No, because I SWEAR the (marketing) year ends on December 24.
Like, the Christmas ads are done, the budgets are spent, everyone’s mentally checked into their out-of-office. What else is there to do?? Our industry collectively powers down like someone unplugged the router.
Except consumers don’t.
And Pinterest, in its annoyingly polite, data-backed way, is here to remind us that the week after Christmas isn’t a cooldown period. It’s a bonus round, a secret "fifth quarter" (like Karen Smith’s "fifth sense" that can help her tell when it’s raining).
A little marketing glitch in the Gregorian matrix that ain't letting you off so easy. They call it Q5. And it matters more than you think.
So, what’s the deal then?
According to Pinterest, Q5 is the period between Christmas and New Years.
That weird limbo week where no one knows what day it is, but somehow everyone is 1. drunk, 2. full of glazed ham and 3. spending money like they’re trying to speedrun economic recovery.
It’s not Q4. It’s not Q1. It’s a floating pocket of pure consumer intent.
Pinterest’s data paints a blunt picture:
Over half (!!!!) of weekly users keep shopping online between December 26 and 31. Nearly half are still going in-store (hopefully the sober ones.) And Pinterest search behaviour spikes to one of the highest peaks of the year. People may be tired of gift-shopping, but they’re not tired of… shopping.
Pinterest calls Q5 “your bonus marketing moment,” which is very brand-safe language for "Everyone else is asleep at the wheel. You don’t have to be".
During the lead-up to Christmas, people are buying for other people. Gifting. Proving they’re thoughtful. Performing familial obligation.
Then Q5 hits. The spell breaks. And poof, suddenly the only person anyone is shopping for is themselves.
Pinterest calls this the “self-buying boom.” Searches shift from “gifts for mum” to “new year makeup,” “drinks for hosting,” “party wear,” “skincare routine,” “home organisation,” “finance planning,” “NYE cocktails,” and “how to build a personality in 2026.”
People want to entertain. Glow up. Reset. Reorganise. Reinvent.
We’re not being festive; we’re switching it up to transformative.
It’s the moment people stop being Santa and start being their own muse.
And because Pinterest is essentially the internet’s mood board, this shift is loud. Search behaviour goes from generosity to self-investment. From performance to desire. From gifting to identity building.
If you’re a marketer with half a pulse, you should be foaming at the freaking mouth right now.
Why Pinterest specifically owns Q5.
Unlike most platforms, Pinterest isn't driven by doomscrolling or social proof. It’s built on proactive searching, planning, and imagining. It’s where people go when they’re about to do something.
That’s why Q5 hits harder here.
During this week, people have 4 things:
Time.
Money.
Permission.
And zero external demands.
They’re cosy, bored, and slightly delusional (drunk.)
The perfect cocktail for new habits, new aesthetics, new purchases, and new life plans they absolutely will abandon by mid-January.
Pinterest becomes the staging ground for this delusion. The quiet place where people map out new identities before real life barges in again. And because most advertisers have clocked out, CPMs drop, competition shrinks, and your brand suddenly has the floor.
Q5 is the only time of year where Pinterest becomes a bullhorn instead of a whisper.
Is this manipulative? Maybe. But all marketing is to an extent darling. If you wanted something more honest, I’d suggest another career path.
Who wins the most in Q5?
Brands in beauty, wellness, lifestyle, home, fashion, personal care, and anything “reset-coded” thrive. Not because people are making resolutions. Because they’re making micro-decisions about the person they want to be next year.
The “I’m going to be more organised” girl. The “I’m actually going to take care of my skin this year” guy. The “I’m going to host dinner parties” couple. The “I’m going to finally get my finances sorted” well, everybody. The “I’m going to start lifting” person. The “I need a new bikini to look good in for the rest of the summer” girl (hi, it’s me.)
They all live on Pinterest in Q5.
If your brand fits an aspirational narrative, this is your moment. If your brand sells anything that feels like a reward, a reset, or a revelation, this is your breathing space.
And if your brand has been fighting for visibility all year, Q5 is your chance to slip through the cracks and actually get noticed.
So then, here’s how to not waste your Q5 window:
This is the part where most marketers fail. They think Q5 requires a Christmas hangover strategy. It doesn’t. Q5 isn’t a sale. It’s a mood.
And the brands that win treat it like one.
Here's how:
Keep your ad spend live after Christmas. Don’t go dark. Everyone else does. That’s the opportunity.
Shift your creative from gifting to self-investment. You’re not helping someone shop for others anymore. You’re helping them choose themselves.
Use aspirational, high-intent visuals. Pinterest is a discovery engine, not a feed. Your ads should look like ideas, not interruptions.
Target around Q5-coded themes. Home refreshes, beauty routines, wellness resets, hosting, wardrobe upgrades, goals, finances, new habits.
Test new creatives and audiences. CPMs are lower. Auction pressure is lighter. It’s the perfect testing ground.
Think beyond the holiday. Q5 isn’t about December. It’s a runway for January. The brands who set the tone now win the whole year.
My hot take: Q5 exposes how unimaginative most marketers are.
Every year, we watch the same ritual play out: marketers pour all their creative energy into the Christmas rush. Then they collapse. Then they reappear mid-January like newborn deer, blinking into the sunlight, wondering why performance fell off a cliff. Helloooooo, because you pushed it off.
The reality is simple.
Culture doesn’t stop on December 25. Consumer desire doesn’t freeze. People don’t go offline for two weeks to meditate in the woods.
They’re bored on the couch scrolling Pinterest for who they want to be next, mostly because they feel like sh*t from two days of overeating and drinking.
Pinterest didn’t invent Q5, but they had the intelligence to measure it. And the honesty to say, "This is where your audience is while you’re asleep".
If you’re smart, you’ll meet them there.
-Sophie Randell, Writer
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