Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth Welcome to Q5: The Most Important Quarter You’re Ignoring
Dec 16, 2025
In this discussion, Dean Brennan, CEO of Heart & Soil, and Dave Huffman, Co-founder of Fifth Hammer, dive into the significance of Q5 for health and wellness brands. They explain how this unique six-week window is pivotal for customer acquisition. Dean highlights the importance of community-driven challenges, while Dave contrasts this with frictionless acquisition tactics. The duo shares insights on navigating ad market dynamics, strategies for maximizing January cohorts, and the 'acquire + harvest' approach to enhance long-term customer value.
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Q5 Is A Unique Seasonal Acquisition Window
- Q5 is a distinct six-week period after holiday cutoffs where purchase intent spikes and CPMs fall dramatically.
- That creates a low-cost acquisition window which often defines growth for the rest of the year.
January Drives Identity-Based Purchases
- January functions as an identity-change moment where many people give themselves permission to try new health behaviors.
- That mass identity shift makes health and wellness offers more persuasive and easier to convert.
Use Challenges To Boost Retention And Subscriptions
- Run structured programs (e.g., 30-day challenges) and onboard buyers into cohort communities to increase retention.
- Place subscription-focused, transformation offers during and after the challenge to convert engaged participants.