How Can You Reach Holiday Shoppers? Start Early

This holiday season already looks different from last year and that’s a really good thing for marketers and brands. Thanks to increased vaccine availability and COVID restrictions easing in many areas, more people are expected to shop and spend on gifts this year. But since the pandemic affected consumer behaviors, marketers will need to shift plans to reach them. And they’ll need to start early.

One in four consumers were expected to start their holiday shopping as soon as September. This gives marketers and brands time to build a relationship with consumers through communication and personalized messaging across multiple platforms. However, it can also be a challenge.

Why is holiday shopping starting earlier? There has been a rise in pre-purchase research, which includes spending more time searching for deals and comparing product specs. Shoppers are also spreading out their purchases over a longer timeline due to their budgets and planning. And the nicest reason of all is that the holiday season brings joy: people are ready to return to normalcy after all this time of uncertainty and separation from family and friends.

Pandemic Shopping Habits Continue

Alternative shopping habits that started during the pandemic are sticking around. Consumers are spending, but their behavior has changed. These new habits range from an increase in online shopping to value-based shopping with pre-purchase research, as well as a shift in brand loyalty.

Over 40 percent of millennials did a larger portion of their shopping online, with one in four switching brands. Though it does seem that holiday shopping will see a return to brick-and-mortar stores, online will still be a key factor even for in-person sales, especially when it comes to research and price comparison. Marketers will need to run cross-platform campaigns where digital activations can lead to outcomes such as store visits and footfall, not just online sales.

Who Are the Target Customers?

Take a look at different groups of holiday shoppers and their variety of budgets, priorities and shopping plans. Young people are likely to spend more this year than they did last year. And what are they shopping for? Fashion and beauty supplies.

But that doesn’t mean older consumers aren’t looking to spend on gifts. Their focus is a bit different, with home improvement and health/fitness items topping their lists. While incomes have drastically changed during the pandemic, lower income households are still looking to spend on gifts, but their focus will be for kids and self-improvement.

Engage With Consumers

With online shopping gaining momentum, especially among older audiences, marketers need to establish a cross-platform digital strategy to connect where people are researching, comparison shopping and buying. Customers are using different devices at various stages of their buying journey. We found that two in three American shoppers are likely to use their mobile devices and tablets for online comparisons and searches for discounts and coupon codes prior to purchases. This means you have to find out where your customers are searching for your products. With that information, you can optimize accordingly. Another tactic for marketers are online ads and promotional emails, as they continue to be the top source for promotions and deals.

The demand for programmatic ad inventory will rise during the holiday season, which will increase the inventory costs. This can affect marketers' goals of reaching the right audience and return on investment. Marketers should look to running their campaigns in October and use more targeting campaigns closer to the holidays.

Holiday shopping is back and while it may look a bit different this year, marketers who start planning now are likely to win big and help brands to end the year on a high note.

Rebecca Rosborough is the global chief marketing officer at MiQ, the programmatic media partner for marketers and agencies.