Holiday Retail Predicted To Skyrocket
From Member Evan Rutchik, US CRO at Ogury
How do you think stores/brands will entice consumers on Black Friday this year?
Black Friday Frenzy is already underway, with multiple brands promoting deals across the entire month. In order for brands to capture the attention of consumers on Black Friday, they will need to reach them in the environments where they are spending most of their time, which is mobile. This is vital as this year’s Black Friday won’t be like any other. For one, they won’t be rushing to stores like previous years. Instead, they will turn to their digital devices to navigate their shopping experience leading up to and over the Black Friday weekend. Knowing this, brands must have access to a reliable understanding of the mobile user and their journey. With so many brands vying for the attention of these consumers, the best way to entice them to your brand is to capture their attention by delivering highly impactful choice-driven ads.
How can stores/brands put more emphasis on Cyber Monday this year given the COVID-19 restrictions?
Online shopping has increased exponentially this year. McKinsey reported that there has been a 15-30% growth in consumers who purchase online across various categories. The same report shared that 36% of consumers have tried new products and brands. The combination of consumers shopping online and the decrease in consumer loyalty provides a huge opportunity for brands to reach new consumers on Cyber Monday. To execute a Cyber Monday strategy effectively, brands will need to offer exclusive and limited deals, in addition to a seamless online shopping experience.
How can stores/brands make shopping online more easy, accessible and user friendly for holiday shopping this year?
A seamless online holiday shopping experience is crucial. Adobe forecasts online sales this November and December to surge by 33% year-over-year to a record $189 billion. It’s projected that two years’ worth of e-commerce growth will be packed into one holiday season. In order to implement an easy, accessible, and user-friendly online shopping experience, brands will need to start by implementing an impactful user-focused mobile ad campaign. Consumers will be shopping on mobile, so your campaigns need to be mobile-first, and user-first. Through the end of the year, Adobe predicts that Americans will spend $28.1 billion more using their smartphones compared to 2019. That will account for 42% of all online sales during the holidays, and mark 55% year-over-year growth for mobile devices. To ensure their shopping experience is seamless, brands must place consumer choice at the center of their holiday campaigns. This begins with the data used to activate your campaign. Consumer data taken without permission could deliver brand awareness, but eventually will damage user trust and expose your brand to legal risks. Ensure the data you access is safe, then serve ads to consumers who made an informed choice over data sharing and ad preferences. You can then reach them with choice-driven ads, placing the control of their shopping experience with your brand in the palm of their hands – literally.
What kind of deals/offerings do you imagine larger corporations like Amazon and Walmart will have in store for this year?
In order to determine the kinds of deals each retailer should offer, they will need to have an understanding of the interests of their consumers, and of their competitor’s consumers. I took a look at Ogury Active Insights to see what the top interest categories are of both Amazon and Walmart loyalist shoppers, which is determined by looking at the categories in which each retailers’ persona group owns more apps than the general population. Starting with Walmart, its loyalists’ top interest category is ‘Shopping’ which is largely driven by grocery apps related to saving money, seeking deals, and home decor apps. They’re also interested in the ‘Medical Health’, ‘Food & Drink’, and ‘Television’ categories. In contrast, ‘Shopping’ didn’t appear as an interest category of Amazon loyalists. Instead, their top interest is the ‘Family and Relationships’ category, which is exclusively made up of family location, WIFI, and Dating apps. These users also show a strong interest in the ‘Automotive’, ‘Music’, and ‘Sports’ categories. Knowing what the interests and affinities of each retailers’ consumers are will inform which deals they offer. For example, Walmart shoppers will be interested in discounted home decor deals, and Amazon shoppers will be interested in car accessories and streaming service deals. In terms of the types of offerings, deal bundles and add ons will be a good opportunity for these retailers to increase the order value and move any stagnant inventory that has been a result of consumers’ pausing their discretionary spending. It will also be beneficial to consumers who are wanting to trial new products. Another offer that will be increasingly important is guaranteed delivery times. The increase in online holiday shopping this year could put a strain on postal services, so reassuring consumers that their items will arrive on time will provide a lot of peace of mind.