Turn Winter Holiday Demand Into Record Sales: December Marketing for QSRs

December Creates Natural High-Demand Moments

The December surge happens because people are in a celebratory mindset and tend to treat themselves, gathering more often with friends and family, and increasing their spending on convenient food options and group ordering occasions, especially as colder weather makes cooking at home less appealing and takeout more attractive.

See the visual representation below.

 

December consistently drives higher delivery demand, with basket sizes increasing by 8–14% due to group meals and festive ordering behaviors.

Additional sources reinforce this trend:

• Mastercard Global reported that restaurant spending during the 2024 December holiday period rose by around 8% year-over-year, with online and delivery food orders seeing even greater growth.
• Deloitte reports that 43% of consumers expect to increase food delivery usage in December compared to the rest of the year
• Insights from the National Retail Federation (NRF) indicate that holiday consumer behavior continues to strengthen, showing increased spending patterns across November and December.

 

The best QSR marketing campaigns run over the winter holidays

Holiday marketing performs best when it aligns with local traditions, but the most successful campaigns indicate that brands can also shape holiday culture by thinking creatively and taking smart risks.

Across the industry, several standout campaigns illustrate how powerful this approach can be:

• Tradition isn’t only inherited, it can be created.

  KFC Japan is the strongest example of this principle. In the 1970s, Christmas wasn’t widely celebrated in Japan, yet KFC positioned its holiday buckets as the go-to Christmas meal through consistent storytelling, themed packaging, and strong pre-order systems. Today, millions of families still eat KFC on Christmas Eve,  a tradition created entirely by the brand.This shows that QSR brands can introduce new rituals when they fill a cultural gap with a memorable seasonal offer.

 

• Safe campaigns rarely become iconic.

  Some of the strongest QSR holiday successes come from brands willing to take risks with bold, culturally relevant products. A great example is Kotipizza’s seasonal Reindeer Pizza in Finland: a limited-time menu item that tapped into a uniquely local flavor profile. Despite being unconventional, it became one of their most successful holiday products, generating high social engagement, extensive press coverage, and strong sales driven by novelty and local pride.These types of campaigns work because they stand out visually, emotionally, and culturally. They give customers something they cannot get any other time of the year. Seasonal success often comes from being brave enough to offer something unexpected, memorable, and repeatable.

 

• Limited-time menus increase urgency and sales.

  Domino’s demonstrates how well this works. During the winter holidays, its delivery-focused strategy consistently boosts sales by promoting shareable bundles and limited-time menus. According to The Guardian, holiday performance contributed to record UK sales by focusing on group ordering and high-volume convenience. Seasonal scarcity combined with local flavors drives faster conversions and higher average order value.

 

Campaigns Running on S4D Platform This Year

The Netherlands’ Largest Pizza Chain, Launches Dessert with Iconic Kruidnoten

Sinterklaas is one of the most celebrated Dutch traditions, and kruidnoten (spiced cookie bites) are its most iconic treat. New York Pizza taps directly into this cultural moment with a warm, seasonal dessert bread topped with kruidnoten, a perfect example of using local flavors to connect with customers.

The item is promoted on social media, featured in-app, and tied to Sinterklaas-themed messaging. It’s a culturally grounded, highly craveable holiday product that fits seamlessly into NYP’s menu architecture.

Campaign: Sinterklaas
Activation: Kruidnoten Dessert Bread
A culturally spot-on seasonal product leveraging a traditional Dutch flavor profile.

 

Ireland’s Largest Pizza Chain, Doubles Down on the Munchmas

Ireland sees a huge spike in late-night orders throughout December. Last year, Apache noted that the “munchies” peaked all the way until 3 AM. Their Merry Munchmas Deal plays directly into this demand with a festive pizza (turkey, ham, cranberry drizzle), camembert bites, and loaded gravy fries.

Apache promotes this across Instagram, website banners, and app notifications, all rolled out through S4D’s centralised menu and promotion tools.

Campaign: Christmas
Activation: Merry Munchmas Deal
Includes turkey, ham, cranberry drizzle, festive gravy fries, and camembert bites.

 

Multi-Location Lunchroom Brings a Full Sinterklaas Bakery Range

Bakker Bart embraces the full Dutch tradition with a wide Sinterklaas bakery assortment, perfect for gifting, for office treats, or impulse purchases. Items are promoted in-store and online, and updated across their menus simultaneously through S4D’s platform.

Campaign: Sinterklaas
Activation: Spice nuts, speculaas chunks, chocolate letters
A wide selection of Sinterklaas snacks positioned for gifting and impulse purchases.

 

How S4D Supports Operators During the Holiday Season

The holiday period brings the highest operational pressure of the year for restaurant chains. The S4D platform ensures your operations run smoothly during December’s traffic spikes, while giving HQ teams the tools to launch, coordinate, and manage seasonal campaigns with ease.

 

Easy Launch & Setup of Holiday Campaigns

Seasonal menus, promos, and pricing updates are managed from one central place, pushed instantly to:

• websites
• mobile apps
• POS
• kiosks
• delivery platforms

Operators can set up promo pages, banners, and loyalty deals for the holidays in one click.

Advanced Operational Intelligence

• AI-powered forecasting that predicts rush hours and stock requirements.
• Smart staffing recommendations based on historical data and forecasted demand.
• Live ETA tracking improves delivery accuracy and customer experience during high-traffic periods.

Visibility for Every Stakeholder

1. Franchisees and managers can monitor store performance remotely, even during the holidays.

2. Real-time dashboards track:

• preparation times
• delivery times
• order volume
• website conversions

3. Unified reporting makes it easy to review December results and plan for next year.

Final Thoughts

Whether your market celebrates Christmas, Sinterklaas, or any local December holiday, the strategy remains the same:

1. Understand the market insights.
2. Show up in the cultural moment.
3. Prepare your operations early.
4. And build seasonal campaigns that become part of your customers’ traditions.

Take advantage of December’s natural demand spike:

• Launching a culturally aligned limited-time item to tap into local traditions and increase visibility
• Promoting group-friendly bundles paired with clear holiday communication across all channels
• Optimizing operations early with staffing, stock planning, and data-driven timing to support peak traffic

Seasonal campaigns do not need to be complex; small and well-targeted activations can have a large impact.