Happy almost-2025, everyone! 🍾 While you’re finishing up your year-end to-do’s (or wishing you had started them earlier), I’ve been diving into some fresh data published by Cloudflare. 1
This time, they’ve looked at how people around the globe have been spending their time online during the holiday season – between Christmas and the New Year. As it turns out, when the feasting starts, the web often takes a back seat.
Especially if you’re a website owner or marketer, Cloudflare’s findings could impact your future strategies (also check out the previous report here). Let’s unwrap this:
The great Christmas slowdown
According to Cloudflare’s data, many countries that celebrate Christmas see some of the biggest traffic dips of the year on December 24 and 25. Picture families around the dinner table, midnight masses, and that crucial moment of unwrapping gifts. Basically, this is everything that keeps devices in pockets.
But before we dive into the dramatic, hour-by-hour slowdowns, let’s look at the big-picture daily drops first.
Daily perspective
- Denmark 🇩🇰 recorded one of the steepest overall slowdowns, with a -35% dip on December 24 and -11% on December 25 (compared to the same days the previous week).
- Norway 🇳🇴 followed suit at -32% on December 24 and -12% on December 25.
- In the UK, 🇬🇧 traffic dipped -19% on Christmas Eve and -26% on Christmas Day.
- The US 🇺🇸 saw daily drops of -16% on December 24 and -21% on December 25.
In other words, if you’re looking at the entire day’s worth of internet activity, these two dates consistently rank as some of the quietest online for many regions.
Hour-by-hour perspective
Here’s where it gets even more interesting. When you zoom in on all those Christmas Eve dinners and midnight gatherings, the drop-offs can be downright jaw-dropping (though not unpredictable):
- Spain 🇪🇸 saw traffic plummet by -70% at 9:45 pm on December 24 – prime time for festive family meals.
- Argentina 🇦🇷 took an even bigger hit, down -58% at 10:00 pm and then -67% right at midnight when “Nochebuena” celebrations peak.
- Denmark 🇩🇰 – which already had a huge daily drop – also hit -68% at 7:45 pm on Christmas Eve.
- Poland 🇵🇱 (that’s where I spend Christmas) hit a -59% dip at 5:15 pm, which I can confirm is exactly where most Polish people start their Christmas Eve dinners.
- Chile 🇨🇱 even one-upped Poland and saw a -64% decrease at 10:45 pm on December 24.
Put simply, not only do December 24 and 25 show some of the lowest daily usage totals, but specific hours on Christmas Eve – especially around dinnertime or midnight – virtually clear out the internet in certain countries according to Cloudflare.
Where Christmas isn’t king
Cloudflare notes that not all regions revolve around December 24 and 25:
First off, let’s mention Israel 🇮🇱 and Hanukkah. Timing varies each year; in 2023 – from when Cloudflare’s data is from – Hanukkah kicked off December 7 and caused an -8% drop in traffic. This year – 2024 – it coincides more directly with Christmas (taking place December 25-January 2), which is likely to change and compound the patterns.
Then, in places like Singapore 🇸🇬, Turkey 🇹🇷, and India 🇮🇳, Cloudflare didn’t note any major slowdowns on December 24-25. There were still some offline moments, though, tied to other cultural events or local traditions.
⚡ Action box for website owners:
- Plan around the offline windows. First, let’s state the obvious: expect your traffic to be down during most of Christmas if your audience is based in predominantly Christian countries. You might as well kill your online activity entirely since the internet is becoming mostly a ghost town.
- Spot the rebounds. People may be offline during dinner or midnight mass, but they’re back in the morning or the next day – more on which later on (this really does happen!)
- If you serve international audiences, Cloudflare’s data shows the importance of local customs. That blog post or promo scheduled for December 24 might get crickets in the US, but could still find traction in regions that don’t celebrate Christmas.
Boxing Day bounce-back
If Christmas Eve and Day are the ultimate log-off, December 26 (Boxing Day) is when a lot of people hop back online – probably often with new devices in hand and gift cards burning holes in their pockets. 😉
- UK 🇬🇧: A +16% traffic jump by lunchtime (1 pm).
- Canada 🇨🇦: Up +19% on the morning of December 26, as folks check emails, shop online sales, or just see what they missed.
- Australia 🇦🇺: A +9% daily increase overall, plus a +20% spike around 9:30 am.
⚡ Action box for website owners:
- Not all holiday days are bad for traffic. I was quite surprised to see this, but December 26 really seems to hold a prime chance to reach customers who get themselves newly reconnected after Christmas break.
- Email marketing opportunity? A well-aimed email on the morning of December 26 could catch consumers as they open inboxes full of deals, leftover holiday greetings, and the world they tuned out for a couple of days.
The New Year’s Eve countdown
After Christmas, the next big offline moment is the New Year’s Eve countdown. Cloudflare’s data shows that traffic plummets worldwide at midnight on January 1 in a collective toast to new beginnings:
- Chile 🇨🇱 leads the drop with -74% vs a normal December 18 baseline traffic.
- Argentina 🇦🇷 follows at -66%.
- Europe sees heavy dips as well: Portugal 🇵🇹 and Romania 🇷🇴 hit around -60%, Spain 🇪🇸 -56%.
- North America is milder: The US 🇺🇸 sees -12%, diluted by multiple time zones.
Then, in typical fashion, people hop back online hours later. France’s 🇫🇷 traffic soared by +37% at 3:15 am on January 1, presumably after everyone decided to see what they missed on social media.
⚡ Action box for website owners:
How about planning a “New Year, New You” campaign? Maybe schedule your promotions for the early hours of January 1 when people have apparently recharged their phones and are ready to reconnect – or for January 2 if you don’t want to be as drastic.
What about the current season as we’re going into 2025?
Some in-the-nutshell conclusions from Cloudflare’s report first:
- The holiday downtime is real. There is less traffic and lower engagement on Christmas Eve and Day.
- Don’t underestimate Boxing Day. Traffic rebounds in many countries, so it’s a good day for email blasts and flash sales.
- New Year’s Eve is a near-universal offline moment at midnight, but traffic rebounds fast in the early hours.
Here are my takeaways from all this:
Best days to avoid promotions 👎
- December 24 (Christmas Eve). Family dinners and midnight masses are not good for online promos.
- December 25 (Christmas Day). Morning gift openings and festive lunches keep everyone offline further.
- December 31 until midnight (New Year’s Eve): When midnight arrives on New Year’s Eve, internet traffic takes a nosedive.
Best days to do promotions 👍
- December 26 (Boxing Day): That immediate bounce-back is real – possibly holding some potential for higher open rates and conversions.
- January 1 (Early morning): Once the clock strikes midnight, people trickle back online – even during early morning hours. By January 2, they’re fully plugged in again.
If you’re looking to optimize holiday strategies next season, remember this:
The holidays may be about peace on Earth and good will to all, but they’re also about knowing exactly when your target audience is ready to sit back down and scroll.
Let me know if any of this information was surprising or if you’re considering still running a New Year’s promotion based on it.
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