Let’s be honest about holiday marketing: most of it is exhausting. Brands start their “holiday countdowns” before Halloween ends, then spend two months training customers to ignore them until Black Friday hits.
But here’s what most retailers miss: there’s a golden window between December 25th and January 5th when customers are flush with gift cards, hunting for post-holiday deals, and actually have time to shop. The actual twelve days of Christmas.
The Case for Post-Christmas Promotions
Running a twelve-day SMS campaign from December 25th to January 5th hits customers when they’re ready to spend but before the January scarcity mindset kicks in. You’re not competing with Black Friday chaos. You’re not drowning in the November-December noise. You’re showing up when everyone else has already pivoted to Valentine’s Day.
The timing works because it leverages something people already understand: those twelve days between the holidays Christmas and Epiphany that retailers typically waste with generic “clearance” signage. You’re just making it deliberate instead of desperate.
Why SMS Actually Works
Text messages have a 98% open rate. Your promotional emails are currently decomposing in a folder your customers check biannually. Your Instagram posts are being suppressed by an algorithm that wants you to pay for reach you used to get for free.
SMS cuts through because people opted in specifically to hear from you. That’s valuable permission. Don’t waste it by being forgettable.
The Twelve-Day Structure (With Actual Ideas)
Day 1 (Dec 25): The Gift Card Welcome
“Got gift cards? Use them here and get an extra 15% off.” Text this while people are still opening presents. You’re catching them at peak gift card awareness, and SMS hits their phone before they’ve even checked email.
Day 2 (Dec 26): Free Shipping, No Threshold
Boxing Day energy. Send the text early (9am) so you own the morning shopping session. “Free shipping on everything today. No minimum. No code needed, just shop!” SMS gets them to your site before they’ve opened their laptop.
Day 3 (Dec 27): The Regift Solution
“Didn’t love what you got? Trade your gift card for something you’ll actually use.” This works via SMS because it feels private. Nobody wants to publicly announce they’re regifting. Include a direct link to top-rated products. Make it a two-tap journey from text to checkout.
Day 4 (Dec 28): Flash Category Sale
“All denim 40% off until 8pm tonight.” The urgency here is real, and SMS is the only channel fast enough to drive same-day action. Send it at 2pm. Track click-through rates. Watch people buy immediately or not at all.
Day 5 (Dec 29): Mystery Discount
“Reply with DEAL to get your discount—anywhere from 10-50% off.” SMS two-way messaging turns this into an actual interaction instead of just another broadcast. People reply, you auto-respond with their code, they feel like they won something. Engagement metrics go up. So do conversions.
Day 6 (Dec 30): BOGO Done Right
“BOGO on [specific items]. Text to claim, code expires in 24hrs.” Real buy-one-get-one-free, not the math problem version. SMS makes the scarcity legitimate. They can see exactly when the offer expires, and the code dies whether they use it or not.
Day 7 (Dec 31): New Year’s Eve Early Access
“Midnight release, but you’re getting it at noon.” Send this to your SMS list before announcing anywhere else. Six hours of exclusivity. The text itself becomes the access pass. Include a unique link that only SMS subscribers get. They’ll remember that preferential treatment.
Day 8 (Jan 1): The Fresh Start Offer
“New year, new [your product category]! 30% off.” Text this at 11am when people are finally awake and avoiding their regular routines. SMS hits during that liminal space between resolutions and reality. Include a direct link to your “fresh start” category page.
Day 9 (Jan 2): Surprise Stack
“Stack sale items today: buy 2, get an extra 20% off your order.” SMS subscribers get this before email subscribers. An hour of exclusivity matters. It rewards the people who gave you their phone number instead of just their inbox.
Day 10 (Jan 3): VIP Pricing
“SMS-only pricing today. Because you’re subscribed, here’s 35% off bestsellers.” Make it explicit that this price is only available via this channel. Include a code that only works once per phone number. They opted into texts. Show them why that was smart.
Day 11 (Jan 4): Last Call Bundle
“Final 48 hours. Today only: free shipping + 25% off + free gift over $75.” SMS is perfect for stacking because you can be direct without walls of promotional copy. Text the offer, link to shop, done. The simplicity converts better than a designed email explaining the same thing.
Day 12 (Jan 5): The Finale
“Last day of 12 Days—40% off everything or [exclusive product drop].” Send this text at 8am. Send a reminder at 4pm with “6 hours left.” Final text at 9pm: “Last hour.” SMS lets you create multiple touchpoints without being obnoxious because they’re spaced and purposeful. This is what justifies twelve days of buildup and keeps them subscribed for your next campaign.
Execution Details That Matter
Timing: Send when people can actually act. Mid-morning (10-11am) or early evening (5-7pm). A 2am text notification is never the vibe.
Segmentation: If you have customer data, use it. People who only buy one category don’t need alerts about everything else. Relevance keeps them engaged.
Mobile optimization: This should go without saying for a text message campaign, but your landing pages need to load fast and function on a phone. Friction kills conversions.
Copy: You have 160 characters. Write like a human, not a press release. Be direct.
What to Avoid
Don’t send multiple texts per day unless you enjoy watching your subscriber list shrink in real-time. Don’t make your offers complicated with excessive exclusions and discount codes that look like encryption keys. Don’t promise “best deal of the season” on day three when you know day ten is better. Customers remember when you lie to them.
And critically: don’t run this if your fulfillment can’t keep up. Nothing tanks customer goodwill faster than excitement followed by a shipping delay email that says “January, maybe.”
Why This Actually Works
Twelve days creates a habit loop without overstaying your welcome. It’s long enough to collect meaningful data about what offers resonate and what timing converts. It’s short enough that people don’t tune out.
Most importantly, it respects your customers’ attention. In a season where every brand is screaming for mindshare, the campaign that doesn’t scream often wins.
SMS done right isn’t about volume. It’s about showing up consistently, offering something worth people’s time, and knowing when to stop.
