5 Trends to Consider in Digital Marketing for the Holiday Season
The new era of the holiday season is unlike anything that could have been imagined decades ago. Today, retailers see bigger revenues than ever before through purchases both in-store and online. New tech and changing consumer expectations has meant adaptation on behalf of businesses.
This year’s ecommerce sales are set to continue to grow, up 15.8 percent from last year approximately according to an estimate released by eMarketer. At such a key time for companies in the retail and ecommerce space, these are five trends to look out for.
#1 – The Dominance of Mobile Devices and Smartphones
This holiday season, mobile platforms are where it’s at for a lot of consumers. In many cases, they use their smartphones to do research on products and some do most of their online shopping here.
Roughly 65 percent of consumers have at least one mobile shopping app on their phone, through which they have made a purchase in the last year. For argument’s sake, it’s possible to do all one’s preliminary research, browsing, purchasing, and scheduling delivery for products and services all from one’s mobile device. In addition to having an audience ready to buy in on mobile devices, more than 54 percent of emails opened this holiday season will be on a mobile device.
#2 – Stretching Dollars further with a Programmatic Approach
Being able to deliver ads in real-time, personalized and targeted messaging, and streamlining promotional deals for retailers is a gift. Programmatic geo-targeting is huge right now, capitalizing on consumer impulses and playing on promotional tactics.
By purchasing ads more strategically and spending marketing budgets on a programmatic approach, many brands are seeing higher rewards with equal or lesser budgets.
#3 – Social Media Marketing targets Consumers in their Own Home
Social media is a powerful marketing tool because it targets consumers who are gathered socially in a casual location comfortable to them. This makes social media an amazing place to promote and spread the word on holiday-friendly products.
Consumers who have already decided to buy online will be going to social media and other forums to see what products they can find. In addition, think about the press come Christmas Day when the recipient of the gift posts about it on their pages.
#4 – Video = Sales
Video is a big part of many digital marketing campaigns this holiday season because more people are watching videos online today than ever before. Many brands go with warm, caring messaging while others may choose a more comedic approach.
According to a recent study, the majority of marketers working in today’s holiday marketplace believe video to deliver the best ROI and that behaviourhas shown consumers to prefer video over other forms of content.
#5 – Blockchain and Bitcoin continue to Rise
Retail transactions may be forever changed once Blockchain hits its stride. Consumers are already using Bitcoin to make international purchases and Blockchain comes with its own protections regarding counterfeiting, loyalty programs, and more.
Though it’s unlikely for these to be widely adopted this Christmas shopping season, their presence continues to gain recognition.
The Art of Marketing for Holiday Shoppers
Every year, new trends emerge in the way that consumers find and shop products. Retailers’ responsibility is to adapt but beyond all else, always keep consumer interests and preferences in mind. If you know your customer well and are able to appeal to them with the right tone, you should be on your way to another sales-setting holiday win.
