What will the holiday marketing trends be for this year? The 2015 holiday season is already shaping up to be the biggest yet for online marketers (and online shoppers). This infographic from the Boostability blog should help you get prepared, make your list and check it twice. Year-over-year the trends in online marketing and sales prove that mobile optimisation is key!
Ready, Set, Shop!
The first trend we see is that the holidays seem to come earlier and earlier each year. This means advertising earlier, which of course means planning earlier too. More than half the retailers mentioned in this infographic started working on their marketing plans for the holiday season in June or before. Many include a focus on retargeting. As many as 53% of consumers are predicted to have completed their holiday shopping before December. This holiday season, total sales will increase by 4% to $965 billion. Online marketing sales will increase by 14% to $79 billion.
Online Engagement Will Affect In-Store Sales
Over 80% of holiday shoppers search for gifts online. Of those online searchers, 32% lead specifically to an online sale purchases are most often influenced by direct online engagement or local search. 15% of shoppers searching for local items are actually inside the store when they perform that search. Bargain shoppers are searching for similar products right from within the store. Engaging with consumers providing up-to-date information on your products and being readily available to answer questions via phone, email, social media, or chat are key to gaining a sale over your competition.
- 20% more retailers earn as much as 20% of their annual revenue during the holiday season.
- 90% of all sales still take place within brick and mortar outlets.
- 64% of these sales will be a result of online influence.
Catch Them on the Go
- 1 in 3 consumers search online prior to making an in-store purchase.
- 40% of consumers will browse items in stores prior to making a purchase online.
- Mobile sales made up 22.6% of all online sales and 45% of all retail traffic in 2014.
Online purchases are most often influenced by promotions (95%), brand management (80%), and email (15%).
Make sure your store’s information is up-to-date!
Of all local online searches that come from a smartphone device, 88% of consumers are looking for business hours, directions, or availability of a product.
- 73% of online shoppers use shipping as the initial deciding factor for shopping online.
- 78% of buyers are influenced by online reviews.
- 96% of consumers will leave a website if the website is not mobile friendly.
Reasons why consumers buy in the store instead of online:
- Close to the store.
- Faster delivery.
- Better pricing.
The average purchase via mobile device is $111.
The average purchase via desktop is $95.
Engage with Online Shoppers
64.8% use social media for gift ideas.
4% of Twitter survey respondents said they have made a purchase from a post seen on Twitter.
84% of Americans say they did at least some of their shopping online.
1 in 5 holiday shoppers in the US and UK did all of their shopping online in 2013.
Amazon and EBay are among the most recognised holiday marketing brands. Small business owners selling products online can take advantage by becoming an Amazon Marketplace or EBay Partner and list your products as part of their database.
See the whole infographic here.
