How to Turn Seasonal Dealership Traffic into Year-End Sales

The holiday shopping season brings a surge in automotive-related searches as shoppers research year-end vehicle purchases and holiday incentives. This creates a window for dealers to capture market share and move model year-end inventory, but success requires strategic scaling across every digital channel.  

ZeroSum's Holiday Playbook helps you identify where your strategy stands and implement the most impactful upgrades for year-end performance. 

Why the Holiday Season Demands a Different Approach 

During the holiday season, automotive shopping shows trends like increased search activity, earlier research, and heightened competitive pressure as buyers look for the best deals before year-end.  

For dealers, this period is also a key opportunity to move remaining model year-end inventory before new models arrive. Your marketing should adapt by keeping inventory visible, reaching active shoppers, and reflecting current availability and competitive pricing, while highlighting year-end clearance opportunities. 

Search: Capturing High-Intent Holiday Shoppers 

MarketAI® powers your search strategy by turning real-time market data into targeted, automated campaigns so you can reach the right buyers and move inventory faster, especially during the competitive holiday season. Instead of relying on generic seasonal messaging, MarketAI® helps you optimize every dollar and every VIN for maximum year-end impact. 

Here’s how to level up your search strategy this holiday season: 

Good: 

• Use Smart Bidding and seasonal ad copy to highlight current pricing and incentives. 
• Ensure your inventory is visible in search results with up-to-date offers. 

Better: 

• Expand your reach using MarketAI® insights—adjust budgets for increased holiday traffic and target adjacent markets. 
• Leverage MarketAI®’s VINScore to prioritize vehicles most likely to sell. 

Best: 

• Activate VIN-level ads at scale with MarketAI® for precision targeting. 
• Use MarketAI®’s audience expansion to reach in-market shoppers beyond your database and dedicate budget to high-opportunity inventory segments. 
• Integrate Google Vehicle Ads for maximum exposure in high-intent searches. 

Social: Engaging Shoppers Where They Spend Time  

MarketAI® supercharges your social campaigns by using real-time data and automated audience targeting to connect your offers with the right shoppers across Facebook, Instagram, and beyond. Instead of generic holiday posts, MarketAI® ensures your incentives and inventory reach shoppers most likely to buy, driving engagement and conversions during the busiest season. 

Here’s how to elevate your social media ads strategy: 

Good: 

• Use seasonal-themed copy and remarketing to previous site visitors, featuring current pricing and availability. 

Better: 

• Expand your reach with MarketAI®’s Customer Match, Lookalike, and Third-Party In-Market Audiences. 
• Consistently post about holiday incentives and showcase real-time pricing across multiple nameplates using dynamic inventory carousels. 

Best: 

• Leverage MarketAI®’s advanced audience targeting for holiday sales and promotions. 
• Place holiday-themed incentives on the first slide of carousels to capture attention and drive engagement. 

Video: Bringing Your Inventory to Life 

ZeroSum’s Auto-Stream® is the only high-performance CTV and OTV video advertising platform built for car dealers. With AI-powered automation, you can launch dynamic, inventory-driven holiday video campaigns in less than 24 hours. 

Here’s how to elevate your video strategy: 

Good: 

• Use seasonal-themed video assets to highlight current pricing, images, and availability. 
• Re-engage previous visitors with video remarketing. 

Better: 

• Target users based on prior search history and in-market signals. 
• Showcase real-time pricing and incentives across your full lineup with dynamic inventory video on premium CTV platforms. 

Best: 

• Mass-produce VIN-specific video ads with Auto-Stream’s AI automation for maximum efficiency. 
• Leverage advanced audience targeting and holiday-themed templates to launch professional, inventory-synced campaigns in under 24 hours. 

Display: Maintaining Visibility Across the Web 

MarketAI® powers your display advertising by using real-time market insights and VIN-level automation to keep your dealership visible wherever shoppers are browsing. With MarketAI®, your display campaigns are always up to date, targeted, and optimized for year-end results. 

Here’s how to maximize your display strategy: 

Good: 

• Use seasonal creative and remarketing to previous site visitors, featuring current pricing and incentives. 

Better: 

• Incorporate real-time pricing and incentives across multiple nameplates with MarketAI®’s VIN-specific remarketing. 
• Target users based on prior search history and in-market signals with dynamic display ads. 

Best: 

• Expand reach to auto blogs and local news sites within your geotargets to capture in-market shoppers. 
• Use MarketAI®’s Customer Match and Lookalike Audiences for precision targeting throughout the buyer’s journey. 
• Develop Discovery campaigns with sales event-specific creative for maximum impact. 

Putting Your Playbook into Action  

The holiday season represents your best opportunity to capture market share before year-end and to move remaining model year-end inventory before new models arrive. Identify immediate strategy upgrades and implement data-driven tactics that drive measurable results to end the year strong. 

MarketAI® provides the automation, real-time inventory syncing, and audience targeting that enable sophisticated holiday campaigns without manual effort. From dynamic inventory ads to audience expansion reaching qualified shoppers beyond your database, the platform handles complexity while you focus on serving customers and closing deals. 

Download the complete Holiday Playbook to optimize each channel for year-end performance.  

Want to see how MarketAI® can optimize your holiday marketing? Schedule a 15-minute demo with one of our MarketAI® specialists. Get an inside look at your competitive landscape and MarketAI®'s best features for turning holiday traffic into year-end sales. Book your demo today.