3 Data-Powered Recommendations for Marketers When Navigating the 2022 Holiday Shopping Season

Data will play an instrumental role for marketers this holiday season. With ongoing issues like excess inventory, supply chain bottlenecks, and the impact of rising prices on consumers, the 2022 holiday shopping season is requiring marketers to adjust to a challenging ecosystem to reach the right customers and make the most of every moment.

Real-time insight into where and how people shop is crucial to ensure engagement strategies are aligned to make the most out of every touchpoint along the path to purchase. Criteo’s Holiday 2022 Commerce Trends Report used data from thousands of retailers across millions of transactions to zero in on three critical opportunities for capturing consumers with the right message, at the right time, this holiday season.

Strategize Beyond Black Friday

Does one mega shopping day make a difference anymore? The report found that except for a peak COVID-era spike in 2020, sales increases on Black Friday have steadily softened since 2015. In 2022, the current economic environment will push consumers to start holiday shopping sooner. One example in the report found that 77 percent of Americans often purchase holiday gifts during branded events like Amazon Prime Day as early as July.

The more lucrative focus for retail marketers going forward will be to de-emphasize Black Friday and employ a “Cyber Month” mentality where discounts and rewards are prevalent leading into and throughout all of November. Sales have risen across November since 2015 (save for 2020), showing that shoppers no longer want or expect to grab all the best deals in a single day, but instead look forward to an extended season of bargains.

Take Advantage of the Extended Holiday Shopping Window

American consumers are on the hunt for new brands and better deals up until Black Friday. The report found that the share of consumers identified as new buyers steadily rises starting in early November and peaks on Black Friday, meaning this is also a key growth period for marketers.

But where marketers once prioritized making large investments to reach target audiences, they must now be more strategic with limited budgets to maximize return customers. Once the calendar hits Black Friday, retailers should shift their legacy strategies to round out December by pivoting to a data-driven, agile approach. This allows them to reallocate spend based on campaign performance to drive sales, proving return on investment and ultimately creates loyal return customers while spending more carefully.

Employ Omnichannel Strategies to Engage Consumers Anywhere

Physical store locations are seeing a resurgence in foot traffic. Consumers are looking to avoid long shipping times due to supply chain issues, and higher gas prices may push consumers to make fewer, but larger in-person trips. Not only are storefronts a newly preferred place to make purchases after a few years of digital-first buying behaviors, but they drive product discovery, enabling shoppers to find inspiration for future purchases. Marketers must take note.

Digital isn’t dead, however. The report found that online ads are more popular than last year for consumer discovery, and in-store shoppers purchase almost twice as often when they visit the retailer’s website. More than half of survey respondents (55 percent) reported doing more buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) vs. previous years, up 6 percent from 2021.

Omnichannel strategies will be key to attracting and retaining customers wherever they choose to shop this holiday season. Despite macro-economic challenges, consumers will continue making the most of the holiday season. Embracing Cyber Month, shifting acquisition and retention plans, and leaning into data to inform omnichannel strategies means marketers can strengthen their chances of ensuring that 2022 marks another successful holiday shopping season.

Rory Mitchell is the general manager of global growth at Criteo, a commerce media platform.