Turn Winter Holiday Demand Into Record Sales: Holiday Marketing for Pizza Chains
The winter holiday season is the highest-performing period for restaurant chains. Our data shows that during December, same-store orders can increase by up to 30%, with Thursdays alone running approximately 13% higher than an average Thursday across the year.
Here are the key insights and action items we’ve identified for December to maximize performance.
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.
According to DoorDash research, 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.
For operators, this means December isn’t just busy, it’s one of the most strategic windows for seasonal product launches.
The Best Pizza Industry Campaigns of the Winter Holidays
Holiday marketing performs best when it aligns with local traditions, but the strongest examples show that pizza chains don’t have to play it safe. Bold ideas, culturally relevant items, and limited-time flavors consistently outperform conservative approaches. The following examples from leading pizza brands around the world illustrate three core principles behind high-impact seasonal campaigns.
- Tradition can be created – not just inherited.
Kotipizza’s Reindeer Pizza in Finland shows how a bold seasonal item can evolve into a cultural ritual. By embracing a uniquely Finnish ingredient and pairing it with strong visual storytelling, Kotipizza generated national press coverage, high engagement, and repeat annual demand.
Pizza chains can shape holiday habits when they introduce memorable, culturally rooted menu items.
- Safe campaigns rarely become iconic.
New York Pizza in the Netherlands demonstrates how creativity drives success with its Kruidnoten Dessert Bread, launched for the Sinterklaas season. By combining an iconic Dutch holiday flavor with an indulgent, shareable pizza format, NYP created a highly
Offering something unexpected, from bold dessert pizzas to locally inspired flavors, helps pizza chains stand out during the busiest marketing period of the year.
- Limited-time menus increase urgency and sales.
Domino’s and Papa John’s prove how effective limited-time offers can be. Domino’s leverages December’s delivery surge with group-friendly bundles and value offers, while Papa John’s returns each year with its Triple Treat Box, a seasonal packaging-led experience designed for gifting and celebrations.
Seasonal scarcity naturally boosts conversions. Holiday-inspired pizzas, dessert launches, themed bundles, and shareable add-ons drive higher average order value and stronger group ordering.
Campaigns Running on S4D Platform This Year
– Apache Pizza (IE) – 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.
– Pizza Hut – Returns with Its Holiday Triple Treat Box
Pizza Hut UK continues to lean into holiday value with its annual Triple Treat Box, a festive bundle designed for families and groups during peak December gatherings. This year’s campaign extends across multiple channels with holiday-themed creative, matching what industry reports highlighted about Pizza Hut’s multichannel strategy to increase seasonal traction.
Campaign: Christmas
Activation: Triple Treat Box
A returning holiday bundle optimised for group orders and family celebrations.
– Papa John’s Canada – Clarifies Holiday Hours & Pre-Ordering
Papa John’s Canada uses S4D tools to manage hours and communicate holiday closures clearly to customers, encouraging early ordering and avoiding disappointment during the peak period.
Campaign: Closed
Activation: Clear holiday hour communication + pre-ordering strategy.
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 locations remain stable, fast, and consistent 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 predicts order volume, peak hours, and stock requirements.
- Live ETA tracking improves delivery accuracy and customer experience during high-traffic periods.
- AI-enhanced routing automatically sends orders to the best-performing kitchens or riders.
Visibility for Every Stakeholder
1. Franchisees and managers can monitor store performance remotely, even during the holidays.
2. Real-time dashboards track:
- menu performance
- delivery times
- order volume
- campaign conversions
3. Unified reporting makes it easy to review December results and plan for next year.
Peak-Season Optimization
- Smart staffing recommendations based on historical data and forecasted demand.
- Automated stock planning to prevent shortages on seasonal items.
- Consistency monitoring across locations ensures the same customer experience everywhere.
With S4D, brands operate smoothly during December’s most demanding days, avoiding bottlenecks, maximizing uptime, and making data-backed decisions even under holiday pressure.
Final Thoughts
Whether your market celebrates Christmas, Sinterklaas, or any local December holiday, the strategy remains the same:
- Understand the market insights.
- Show up in the cultural moment.
- Prepare your operations early.
- And build seasonal campaigns that become part of your customers’ traditions.
To take advantage of December’s natural demand spike, we recommend:
- 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.