Dr. Squatch has been planning for its 2026 peak sales events since January, when the health and beauty brand began preparing for Amazon Prime Day and the Cyber 5.

The brand sells through retailers, direct-to-consumer from its own website, and on the Amazon marketplace. It had a "very strong" Prime Day on Amazon in 2026, according to Clara Kim, senior technical program manager at Dr. Squatch.

Kim told Digital Commerce 360 that Dr. Squatch offered 20% to 30% off most of its products on the marketplace during the event. The brand is also "continually refining" its Prime Day and promotion strategy, she added.

The stakes are large. U.S. consumers spent about $26.4 billion online during the Prime Day period in 2026, Digital Commerce 360 previously reported. That figure matches what consumers spent on just Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2025. The full Cyber 5 — Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday — generated about $44.2 billion in ecommerce sales in 2025, according to Digital Commerce 360.

Still, the brand's busiest period is "definitely" Q4, Kim said. Dr. Squatch adjusts its promotional strategy again for the Cyber 5 and the holiday season at large.

"Promotional activity, customer demand, and cross-functional execution are at their peak during this time and we need to begin planning pretty far in advance," Kim shared. "Starting in Q1, we begin developing that year's promo strategy and get to work planning out inventory, creative, site experience, and making sure all the different teams are aligned. We also use earlier promotional moments in Q2-Q3 to test offers and site experiences before finalizing creative, merchandising, and operational contingency plans."

When Q4 arrives, Dr. Squatch monitors its progress in real time. The brand makes adjustments based on performance, inventory and customer feedback.

How Dr. Squatch plans early for the Cyber 5

Kim said one of Dr. Squatch's biggest lessons from the 2025 Cyber 5 was the importance of preparation and platform stability. During high-volume moments, "even small changes can introduce unnecessary risk."

So far in 2026, Dr. Squatch has been "much more intentional" about completing changes well ahead of its busiest periods. That includes implementing key features, optimizations and foundational work.

Among those changes, Dr. Squatch has reworked its post-purchase experience over the past year. It has tapped a technology provider for AI-powered pre- and post-purchase estimated delivery dates.

"Our biggest wins have come from giving customers something to be excited about," Kim said.

That could mean implementing new product categories, collaborations "that feel genuinely new," limited-time drops that create urgency, "big and relevant" promotions, or innovative structures such as bundles, gift with purchase, or spending thresholds. Those approaches have been strong levers for the brand, she said.

"We've also driven steady gains through constant A/B testing across the site, ads, and lifecycle comms," Kim said. From an ecommerce perspective, she added, Dr. Squatch's "focus throughout the year is building the features and technical foundation needed to ensure the smoothest possible BFCM [Black Friday–Cyber Monday] period. To minimize risk during this critical sales window, we typically implement a two-month code freeze, limiting releases that could potentially impact site performance, stability, or sales."

For marketers mapping their own Cyber 5 calendars, the takeaway is direct: Dr. Squatch treats the year's biggest sales window as a 12-month engineering and merchandising project, not a Q4 scramble.