With summertime in full swing, it’s hard to think about the winter holidays that are slowly approaching, but if you’re a small business, an innovative and well planned marketing strategy is imperative during the holidays. Trends over the last few years have indicated that the buying season is growing in length, shoppers are spending more, and buying platforms are shifting. With all of these changes taking place, it is important for retailers to strategize the potential impacts of these changes and formulate their marketing strategy in order to maintain a competitive advantage during the holiday season.

Retailers stretched Black Friday deals and promotions across the entire month of November last year, further prolonging the season and encouraging shoppers to buy early. Additionally, the majority of shopping malls will commence Christmas music a full two months before the big day. 30% of shoppers will start holiday shopping before Halloween, 20% begin on Black Friday, and the remaining 50% wait until early December.1 In order to capture all of these shoppers, retailers should begin their campaigns early.

During the 2016 holiday season, there were 57 days where consumers spent over $1 billion. This statistic is extraordinary once compared to the 2010 season, when Cyber Monday was the only day during the holiday season to hit $1 billion. Revenues are increasing, but physical stores are missing sales targets and store traffic has been gradually decreasing. This is due to a growing percentage of holiday shopping taking place online, totaling $91.7 billion last year, up 11% from 2015.2

Of all the online sales in 2016, 69% were on desktop, 21% on mobile, and 10% on tablets.2 It is becoming increasingly apparent that brands need to have a solid plan in place for boosting conversions on mobile devices, as the mobile trend has become a crucial factor in consumers’ shopping experiences that increases year after year. Retailers are embracing this shift by mobile optimizing their sites and building apps that allow consumers to make purchases using their thumbprint. Due to the increasing amount of ease associated with it, consumers are more apt to shop on mobile phones during the holiday season than ever before.

Email is one of the most commonly utilized cellphone applications, and it’s no mistake that marketers use this as their primary mode of communicating with their clientele during the holidays. When it comes to holiday promotions, email campaigns are 66% more effective than other forms of advertising, and it is expected to be used heavily this year.3

Building a marketing strategy that keeps up with rapidly changing consumer trends can be tough – but that’s what we’re here for. As Premier Google Partners, our expert team is more than qualified to help your small- to medium-sized business get the most out of this holiday season. It’s never too early to begin planning how you’ll capture the biggest revenues of the year- Contact us today to get started!

 

Sources:

  1. Entrepreneur.  You Should Be Planning Now For Holiday Sales – Here’s How.  Written by Seamas Egan.
  2. Adobe Digital Insights. 2016 Holiday Shopping: Up-To-The Minute Data From ADI.  Written by Becky Tasker.
  3. Chain Store Age. Study: Email will be the shining star this holiday season. Written by Deena M. Amato-McCoy

 

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