This year’s holiday season is particularly short, and that leaves some retail outfits scrambling. For many retail operations, the holiday season accounts for a high percentage of their annual revenue. What can you do to make the most of the season when it’s trimmed by one week?
1. Start the holiday earlier
Though promoting the holidays earlier and earlier can be met with some opposition, it tends to be a smart play when the season is condensed. An Accenture study found that shoppers are looking for deals earlier than ever before, conditioned by black Friday deals. When Thanksgiving is close to the end of the year, those deals need to come even earlier. The study states that although promoting holiday sales turned some consumers off, the effort resulted in an 11% increase in holiday spending 1 , far outweighing any negative connotations. Though black Friday and cyber Monday have passed, you can build on that momentum by continuing deals and warning shoppers that their days to shop for the holidays are numbered and dwindling!
2. Break through the clutter
The bad news about the strategy above is that many retailers will be trying it. Everyone is scrambling to get those holiday dollars, and the Thanksgiving holiday has become synonymous with gift shopping. To better reach potential customers, don’t be afraid to leverage emerging channels and experiment with ways to stand out from the noise. You should assume that email, TV, and radio are going to become saturated. Plan to create more digital campaigns. It’s also worth noting that extended reality (or XR) formats like VR and AR are great options for showrooming products. Connected TV, or CTV, streaming audio and digital out-of-home are also more innovative options for reaching your audience.
3. Shorten the path to purchase
With less time to shop around and consider purchases, it can work in your favor to remove steps in the decision-making process. Try combining your content with commerce. That means making content shoppable. Things like gift guides, lookbooks, and video can accelerate a consumer’s journey. One McKinsey & Co. study reported that the transaction rates for shoppable video are 1.6-times higher than they are for static images. This is also a great time to strengthen any affiliate programs you use.
4. Make sure you’re mobile
Again, with a shortened season, shoppers are going to realize they’re in a time-crunch and move faster. Some people who like to procrastinate will wait until the last minute which tends to force on-device shopping and transactions. Make it as easy as possible on these folks to find and buy your products. Mobile native advertising is a good place to start. This type of advertising is built for commerce and is increasingly data-driven so you can get the best ROI. Try promoting flash sales with a countdown timer, or deliver dynamic product ads that allow high-intent shoppers to click right into the product page to transact.
You’ve only got a few weeks left to make the most of those holiday shoppers! Get creative with mobile and digital, and you’ll break through the black Friday noise to help customers complete their wish lists. Here’s to a great (shortened) holiday season!