Five Last-Minute Testing Ideas to End the Year Strong

There’s Always Time to Test

It’s the end of October. The candy’s stocked, your campaigns are rolling out, and the busiest stretch of the year is here. Between holiday pushes and 2026 planning sessions, every minute counts. Still, there's room for a few moves that can make a real difference before the year wraps.

Testing is one of them.

Late-season tests don’t need to be complex to be useful. A few well-placed experiments can help you understand how shoppers are behaving right now, sharpen creative decisions, and give you a stronger foundation heading into the new year.

Here’s how to put that into practice while the season’s just getting started.

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1. Keep It Simple (and Seasonal)

The holidays are not the time for full-scale testing plans. Focus on experiments that can deliver quick, actionable results:

• Subject lines: emotion versus urgency (“You deserve this” vs. “Ends tonight”)
  
  
• Timing: weekday versus weekend performance
  
  
• Dynamic blocks: swapping featured products or categories based on browsing behavior

Test one element at a time and apply what you learn quickly. Even small tests can uncover meaningful patterns—insight that’s just as valuable for December as it is for your 2026 kickoff.

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2. Take a Cue from DSW

Testing works best when it’s part of the routine, not an afterthought. DSW made it a cornerstone of their marketing, running 15 A/B tests across email and mobile with Movable Ink. Each experiment helped them fine-tune creative choices and deepen customer engagement.

One example: behavioral CTA buttons that adapted to each shopper’s browsing habits. Compared to static versions, those personalized CTAs drove an 89% increase in revenue.

In another campaign, DSW tested product crops against full images in their weekly “Sunday Send” and saw a 34% lift in revenue.

3. Make AI Your Testing Assistant

Testing doesn’t have to slow you down. With AI-powered tools like Movable Ink’s Da Vinci, marketers can automate test creation, personalization, and performance tracking across channels, all without adding extra hours to the workday.

Use AI to:

• Automatically swap creative elements based on engagement
  
  
• Run multiple test versions at once
  
  
• Adjust content in real time as results come in
  
  

Less manual setup means more time to focus on strategy, insights, and what comes next.

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4. Carry Your Learnings into 2026

The tests you run now will do more than optimize this quarter—they’ll shape next year’s planning. Start a quick reference sheet to track what you tested, what worked, and what fell flat. By January, you’ll have a ready-made guide for more effective creative, sharper segmentation, and campaigns that start the year ahead of schedule.

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5. Progress Beats Perfection

The holidays move fast, and so should your testing mindset. Not every experiment will be a hit, but every one teaches you something that gets your next campaign closer to what your customers actually want.

Keep testing, keep learning, and finish strong. When 2026 rolls around, you’ll be ready, with proof of what works and a foundation built on real results.

Want to see how testing can turn into lasting growth? Check out the related resources below.