The holidays are coming faster than we think, so start planning today. Last-minute shopping during the busiest e-commerce season is a bad idea. If you procrastinate, your campaigns may launch late, get caught up in editing, or lose clients.
With that in mind, let’s delve into some stats to kickstart your holiday preparations:
- eMarketer forecasts only a 4.5% increase in spending compared to last year, slightly lower than the previous year’s projection.
- According to Google/Ipsos, 74% of holiday purchases are planned.
- A MasterCard analysis revealed that consumers spent as much in the three days after Cyber Monday as they did on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.
- Weekend shopping only slightly outpaces weekday spending ($4.4B on weekends vs. $4.2B on weekdays) in the same analysis.
- Post-holiday is a massive shopping period. In the two weeks following Christmas Day, over $47 billion was spent on retail, and 57% of people treated themselves.
What do these statistics indicate? Retailers expect no big increase in advertising spending. Consumers are starting their buying earlier and purchasing past December 25th. Being there for holiday shopping planning and completion is key. Did you realize this year has five full Christmas shopping weekends, one more than last?
The first step is to consider the bigger picture and plan for greater success. The following three points aren’t specific to paid search but are essential for your overall marketing strategy:
- Promotions and Sales: Create a promotional calendar, focusing on key dates like Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday, Hanukkah, and Super Saturday. Evaluate past strategies and develop contingency plans, considering potential lower sales volumes. Determine your shipping cutoff date.
- Shipping Cutoff Dates: Calculate these dates and post them on your website. Include any options beyond the cutoff date, such as gift certificates.
- Website Updates: Make your website holiday-ready. Incorporate elements that boost shoppers’ confidence in buying from you, like the holiday look and feel, promotions, and changes to return policies.
Once your plan is in place, it’s time to turn your attention to your paid search campaigns:
- Start increasing Your Budget Early: Not all shoppers procrastinate. According to a Google/Ipsos study, 74% of holiday purchases are planned, with 28% of shoppers completing their shopping by the end of October. You need to be there during the searching and planning phases to reap the rewards.
- Update Your Ads: Revise your ad copy and visuals with a holiday focus, incorporating the promotions and shipping cutoff dates discussed during the planning phase. Customize different elements for various campaign types, such as Search, Performance Max, Display, Video, and Shopping.
- Add Seasonal Audiences: Both Google and Microsoft Advertising offer seasonal audiences that you can incorporate into your campaigns. Use them in Search, Shopping, and Display campaigns and in your Audience Signals for Performance Max campaigns.
- Consider Post-Holiday Sales: Remember the statistic from earlier? Don’t cut your budget on Christmas Day and miss out on the 57% of shoppers seeking to treat themselves in the weeks after December 25th. Sales tend to remain high through mid-January.
Given some clients’ sluggish sales in recent months, the 2023 holiday shopping season is intriguing. Plan promotions, shipping cutoff dates, website updates, and sponsored search campaigns to prepare. Early budget changes, new images and commercials, audience targeting, and post-holiday sales strategy.