Retailers’ ad spending on Facebook over the past two years has jumped right around Thanksgiving and Christmas. But a new report by digital advertising vendor Marin Software suggests that retailers might see better performance on their ads by targeting consumers two weeks before Thanksgiving and several weeks after New Year’s Day when Facebook ads’ click-through rates peak. 

The report, based on data from Marin Software’s retail clients over the past two holiday seasons, found that Marin Software’s clients had their click-through rates peak on Nov. 12 last year, about two weeks before Thanksgiving, which was on Nov. 28. The click-through rates on Nov. 12 were 1620% higher than they were on Black Friday and 855% higher than on Cyber Monday.

In terms of overall click volume, Marin Software’s clients had 60% more overall ad clicks on Nov. 12 than Black Friday and 100% more than Cyber Monday. And Dec. 24 had the highest number of Facebook ad clicks during the season. In fact, they had 472% more clicks on Christmas Eve than they had on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

The report suggests that retailers have to understand that consumers interact with Facebook ads differently than they do search and display ads, and marketers should adjust their approaches to advertising on the social network, says Daniel Morris, Marin Software’s director of product marketing.

“More and more performance marketers understand Facebook’s unique position in the buyer’s online journey,” he says. “Recognizing Facebook’s role and relationship with complementary search and display campaigns, advertisers are adjusting their creative and spend to convert audiences across seasons, channels and devices.”

That means advertisers can and should consider shifting their Facebook ad spending earlier in November, when shoppers shift into holiday shopping mode, as well as into mid-January, when the click-through rates spike again.