consumers that will start shopping as early as October while there are consumers who will shop during the holiday season .
Also , consumers have interesting shopping behavior during the festive season : understand where and how consumers shop between 24th December and 31st December . How do you connect with consumers that have travelled from their traditional shopping centres , who are they with that time and what are they likely going to buy ?
Consumers with higher purchasing power will make impulse buying and spend more on gifting than lower income consumers who will spend on needs only . These calls for a well targeted promotional campaigns directed to specific consumers with the right product , price and place .
Some consumers may decide to shop early in anticipation of price increase , shipping lead time and product unavailability during the holiday season .
Offer Flexible Phygital Shopping Experience
Covid-19 taught consumers convenience through omnichannel shopping experience . During the holiday season , retailers should offer phygital shopping and fulfillment options that suit consumer interests and convenience . According to the Deloitte holiday retail survey , 63 % of shoppers will shop online with 34 % using social media while 35 % will go in-store .
Use different options including BOPIS ( buy online , pick up in-store ), curb-side pick-up methods and order online from instore etc . Allow the consumers to choose from different options convenient to their shopping needs .
Full funnel visibility
While holiday shopping is a seasonal business activity that generate spike in consumer acquisition and sales , it can have a long-term impact on customer relationship and brand image . Sales lead magnets and competitive promotional activities can have a long-term impact on customer onboarding process and retention . Retailers should recalibrate their marketing funnel and design activities that may not have long term negative impact on the brand and consumer journey .
It may become hard or even impossible to retain customers who shopped during the holiday season when retailers were giving crazy discounts . Such consumers might only afford a product when it is discounted or on offer . Marketers have to generate different activities to protect their brand during the holiday season .
Effective customer Support
Intense marketing activities during the holiday season generate a lot of interest that lead to exponential customer support calls . Customers will look for decision making support during the shopping process , make enquires about a product feature or shipping details or generally get clarification if the offer is legit .
Retailers should optimize customer care platforms and retrain or upskill customer care teams to provide exceptional customer support during the holiday season .
Make sure to define your average response time in all the channels that you establish to connect with your customers . Test all telephone numbers in your marketing collaterals and website to make sure they work . Your social media and emails should have a dedicated resource throughout the holiday season .
For high traffic retailers , support from different tools will go along way in effective customer support . Set up an omnichannel customer support platform , chatbots , live chat support , and self-service options among others .
Connect and operationalize customer data
“ The average retailer uses 44 different systems to engage with customers across digital and physical touchpoints . Datadriven organizations are 23 times more likely to add new customers and 6.5 times more likely to retain them .” State of Marketing , Seventh Edition , Salesforce , 2021 .
Marketers that centralize data from different silos are able to anticipate their customers ’ needs and preferences , personalize shopping journeys and make it easier for customers to find the products they want which can increase sales . A good example is Intelligent product bundling where customers who buy wrapping paper might also need tape , ribbon , and gift tags .
By analyzing past purchase behavior , you can pre-configure product bundles that increase units per transaction .
Such bundling of products can be made easier buy using customer shopping data and analyzing all the key touchpoints throughout the purchase journey .
Seasonal Outsourcing
High demand generated during the festive season require extra hands on the deck to deliver value to customers . Retailers will hire seasonal workers for a short period and are not obliged to retain them post-holiday season . However , they have to train and manage them every time they hire making the exercise more expensive .
The Ecommerce value chain is at an advanced stage where key players provide specialists expert services . Retailers can outsource customer support services , last mile delivery , Marketing , Talent management etc . This gives the retailers time to focus on strategy to increase efficiency and conversion rate during the holiday season .
Sustainability Marketing
According to a salesforce survey , a whopping 78 % of consumers say a company ’ s environmental practices influence their spending decisions . And for holiday shopping , the number is even higher : 83 % of consumers say they ’ ll seek out sustainable products and shipping options .
To advance a net zero focus , retailers should reward loyalty members when they engage in environmentally friendly behaviors . At Starbucks , for example , loyalty members earn points when they buy with reusable cups .
Retailers can also identify programs and initiatives to support during the holiday season . This will capture customer hearts and minds and strengthen their relationship into the future .
Martin Muli is an eCommerce and Digital Marketing Trainer and Consultant . You can commune with him on this or related matters via email at : Martin @ eyeballs-marketing . com .