With the holiday shopping season upon us, many brands focus on their sales, promotions or shipping deadlines, not on the actual people who are making purchases—gift givers. This holiday season, new research from Microsoft is offering insight into how people are shopping online for gifts. Savvy marketers can take advantage of that information to transform their marketing efforts and better reach out to gift givers, increasing sales during the busy holiday season.
Follow are three key takeways and tips from the research:
1. Lengthen your remarketing window
While Hanukkah givers usually made a purchase decision within five days, Christmas shoppers take an average of 23 days to make a purchase decision. During the gift shopping season, lengthen your remarketing window to capture these discerning Christmas shoppers and remain relevant and top of mind during the entire near-month-long decision process.
2. Create a guide just for gift givers
Many people buy gifts for people from brands they would never patronize for themselves, and likely don’t know a whole lot about the products either. If your brand focuses on specialized items—from sporting gear to baby items—create a guide specifically geared toward gift givers. Include vital information like any accessories that go with particular purchases and user reviews.
While kids are relatively easy to shop for, the Microsoft study found that gift givers were more likely to search through gift guides providing information about purchases for their parents. So, tailor gift guides to speak to adult children about making informed purchases for their mothers and fathers.
3. Focus on generalized gifts within a reasonable price range
According to the Microsoft study, during the holiday season, Secret Santa shoppers and white elephant shoppers are more likely to struggle with gift ideas. They also want gifts within a reasonable price range that are "cool" or "different" so that Secret Santa participants will take notice. Highlight related products on your site so that shoppers can easily find them (or come back to them later). You can even create a category just for Secret Santa or White Elephant gifts to help take the stress off of gift givers.
This holiday season, are your marketing efforts reaching the right audience? With these simple tips, you can improve your overall marketing efforts by reaching the right people at the right time.
Looking for more tips on digital marketing for the holiday shopping season? Check out our blogs below with tips and ideas for Black Friday Cyber Monday.
