The holidays are a season of spending. Granted, the holidays are also a season of giving, but people must first spend money to have a gift to give. Capitalize on the spirit of the season by being prepared for this year’s wave of holiday shoppers and the trends they’re following. Here are four snippets of need-to-know information to help you jingle all the way this holiday season.
1. HOW will these holiday shoppers, shop?
One word… Mobile! We know, you’ve heard it before. But hear us out – almost every prediction out there is saying that increased time on mobile is the single most important trend to watch for in 2015. From 2011 to 2014, December sales on smartphones and tablets increased threefold; and in 2014, 40% of Black Friday’s online shopping was on mobile. We expect this trend to continue, so be ready for even higher numbers of customers to complete seasonal purchases via mobile. In response, make your products easy to find and purchase across platforms.
2. WHEN will holiday shoppers, shop?
According to a Google Consumer Survey, 48% of people will start doing their holiday shopping in early December, but almost 30% will start even before Halloween. Start advertising early to put your products and services on the radar throughout the stretch of the holiday shopping period. To our surprise, Marketing Land says that the highest share of purchases happen between 9 and 11 am.
3. WHO are holiday shoppers shopping from?
According to Google data from the 2014 holiday season, 41% of consumers made a purchase from a new retailer, indicating that many people may be less brand loyal and instead more focused on finding the best deal, even if that means trusting a new company.
4. WHERE are holiday shoppers getting their information?
Thanks to Social Media Examiner, we know paid social leads result in 25% more conversion than organic social media posts. Video ads, which are also becoming increasingly popular on social media, are a good way to demonstrate or feature the product you want to highlight. eMarketer’s 2014 performance metrics report, we know that rich media banners (animated banners) are 267% more effective than static banners. Furthermore, they give eight times more engagement than standard banners.
There you have it. Take these statistics to heart and help them guide you when making promotional decisions this holiday season. Anything we missed? Leave us a comment. And, as always, thanks for reading!
