100 days until Christmas: time to unwrap your peak season plan

Table of Contents:

• 1. Stock & supply chain: The sooner, the better
• 2. Operations: Get your processes peak-ready
• 3. Marketing: Map out your calendar
• 4. Staffing: Can you afford new hires?
• 5. Promotions: Getting more from your offers
• 6. Cash flow: Don’t let it melt away

Dubbed the ‘Golden Quarter’, consumers spend £713 more in December than any other month, on average.¹

For small businesses, this presents a major opportunity to drive revenue and finish the year strong.

Whether you run a shop, a restaurant, a logistics operation or a service-based business, the decisions you make over the coming months will directly shape your trading in December.

From your staff and stock to cash flow and campaigns, there a few things to evaluate as we approach the most wonderful busiest time of the year.

Here are six key considerations to keep in mind before business ramps up.

1. Stock & supply chain: The sooner, the better

Your customers might not be thinking aboutthe festivities 100 days out, but being ready for when they do is key.

Speaking to your suppliers now will have long-term benefits as the Q4 rush starts to set in.

Supply chains tighten dramatically in Q4, popular product lines sell out, shipping costs rise and warehousing space fills up.

Agree your order volumes and lock in delivery windows; if you’re sourcing from international suppliers, factor in extended lead times as economic volatility continues to impact supply chains worldwide.

Realistically, now is the time to make adjustments to your stock position before the festive rush makes it much harder to do so.

Actions to think about:

• Review last year’s sales figures to help forecast demand
• Place orders for your top-selling lines now, with buffer stock built in
• Diversify your supplier base where possible to reduce dependency risk
• Make a plan for restocking during the busy season

2. Operations: Get your processes peak-ready

100 days away from the big day might seem like a long time, but there’s a lot to get through over the coming months, particularly from an operational perspective.

Now is the time to review your end-to-end operational set-up, including your fulfilment processes, opening hours and supplier lead times.

Determine where bottlenecks might occur when demand spikes – it’s better to be prepared for these than to be caught off guard.

Why this matters

Operational failures during the peak season are not just financially costly – they also have reputational consequences.

A delayed order or a service breakdown in November can be much harder to recover from than at any other time of year.

Practical actions

• Identify pinch points across your current processes
• Review your technology and systems. Is your website, booking platform or EPOS ready for increased traffic?
• Establish contingency plans for your highest-risk operational areas; this could be having a secondary supplier on hand or cross-training staff

3. Marketing: Map out your calendar

Last-minute marketing is not just more expensive, it can be less effective as well.

At 100 days out, peak-season marketing will start to get louder and more expensive,² but by planning your campaigns in Q3, you can build customer consideration before your competitors and possibly secure better advertising rates.

By October, aim to have your email campaigns, social content, paid advertising, promotional events and PR activity mapped out so that you stay visible before the festive noise reaches its peak.

How to get started

• Map out your key dates early, including promotional launch dates and campaign go-live timings throughout Black Friday, Christmas and January sales
• Define specific campaign themes and offers for specific trading moments. Your messaging should feel relevant rather than repeating the promotion across the season
• Prepare your customer segments and email lists ahead of launch. If you can, segment your customer base to better personalise your approach and strengthen conversion rates

Practical tip: Have you thought about using AI to help with your planning? It can help with content creation and campaign ideas, saving you valuable time – but always review outputs for accuracy, tone and brand fit before publishing.

Want to maximise the peak trading period before Black Friday? Read our 90-day plan here.

4. Staffing: Can you afford new hires?

The way in which many businesses, particularly in the retail and hospitality sectors, approach staffing this year will look very different from previous years.

The rise in minimum wage, increased employer National Insurance contributions and tighter margins mean that simply hiring more staff isn’t a viable option for everyone.

In 2025, the cost of employing a part-time, entry-level worker rose by more than 13%, according to the British Retail Consortium, meaning many businesses cannot afford to hire staff to cover peak season.

For businesses that do need additional capacity over the festive period, there will be key considerations to weigh up, from the cost of not hiring to the wellbeing of their current employees.

Key questions to weigh up

1. What is the cost of not hiring? If being understaffed means turning away customers, delivering poor service, or burning out existing staff, the lost revenue and reputational damage could outweigh the cost of an extra pair of hands.
2. What is the real cost? Factor in employer National Insurance contributions, holiday pay and training time. Having a clear total cost per hire makes the decision easier to plan around.
3. What did last year’s peak season deliver in revenue? If last year showed a significant uplift in revenue, the business case for hiring becomes much clearer. If it was disappointing, ask whether staffing had an impact or would change that.
4. Have you asked your existing staff? Some team members may welcome additional hours. This can be quicker and presents a lower risk than bringing in someone new.

If you do need extra staff, now is the time to start recruiting them so they have enough time to be trained up.

5. Promotions: Getting more from your offers

Experts predict that UK consumers are much more likely to be conscious about their spending choices due to the economic backdrop.³

Deciding on what deals to run, when you will run them and how they will be presented to customers is, therefore, going to be of extra importance as the 100-day countdown begins.

Why this matters

A clear approach will, in most cases, outperform any last-minute discounts that are made under pressure, or during the height of the busy period.

Slashing your prices without a clear plan risks eating into your profits before Santa’s even made his way down the chimney.

What to consider

• Set out your promotions calendar and decide in advance how much flexibility you have on pricing
• Consider whether you can package up your products or services in a way that offers more value; this could be a gift set, a bundle or a limited-time offer
• Do you plan to reward your most loyal customers? A small gesture can go a long way
• Make sure your teams know the plan before launch so everyone is giving customers the same experience

6. Cash flow: Don’t let it melt away

For most businesses, 100 days until Christmas is when the festive-season spending ramps up.

But make sure you’re not heading towards a festive cash crunch. Now is the time to review if there will be a significant gap between what you have available and what you have to spend.

Don’t leave money under someone else’s tree. Instead, secure the right funding in advance so you can invest in growth this peak season.

What to do next

• Detail a cash flow forecast covering October to January, including best- and worst-case scenarios
• Factor in post-Christmas. January can be a cash-lean month for many businesses as demand drops off, so plan accordingly
• Identify any gaps in cash flow and calculate how much working capital you may need

Practical tip: AI can help with your cash flow forecasting. If you’re new to these platforms, the key is to be specific with your prompts and give as much detail as possible, including what your business does, any upcoming investments or concerns, and being specific with your request.

How funding can support

For some businesses, the capital required to make Q4 a success can be significant.

But no business should have to miss out due to cash constraints. Flexible funding solutions, such as revenue-based finance, can help many bridge that gap.

Unlike traditional lenders, these products often give businesses faster access to funding and are more flexible with no large, fixed fees.

Payments are also taken directly as a percentage of your card transactions, giving business owners flexibility as sales ebb and flow.⁴

At Liberis, we help businesses access the funding they need to make the most of their peak season – on their terms.

Explore your funding options today.

Sources

¹ How much do we spend during the festive season, The Bank of England, 2024

² Christmas Advertising Costs 2025: When to Scale Holiday Spend, StrikeSocial, 2025

³ Retail Outlook 2026, PwC, 2026

⁴ You will be expected to operate your business so that Liberis receives a monthly minimum amount of up to 3% of the receivables purchased

This product is provided by Liberis Limited, Scale Space Building, 58 Wood Lane London, W12 7RZ (company number: 05654231). This product is a form of receivables finance not a loan. Liberis is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, so complaints about this product are not covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances. The information contained in this article is provided for general information purposes only and is not intended to constitute advice. Although Liberis has endeavoured to ensure the content of this article is accurate, you should seek appropriate professional advice before taking any action in reliance on any of the information contained within it.