Turkey 12 Just Got Longer (And More Profitable)

Hey there,

Across our client portfolio, Turkey 12 was a strong kick off to the holiday traffic season. It functioned as a full sales event. 

Shopper demand started earlier, lasted longer, and rewarded brands that activated deals and inventory intentionally from the start of the window.

Brands that waited for Black Friday weekend or opted out of participation struggled to regain momentum once visibility was lost. 

This shift is reshaping how late November performance needs to be planned going forward.

We analyzed performance across our client portfolio spanning grocery, seasonal goods, home products, supplements, and office supplies. 

Categories we expected to surge did surge, but several unexpected categories showed strong performance that changes how we think about Turkey 12 planning.

Across brands in grocery and consumables, we saw noticeable lifts in sales, large increases in impressions, and strong response to even modest deal participation.

These categories historically haven't been associated with BFCM. But Turkey 12 shifted shopper behavior. Customers were stocking up early, comparing prices across brands, and responding to value propositions.

So even "everyday" categories now benefit from promotional visibility during Turkey 12. This isn't just a gifting window anymore.

Holiday-related products saw big jumps in ad demand, significant increases in exposure, and revenue growth tied closely to visibility tools and inventory readiness.

Festive categories always rise in Q4. But the extended Turkey 12 window amplified this cycle and accelerated demand. Brands waiting for Black Friday proper missed the first wave entirely.

Cookware, kitchen tools, and household staples observed higher-than-normal browsing and search behavior. Strong revenue lifts occurred when paired with competitive pricing.

Again, brands that showed up early gained algorithmic traction that carried momentum straight into BFCM.

Across wellness and supplements, we saw elevated CPCs (often dramatically higher), increased ad spend required just to maintain placement, and conversion growth that often didn't keep pace with cost increases.

The competition was intense enough to reduce overall visibility, even as spend climbed. More budget didn't automatically mean more profit.

Categories not usually associated with holiday shopping still saw substantial increases in overall basket size and meaningful revenue growth, with only moderate increases in ad spend.

Shoppers weren't just gift-buying. They were stocking up on everyday needs during a promotional window that offered value across categories.

Performance was driven less by category and more by execution fundamentals like early deal participation, inventory readiness, and consistent visibility.

Turkey 12 has become a hybrid event where gifting and everyday shopping happen simultaneously across all categories. 

Brands limiting strategy to traditional holiday categories are missing major opportunities.

Beyond category-specific trends, three universal drivers (anchoring on the broader pattern we saw across accounts) determined performance, whether brands sold supplements, kitchen tools, or holiday decorations.

Across categories, the biggest differentiator wasn't budget size. It was whether brands participated in deals.

Brands with strong event discounts gained higher conversion, more page views, and increased ranking momentum into BFCM. Brands that opted out often experienced declines even when customer intent remained healthy.

Where performance stalled, it was almost always tied to out-of-stock moments, low stock signaling, or limited coverage for high-velocity SKUs.

The algorithm punishes weak availability, especially during Turkey 12. If you can't fulfill demand, Amazon shows your competitors instead.

No matter the category, the pattern repeated. A handful of ASINs carried most of the volume. Strong detail pages combined with stable pricing and reliable inventory delivered outsized returns.

Weak hero SKU presence limited the entire catalog's performance. If your top products don't convert, the rest of your catalog struggles to gain traction.

These three factors mattered more than creative strategy, ad budget size, or category selection. 

Early activation paired with clear value and reliable availability worked particularly well across categories, which better matched how shoppers evaluated options throughout the Turkey 12 window.

While some brands executed well, others learned expensive lessons about what doesn't work during extended promotional windows. 

These pitfalls weren't obvious until we analyzed post-event performance.

Turkey 12 rewards aggressive deal participation. But brands must watch margin erosion, deal stacking (promotional event discount plus coupon plus strike-through pricing), rising return rates for heavily discounted items, and post-event price compression.

A top-line win can easily turn into a bottom-line setback. Going into 2026, we'll help clients use structured discounting instead of blanket promotions.

During BFCM, it's easy to chase higher ACOS, higher volume, and higher placement. But PPC gains can cannibalize organic traffic, natural rankings, repeat-purchase behavior, and long-term profit efficiency.

We saw this clearly this year. Some accounts "won" the PPC battle but lost the organic war and required post-event strategy resets to rebalance performance.

A big theme this year: discovery traffic surged across categories. But conversion didn't always follow unless pricing and detail pages were aligned with shopper expectations.

We had categories where impressions rose 50% to 100% but conversion stayed flat without promotional support. Visibility without value doesn't convert.

Success metrics during Turkey 12 require nuanced analysis. 

Surface-level wins often hide underlying problems that impact long-term profitability and organic performance.

Based on what we observed, brands preparing for next year should plan for these realities:

Don't wait for Black Friday. Momentum starts whenever Amazon decides to officially start its deal event. It used to be 5 days. Then 10. This year we saw 12. What will it be in 2026?

Avoid margin-draining blanket promotions. Structure lead-in and lead-out strategies that build brand awareness early and recapture attention at the end of the promotional period.

Not all spend is good spend, especially in competitive categories. Chase efficiency over volume.

Your ability to maintain rank depends on staying in stock throughout the entire window. Stock-outs during Turkey 12 cost you momentum heading into Black Friday.

Content quality, review counts, and price consistency matter more with a longer runway. Shoppers have time to compare and research before making decisions.

And the window to adapt their entire promotional strategy to match this reality keeps extending.

I cautioned clients that a longer deal period could lead to more engagement, less conversion, and potentially flat profits.

The performance data showed this wasn't necessarily true across the board. With the right strategy, there were big wins to be had. But those wins went to brands that prepared early and participated intentionally.

This year proved that performance gets shaped during the window long before Black Friday arrives, then continues straight through Cyber Monday. The extended period is the event now. Black Friday proper is just the peak day within a larger cycle.

Brands treating Turkey 12 as a warm-up missed the opportunity. Brands treating it as a full strategic window captured disproportionate gains.

Jess
CEO, AO2

P.S. How did your Turkey 12 performance compare to expectations? What worked and what would you change for 2026? Tell me what you saw.

P.P.S. Missed the last issues? Read my coverage of Sponsored Products Video, the announcement that got the biggest applause at Amazon unBoxed last month.