... Help them find your products with what they are looking for.
Despite midyear predictions of a slower holiday shopping season all signs are pointing otherwise. From the US Census Bureau reporting last week that US retail sales rose 1.3% in October - the biggest monthly gain since February - to the National Retail Federation predicting an estimated 166.3M people planning to shop from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year based on their annual survey released, consumers are poised to spend this season.
Amazon kicked off its seasonal sales with their Prime Day Early Access Sale mid-October helping shoppers search for joy set against a tricky economic time. And while consumers have clearly indicated a promising sentiment for holiday shopping, they are expecting retailers to work for their hard earned dollars. Queue the discounts that have been running since early October. To avoid piggybacking deals at the detriment of your margins, retailers must deliver exciting content coupled with compelling incentives to move that stocked inventory.
Here are some of the most important considerations in order to set yourself up for successful earnings reports in the New Year:
- Diversify, Test and Pivot (if needed) your marketing spend. Whether it is testing channels, product offerings or content, test in an area you have working knowledge, so you have the ability to offer educated reasoning no matter the outcome.
- As mentioned above, don’t pull the discount lever at the detriment of your margins. Instead understand what your customers really value, such as early access to drops, virtual shopping lists, or styling services, in order to offer them what they really want.
- Personalize, personalize, personalize - According to Google 64% of consumers will browse gift giving ideas, so show them what they may want based on the wealth of first party data you have been collecting to convert consumers.
- Communicate - item out of stock, arriving later than expected, exemplary customer service is a baseline expectation and a cornerstone of retention.
With all of the unpredictable factors - economic uncertainty, climate ambiguity - retailers must have multiple strategies in their playbook to agilely pivot towards in order to remain strong in these last months of 2022. Whether you are engaging new or existing customers during this all important selling period, understanding your unique value proposition, your customer’s (or potential customer’s) expectations and delivering creative, yet authentic communication is crucial to the future of your business. Check back in for our post cyber week holiday insights.
