% year-on-year, sales growth was below the 12-month average of 2.3%.

Stuhllemmer says a dip in non-food spending and credit card spending over Christmas 2025, combined with a sense of “caution”, impacted the overall picture for retail.

NielsenIQ (NIQ) data found UK shoppers were more considered in their spending in 2025, shopping 1.4% more often and spending 1.1% more each time they shopped – an increase from last year’s £22.24 average.

Emotional engagement remains critical to navigate stormy waters.

Kurt Stuhllemmer, Hall and Partners

Head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, Danni Hewson, feels the way people shop for Christmas has changed. Within grocery, this includes a bigger push on loyalty so customers can get that extra value.

She explains loyalty schemes play a “massive part” in getting customers through the door at Christmas, with messaging starting months earlier.

“If you’ve got loyalty with Sainsbury’s and you’re using your Nectar points, and you’re getting your Nectar prices, then you can see a big difference in the cost of your shop, and that is likely to keep you there,” says Hewson.

She claims the supermarkets were “taking a page out of everyone else’s playbook” in 2025, citing the “veg wars” – which ultimately led to soaring sales of home grown produce. At Aldi alone, shoppers bought 56 million potatoes, 37 million carrots and half a million turkeys supplied from British companies. According to NIQ, an additional £36m was spent on discounted fresh vegetables compared to last Christmas.

The lessons brands can take from Christmas 2025 are vast, whether it’s opting for consistency, leaner product selection or taking a creative risk. Evans advises businesses to use brand advertising “all year round” and “not just for Christmas”, leaning into the art of a “long-running campaign idea”.

Brophy sees value in going through your archive, tapping into the “best aspects” of the brand and then aiming for “some degree of consistency” with a “little bit of room for experimentation” in line with the mood of the nation.

Brands with smaller budgets also have to be “smarter”, with Brophy acknowledging a luxury brand like Burberry may find it “really difficult” to have the “same sort of media sufficiency as a grocer”.

She also points out that advertising with a “materialistic” edge was “less emotionally resonant with people”. Stuhllemmer agrees, claiming brands that led with storytelling and balanced relevance through nostalgia and purpose outperformed those pushing product, discounting and promos.

“That indicates to me emotional engagement remains critical to navigate stormy waters,” he adds.