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Unwrap big results: Maximise your campaign results with Tesco Media this festive season

You might think that wearing summer dresses and shopping for Christmas doesn’t go together. But you’d be surprised, in Central Europe it does! 1 in 13 Czech and 1 in 10 Slovak starts hunting for Christmas presents in September already.  And Hungarians closely follow with 15% starting the Christmas present hunt by the end of October¹. And in Central Europe in general, 63% of Christmas purchases tend to be made by December 1st².

The growing enthusiasm to start the Christmas season early brings a significant opportunity for brands. With persisting concerns about the cost of living, consumers’ tend to plan ahead for major occasions increases, especially when it comes to non-perishable items. This early preparation not only helps shoppers manage and spread out Christmas expenses but also gives them the financial flexibility to upgrade their purchases and opt for higher-quality products where they choose.

At Tesco we also see that increased shopping frequency doesn’t concern just the last two weeks before Christmas. In Central Europe last year, over the last seven weeks leading to Christmas, customers averaged more than one shopping trip per week. And as the holidays getting closer, customers get more into the Christmas spirit and loosen the purse strings, resulting in an average spend 23% higher per visit compared to prior seven weeks in September and October³.

The audience is there, then—and there early, too. So, what does this mean for us in media planning?

Unrivalled reach meets an unbeatable creative canvas

The scale of opportunity is unmatched, with millions of customers across Central Europe embracing the festive spirit in Tesco stores and online. Last year, five million Clubcard customers shopped at Tesco stores in Central Europe between November and December. In 2025, these figures are likely to be higher still. Our customer base has continued to grow over the past year, with a 3.1% customer increase on average in store and a positive trend ahead⁴.

In recent years, Tesco has gone further than ever to bring the magic of Christmas to life—creating an inspirational instore experience and capturing Christmas spirit with their festive TV advert.

Looking for inspiration? Tesco UK continues to showcase standout festive creativity with strong brand-building potential. Activations like the Christmas Market—bringing sampling and seasonal inspiration to over 150 locations in 2023—and the much-loved Grotto experience, where children meet Santa and receive a free gift, are just a few examples of how Tesco creates meaningful moments for customers while offering brands valuable engagement opportunities.

These new experiences aren’t just great for customers, either. They’re also helping to give brands a much bigger creative canvas to play with—one that can power richer and more engaging opportunities for brand expression. And, this year, Tesco is willing to collaborate with brands in a deeper way than ever before.

What’s on your Christmas list this year?

Gigantic scale, reach and an ever-evolving approach to brand expression? But those aren’t the only things that we can deliver on, we can help brands understand customers like never before.

Thanks to Clubcard data we have a thorough understanding of pre-Christmas shopping behaviour and we know which categories are synonymous to Christmas in Central European households. Visits and online searches take off across many different categories. In terms of visits, the majority of categories see double-digit growth in the pre-Christmas period. The increase in sales shows that Tesco is a popular place for parents to get presents for their kids, but customers also buy practical stuff like household cleaners to make their homes sparkling clean in expectations of family and friends coming over for a visit.

In terms of online search, customers increasingly looking up health and beauty gifts shows that Tesco is a place to buy presents; not just for the kids but for the entire family and for friends as well). And we also see huge increase in searches in key festive product groups, from party and celebration classics like wine & spirits, through to food for festive table to pet category, as four-legged family members also want to find something for them under the Christmas tree.

So, customers see Tesco as the destination when they need to buy everything necessary for the Christmas table as well as the destination to buy gifts for friends and relatives of all ages.

In weeks leading to Christmas, certain categories present surprising opportunities for brands. Take boxed chocolates, for example—this unexpected seasonal favourite drives nearly 20% of pre-Christmas confectionery revenue and in 2024, 21% of all boxed chocolate sales in Central Europe occurred during this period alone⁵.

Powerful combination of customer and category insights, unmatched reach, and rich creative opportunities gives us the capability to help brands connect with shoppers in the most impactful way. And if that’s not a reason to unwrap the chocolate boxes a little early, what is?

Want to create a cracking Christmas campaign of your own?

Check out our accompanying webinar for more great insights and advice.