Will Holiday Shopping Take a Hit?
So after reading part one of this series, you’ve now learned that experts have varying opinions on what different aspects of the holiday season will look like – especially when it comes to consumer spending. Experts agree that holiday shopping will drive significant revenue for brands; but, there is still uncertainty on how it will compare to the $942 average spending per person in 2019.
Shoppers will spend more this season
Experts who predict an increase in spending this year are subscribing to the theory that consumers will mitigate discretionary spending leading up to the holidays to allow for a “normal” holiday spending budget. Recent data seems to support this theory. Of the consumers surveyed in Morning Consult’s poll, about 50% report that they plan to spend as much money this holiday season as in 2019.
The good news for brands is that consumers will still be shopping. Whether they spend less, the same, or more than last year, brands still need to be aware of when and where holiday shopping will happen. In a year when it’s more important than ever to snag those holiday dollars, you don’t want to miss out on early opportunities.
T-85 Days until Christmas
Historically, the peak of holiday shopping occurs between the Black Friday in late November and mid-December, yielding a short, 3-4 week window of shopping.
However, this year the shopping window is expected to look a little different. In July, Amazon opted to delay their highly anticipated Prime Day as many Americans were feeling financial pressure in the midst of the pandemic. Instead, Amazon pushed Prime Day to the fall – now set to take place in October 13 and 14. Prime Day may now signal an unofficial start to the holiday shopping season – almost tripling the number of shopping days for consumers.
What does this mean for advertisers? Now is the time to start planning for the holidays. Media plans and corresponding ad creative, offers and promotions will have to launch sooner to captivate attention and interest of consumers. If you haven’t explored the benefits of dynamic creative optimization, now might be a good time to do so.
Your head may already be spinning thinking about the different creatives, channels, tactics and data you’ll have to manage with this year’s unprecedented holiday season. While your brand can’t fully prepare for the holiday shopping season overnight, implementing an omnichannel advertising strategy and finding media and technology partners (like Digilant) can help supercharge your team and ensure a strong performance for the season. Throughout the next few blog posts, we’ll highlight key omnichannel marketing tactics and benefits that will help transform your holiday season digital advertising. Learn more about what consumers expect from brands this holiday season in part 3!