Christmas season is shopping season! Online or offline, commerce will surge as people prepare for the festive season. At such a crucial time, well-designed marketing campaigns can improve footfall, strengthen customer relationships and significantly improve sales.
Here are some ideas for Christmas marketing:
In order to create a powerful campaign, look at what has already worked in the past. This will give you a better understanding of your demographics, what your customers’ needs are, and demand for products in certain areas.
Of course, consumer needs and behaviours are continuing to change due to the pandemic, but having such data will help you get started with new ideas for Christmas campaigns.
One of the biggest shifts in retail has been the shift to e-commerce. There’s no denying that consumers are increasingly shopping online. In fact, in 2019, 14% of all retail purchases were made online, which jumped to 17% in 2020.
Therefore, it is important that retailers use their online platforms to guide shoppers through each stage of their shopping journey. Focussing on customer experience, retailers can incorporate the Christmas theme in their websites with things like banners and personalised Christmas greetings. Other potential improvements during a time where traffic to retail websites is expected to be high are: loading speed, user friendliness, information, ease of payment, return policy, click & collect, delivery etc.
This will ensure higher traffic, longer time spent, larger basket sizes, and ultimately higher conversion rates.
Mobile commerce also saw a huge shift during the pandemic. In 2020, 66.7% of UK shoppers moved to mobile shopping, purchasing £65 billion worth of goods. Globally, mobile commerce grew from $2,321 million in 2019 to $2,910 million in 2020. With mobile phones becoming more technologically advanced with things like Apple Pay and auto-fill, this method of shopping is more convenient than ever before.
Thus, improving mobile marketing strategy is crucial. Remarking is a popular way to increase foot traffic: relevant ads, abandoned cart emails, suggesting complementary products are all highly effective methods in improving foot fall and engagement, resulting in a higher chance of conversion.
Mobile apps are also highly user-friendly and can help with improving customer satisfaction. It will give you a better opportunity to provide personalised push notifications to already engaged consumers.
Teaming up with influencers can be highly lucrative as consumers often look to them for inspiration. If chosen wisely, they can market your brand and products to a niche group of shoppers, earning you loyal consumers in the long run.
An experiential retail store has the ability to attract passer byers. Since the footfall in retail parks and shopping centres are higher during the Christmas period- along with the high demand for experiences post pandemic– retailers must create an experiential space for shoppers. This will encourage consumers to spend more time in the store, improving your chances of conversion.
A great example is John Lewis, which offers Christmas themed workshops in-store. You can provide something as simple as a free cookie to get the consumer through the door or set up a Christmas themed café. Whatever it is, be sure to grab the attention of passer byers.
Consumers like to feel special but the large red sale posters no longer do the trick. They want something personalised.
So, consider allowing VIPs and loyal customers early access to Christmas products and promotions. You can personalise suggestions and discounts, only for them. The exclusivity and special treatment with early discounts will encourage consumers to interact with your brand.
Giveaways are great marketing methods because who doesn’t like free things? Make it Christmas themed and promote Christmas products around it. They create an amazing brand experience which in turn creates more loyal customers.
If you promote the giveaways online, you can even create a positive brand experience with those who didn’t necessarily take advantage of the giveaway. These shoppers may be intrigued by your brand and choose to browse your website and purchase products.
At the very least, you can trade data for the giveaway so it’s a win-win situation.
Videos are better at invoking emotions in customers than plain texts, making them an important tool for marketing.
They have higher engagement from consumers and help improve understanding of products and services. Furthermore, videos have a higher chance of being shared and receiving good audience reach due to the easy of sharing. According to HubSpot, 87% of video marketing said video content provides positive ROI.
QuickFrame Video Intelligence reported that their social video ads with Christmas messaging had 58% higher engagement rate than those without. Therefore, it is clear that Christmas is a fantastic time to do video marketing campaigns.
At the very least, you can trade data for the giveaway so it’s a win-win situation.
Christmas is the season of giving and receiving. So, teaming up with charities will create a positive brand image.
Lancôme markets their charity work very well, attracting consumes to the brand. For example, this year, the tower which looks like Eiffel Tower in St Pancras station, not only shows off the brand, but it also communicates that Lancôme is a humanitarian brand.
However way you choose to market your Christmas products, do not forget to create a sense of urgency. It is the most important ingredient in marketing and can be the difference between browsers and customers.
In conclusion, all of these methods are effective in improving conversion rates during the peak shopping season of Christmas. As long as you keep your customers at the forefront when creating your Christmas marketing campaign, it will yield results.
You can use video analytics to track the impact of your marketing efforts and make data backed decision. To learn more about video analytics, please visit www.trackin.tech