5 Strategies and Insights to Elevate Your Seasonal Marketing Efforts

The holiday season opens a vital window for marketers to elevate brand visibility, captivate leads, and escalate profits. This crucial phase, often dubbed ‘the Golden Quarter,’ kicks off with Black Friday and wraps up with the year-end sales.

Thanks to the arsenal of sophisticated AI tools available today, ecommerce entities can seize unprecedented chances to draw in novices and re-engage with the familiar clientele. This is particularly pivotal as consumer spending habits tighten due to an unsteady economic backdrop.

Moreover, a staggering 89% of American shoppers concur that scouring the internet for bargains, discounts, or promotional offers proves beneficial, with 75% finding joy in it, as highlighted by ‘The Future of Retail‘ study.

To navigate this lucrative season effectively, we’re sharing insightful strategies and learnings accumulated over time.

1. Harness Wish Lists

The practice of list-making for holiday purchases is ingrained in us, bringing a sense of accomplishment with each ticked-off item.

A Worldwide Retail Analysis by Google shows that 40% of consumers would enjoy shopping more if stores provided a wishlist feature for bookmarking desired products.

This suggests a strong consumer demand for wishlists, and it’s an opportunity retailers shouldn’t miss. For instance, IKEA effectively uses a ‘Favorites’ feature on its site to facilitate easy list-making, urging customers to ‘Start organizing your dream space’ as an enticing nudge towards signing up.

Key Reminder: Ensure your wishlists are mobile-friendly to accommodate the large swathes of users who explore options on handheld devices, particularly given the ascent of social commerce.

Primary Suggestions:

• Use email outreach to motivate sign-ups for wishlist creation or revisiting of saved items
• Retarget customers with notifications on wishlist items, providing incentives like discounts
• Enable wishlist sharing capabilities to extend reach to friends and family
• Introduce gift card options as a fail-safe gift, easing the decision-making for buyers

2. Embrace Other Significant Holidays

Spanning Black Friday to year-end bargains, countless moments exist to engage with your market and pitch your offerings to an involved audience.

In the current era of ecommerce, the shopping realm has evolved to be more personalized, value-driven, and accessible, allowing for campaign extensions beyond the traditional holidays.

Consider Diwali, a five-day Hindu festival celebrated widely, or Thanksgiving in the US, as prime examples for tailored promotions. Consider how non-alcoholic retailer No & Lo spotlights Thanksgiving in its marketing emails.

Diverse celebrations like Christmas Eve in Scandinavian regions, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa’s Karamu feast are cherished worldwide, paving additional avenues for engagement.

Essential Strategies:

• Map out an annual calendar noting significant celebrations in your target markets
• Curate content and products resonating with these key events
• Develop personalized, engaging marketing initiatives catering to these festivities

3. Strategize Around Deals and Discounts

The weeks heading into Christmas signal peak online shopping fervor in regions like Europe and the US.

According to Deloitte’s 2023 holiday outlook, consumers are set on making the season memorable, with spending estimations eclipsing those of the pre-pandemic era.

Yet, amidst greater expenditure, shoppers remain keen on discounts, as evidenced by an Economist Intelligence survey, noting a mixed frugality trend across various product categories.

Insightful Advice:

• Personalize email promotions to target users with tailored discounts
• Engage social media followers with exclusive bargains to spur traffic and conversion
• Don’t overlook loyalty and referral programs to bolster retention and acquire new leads
• Accommodate last-minute buyers with attractive shipping deals and eGift options

4. Focus on User Experience

Online shopping, especially during the holidays, should be a breeze for consumers, a seamless journey from browsing to purchase.

User experience (UX) studio encompasses design, interaction, and strategic facets aiming to streamline the shopping process.

Ensure consistency across channels, safeguard data privacy, and maintain transparency around the use of consumer data to build trust and ensure a harmonious journey.

Actionable Ideas:

• Utilize data analytics for deeper insights into customer behavior
• Implement A/B testing and utilize heatmaps for website optimization
• Prepare your digital setups with mock purchases to evaluate user journeys
• Clarify data usage policies and educate consumers on data protection options
• Stay informed on data protection laws like GDPR and CCPA to ensure compliance
• Regularly perform security checks to fortify consumer trust

5. Capitalize on Social Commerce

Given their expansive reach, social platforms offer a robust avenue for holiday sales.

The adoption of in-app purchasing on networks like TikTok and Facebook has seen social commerce earnings skyrocket. As per Statista, the industry is on a trajectory to hit $6.2 trillion by 2030.

Take cue from Fenty Beauty’s Instagram showcase, where their holiday collection captivates and directs consumers to their shopping interface effortlessly.

Constructive Guidelines:

• Pinpoint and focus on the social platforms favored by your audience
• Exhibit your offerings through an organized catalog
• Embrace the festivity’s emotional aspect to promote impulse purchases
• Avoid mundane photos; infuse creativity to attract and compel purchases
• Encourage content creation by users and consider influencer collaborations for authenticity
• Develop unique hashtags to track and amplify seasonal campaigns
• Experiment with live streams featuring product tags for real-time engagement

“Live shopping events on platforms like TikTok mirror a modern-day, interactive shopping channel. These live sessions, replete with product tags, serve as a compelling content form, sidelining the need for traditional advertising investments,” remarks Alison Battisby, Avocado Social’s Founder, during a recent seminar.

Concluding Insights

The holiday period is fiercely competitive for ecommerce brands but laden with untapped potential for those ready to understand their audience and exploit pertinent channels effectively.

We trust these strategies will empower your festive marketing efforts, driving lead generation and amplifying sales.

Article updated 2023

Explore Further

• Map Out Your Campaign Strategy with Our Seasonal Checklist
• Exploring the Yuletide Magic: A Duel of Department Store Titans
• Webinar Insight: Optimizing Peak Seasonal Sales for Maximum Return
• Stripe’s Role in Shaping the New Ecommerce Landscape