Holiday spending in 2024 is expected to show modest growth, with forecasts predicting growth ranging between 2% and 5% over last year. A recent Deloitte report highlighted that holiday retail sales in 2024 are set to increase by 2.3–3.3%, which is slower than the 4.3% growth in 2023. This is lower than the growth witnessed in previous years, partially due to economic pressures like inflation and election-year uncertainties.
Consumers are anticipated to be more price-conscious, with a notable portion planning to delay their shopping until after Halloween and focusing on discounted objects.
The retail landscape has been witnessing a steady downtrend.
To solve this conundrum and find new ways to innovate, brands are putting data to use. Retail brands need to acknowledge that many of them operate with an outdated view of who their shoppers are and what affects them most at a particular time. Market conditions that shape consumer attitudes are in a state of constant flux, and the existing data often fail to reflect the deeper issues facing most consumers as well as the attitudinal shifts that come with an ever-changing economic landscape.
All these factors create blind spots for retailers. Due to this, they need to adopt a new model that goes beyond understanding what consumers buy, why they buy, what they buy, and what matters most to them.
Today, consumers have become more pragmatic in shopping, prioritizing cost savings and focusing on necessities over other forms of spending.
Read more: Google Vs. Instagram and TikTok: Where do Customers Prefer to Shop and Search?
Consumers guard their privacy more than ever, and attention is increasingly fragmented across a range of data-hoarding platforms. However, data collection has become stricter, with increased consumer protection laws leaving retailers with few places to mine meaningful shopper data. On a brighter note, high-quality customer data is out there.
-
Drive Sales with Great Holiday Retail Strategies
Effective planning is crucial in ensuring a successful holiday season with the increasing shift towards online shopping. It is essential not to overlook seasonal promotions and holiday strategies, especially as competitors may have already begun their preparations. The following holiday retail strategies and ideas will help refine marketing efforts as well as ramp up sales during the most profitable time of year.
-
Prioritize Customer Retention Efforts
While it is important to focus on attracting new customers, it is equally essential not to overlook the existing loyal clientele. Reports have highlighted that repeat customers contribute to almost two-thirds of a brand's total sales, highlighting the importance of maintaining their connection.
Brands can seize the chance to express appreciation to the most valued customers by offering them special incentives like substantial discounts or exclusive previews of upcoming products. Additionally, brands should also consider sending their loyal customers heartfelt holiday cards through traditional mail while also showcasing genuine care for their continued support.
Read more: 12 Highest-Paying Tech Jobs In The US
-
Provide Free Shipping Options
As an e-commerce business, brands can offer free shipping to their customers. However, free shipping is crucial if they want to boost their product sales during the holiday season. During all holiday seasons, offering free shipping will ensure that the customers know about it.
-
Optimize the Brand's Mobile Presence
In recent years, mobile marketing has gained increasing significance in e-commerce. To capitalize on this trend, it is important for brands to craft mobile-friendly email marketing campaigns and ensure their online store is optimized for mobile devices.
They can opt for messaging in their holiday marketing strategy, making it convenient for customers to click on links and access webpages directly from their mobile phones.
-
Share Thoughtful Gift Recommendations
As the holiday season draws nearer, customers' schedules become busier. Simplify their holiday shopping experience by creating email marketing campaigns with thoughtful recommendations. Incorporate compelling calls to action and shoppable links that swiftly direct the audience to your website's product pages.
-
Consider Discount Strategy Carefully
Consumers are well-informed shoppers and recognize that businesses compete for customers. Thus grabbing their attention by providing discounts and sales opportunities.
- Provide discount when payments are made through Debit or Credit cards
- Provide different discount coupons
- Boost sales through exchange offers on selective products
Businesses must always be ready for the imminent holiday season, as it accounts for a significant portion of their annual sales. Customize gift suggestions by leveraging past purchases, highlighting distinctive gifting solutions, and illustrating innovative ways to create ideal gift bundles. To sweeten the deal, provide discounts on gift bundles as a bonus. Strategic preparation can be a game-changer. The holiday season intensifies competition and presents a chance to attract new customers.
Read more: Pinkwashing: What is Pinkwashing and How to Avoid it?
Avoid Holiday Marketing Mistakes to Stay Ahead
With customers demanding an increasingly personalized experience, businesses are empowering their service agents through a revamped training program and better data management. They are also introducing new performance feedback channels and support tools.
The customer care team is integrating artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to recognize customer emotions and diffuse difficult situations. Especially during a busy holiday season like Black Friday, customers expect quick responses through the communication channels of their choice. With conversational apps like Instagram and WhatsApp, businesses can connect with their buyers in the most convenient way. However, while they are running holiday marketing campaigns, there are specific pointers that should be kept in mind:
- Sending too many marketing emails
- Last-minute planning
- Focusing on one marketing tactic
- Not understanding the customer personas
The holiday season can have an impact on the revenue goals of nearly every retailer. Combining a growing number of online shoppers and fierce competition presents significant challenges for brands, but proactive steps can help set the brand apart and foster customer loyalty.
Read more: Best Buy Black Friday Deals 2024 - Everything You Need to Know
Predicting the Future
In past holiday seasons, consumers were willing to wait in long lines and go the extra mile to find the perfect presents. However, today, the theme to focus on is effortless.
Consumers now want personalized experiences and products that can be found, purchased, delivered, and returned with zero or minimal effort. Retailers that make the end-to-end experience easy for their customers can retain them in the next year.
The integration of data and analytics, as well as AI tools to discover audience preferences and motivations, offers retailers a powerful tool when preparing for the future. Constantly refreshed behavioral data that reflect consumer attitudes can better predict and influence future trends. When executed against timely research and scaled through advertising, data can be gathered as late as Thanksgiving and still give retailers a powerful way to attract new shoppers.
By beginning the preparations early, focusing on content optimization, and prioritizing customers in the decision-making process, brands can build lasting relationships with your brand. And by doing so, the holidays can become the busiest time of the year and the most successful.
A leader in Business Insights, SG Analytics enables organizations to achieve actionable insights into products, technology, customers, competition, and the marketplace to make insight-driven decisions. Contact us today if you are an enterprise looking to make critical data-driven decisions to prompt accelerated growth and breakthrough performance.
About SG Analytics
SG Analytics (SGA) is an industry-leading global data solutions firm providing data-centric research and data analytics services to its clients, including Fortune 500 companies, across BFSI, Technology, Media & Entertainment, and Healthcare sectors. Established in 2007, SG Analytics is a Great Place to Work® (GPTW) certified company with a team of over 1200 employees and a presence across the U.S.A., the UK, Switzerland, Poland, and India.
Apart from being recognized by reputed firms such as Gartner, Everest Group, and ISG, SGA has been featured in the elite Deloitte Technology Fast 50 India 2023 and APAC 2024 High Growth Companies by the Financial Times & Statista.
