Spreading Good Cheer Goes a Long Way in the Cluttered Holiday Shopping Market
With thanksgiving falling later in the year, there will be a shorter holiday shopping season and businesses need to react to a quickly changing market. Mobile technology and greater product research is making the customer smarter, better able to find the deal, and more willing to return merchandise. People are expecting holiday deals and but are unsure when they will come in the season, most will wait for the infamous black friday to trample others at the local Walmart.
One technique Toys R Us is using to combat early shopping sprees is to move it up even earlier, with a Holiday Preview occurring in September. Their messaging is directed towards shopping early for members to earn rewards they can redeem later in the season around December.
According to the Accenture Annual Shopping Survey “even those planning to spend more this year than last, will be hunting for deals. In fact, 62% of respondents said it will take a discount of 30% or more to persuade them to make a purchase, up 10% from 2012. The survey shows that bargain-conscious U.S. shoppers are tracking prices very carefully and 39% said that if they discover that an item they have already purchased is subsequently offered at a lower price, they would likely return it and repurchase it. Additionally, 45% said they plan to use competitor price-matching tools to track prices, and 24% said they will take advantage of extended return policies.”
Deals, deals, and more deals. How is it possible to make any profit while slashing prices? We’ve pulled some information from Rick Segel to help you maximize sales during the holiday season:
- Focus on customer’s ‘pain points’ during the holiday season
- Organize holiday shopping season clearance sale
- Build customer relationships through email marketing
- Keep your best customers happy this holiday season
- Blast your email opt-in list during the holidays
- Every year, as dependably as diets follow the overindulgence of holiday merrymaking, inventory season arrives for retailers still hung over from the seasonal selling binge. But why wait until after the holidays to clear merchandise? Hold a holiday sale to blow out the inventory before the buying spree ends.
Clearance sales and discounts are heavily expected by shoppers and they will be barraged with advertising over this period.
Maintaining strong relationships with your best customers will help to cut through the clutter of holiday discounts. As usual they will act as champions for your brand and spread word of mouth advertising throughout their network. Providing them a small gift to get them into your store will help them to shop more and possibly providing them the opportunity to share that gift with a friend spreads the holiday cheer. Remember, this may be a crazy and hectic time for everybody but there is a positive message to be shared and you will find your customers react best to holiday cheer combined with holiday discounts.
Contact the Agency for an evaluation of your marketing initiatives and learn strategies to expand your business.
About Roger Tower
Digital marketing agent by day and amateur crime fighter by night. This ninja ginja writes about technology trends, social media advancements, and light commentary on our digital culture. Founder of Tower Agency, Roger can be found working hard in the office or playing hard outside.
Positivity is a virtue and there is no shortage with this young entrepreneur.
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