Key trends: 1. Loyalty is Crucial; 2. Balancing Relevance and Volume in Marketing Messages; 3. Rising Consumer Confidence; 4. Strategies for Winning Consumer Loyalty; 5.
Consumers shop early.
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GLOOptimove, the first Customer-Led Marketing Platform, today released its 2023 Holiday Survey, which uncovers compelling insights into consumer behavior and the factors that drive sales during the holiday season.
The survey’s second annual edition reveals that forty-two percent (42%) of consumers prefer to shop exclusively at familiar stores or websites they have patronized before, highlighting the significant impact of loyalty on driving sales. Plus, an overwhelming majority of respondents, 93%, expressed a strong likelihood to revisit a brand or retailer following a positive experience, underscoring the pivotal role of customer satisfaction in fostering lasting relationships. These findings emphasize the critical importance for businesses to prioritize customer loyalty and nurture enduring connections with their audience.
Marketers should be cognizant of causing marketing fatigue
Further, results show that most shoppers (55%) will tire of Holiday marketing messages by October, which will rise to 73% by November. In addition, results show that holiday shopping starts early, as 50% of respondents will begin shopping by the end of October. While brands want to reach consumers before they buy, marketers should focus on delivering personalized, relevant, and timely content to engage consumers.
Pini Yakuel, CEO of Optimove, emphasizes the importance of understanding consumer preferences and managing marketing communications to maintain engagement and prevent fatigue. Yakuel said, “Managing communication frequency and relevancy is crucial for avoiding customer dissatisfaction and unsubscribing. Most brands struggle to do this effectively as they either batch-and-blast consumers or use rigid journey builders that cater to the ‘average consumer.’ In a world where consumers demand personalization and relevancy, brands must embrace AI to orchestrate individualized journeys and messages. Embracing AI enables brands to meet consumers’ evolving expectations, create meaningful connections, and differentiate themselves in a competitive market.”
He advises retailers to provide early access to offers, lead with competitive pricing, build trust, demonstrate environmental responsibility, and capitalize on early shopping trends. “By implementing these actions, retailers can enhance brand loyalty, attract and retain customers, and drive success during the holiday season.”
Consumer confidence up
Furthermore, the survey delves into the current landscape of consumer confidence, revealing a promising uptick in both personal finances and the broader economy, as 35% of respondents plan to spend more on holiday gifts compared to the previous year. In contrast, last year, only 17% of Optimove’s 2022 Holiday Survey respondents planned to spend more than the previous year (2021), marking a 105% increase.
Key trends:
- Loyalty is Crucial: A significant majority of respondents (93%) expressed a likelihood to revisit a brand or retailer following a positive experience, indicating the importance of brand loyalty. Additionally, 42% of consumers exclusively shop at stores or websites they have patronized before, highlighting the impact of loyalty on driving sales.
- Balancing Relevance and Volume in Marketing Messages: Retail marketers should focus on delivering timely and relevant content to engage consumers. Understanding consumer preferences and managing the frequency and relevancy of marketing communications is crucial for maintaining consumer engagement and preventing marketing fatigue.
- Rising Consumer Confidence: The survey reveals increased consumer confidence in personal finances and the overall economy for the upcoming holiday season. This presents opportunities for retailers to employ strategies such as upselling and cross-selling.
- Strategies for Winning Consumer Loyalty: Marketers can foster loyalty by providing special treatment and early access to sales offers, offering personalized recommendations based on past purchase history, and delivering tailored shopping experiences that consider individual preferences and habits.
- Consumers shop early: Marketers cannot connect with consumers too soon as more than half of shoppers start their hunt before November.
Access the full survey here.
About The Optimove 2023 Consumer Holiday Shopping Report
The Optimove 2023 Consumer Holiday Shopping Report was based on queries of 281 U.S. citizens in July 2023. Respondents were ages 18-plus, 50% male/50% female (no respondents were non-binary or declined to answer); and household incomes were $75,000-plus.
About Optimove
Optimove is the first Customer-Led Marketing Platform. Its solutions ensure that marketing always starts with the customer instead of a campaign or product. Customer-led marketing has been proven to deliver brands an average increase of 33% in customer lifetime value.
It is the only customer-led marketing platform powered by the combination of 1) rich historical, real-time, and predictive customer data, 2) AI-led multichannel journey orchestration, and 3) statistically credible multitouch attribution of every marketing action.
Optimove provides industry-specific and use-case solutions for hundreds of leading consumer brands including BetMGM, SodaStream, Pennsylvania Lottery, Papa John’s, bet365 and Staples. For more information go to Optimove.com
SOURCE Optimove
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