Holiday shopping is contagious, and brands have long leveraged consumers’ behavioral patterns to encourage more purchases during this time. In fact, holiday spending reached up to $964.4 Billion in 2023, and it is expected to increase by 7%, or an equivalent of $1,638 per shopper, in 2024.
The holiday season is one of the most opportune times for brands to boost their marketing. By increasing online visibility and refining efforts to attract customers, brands can successfully ramp up their 2024 holiday sales.
Holiday 2024 Trends
Holiday shopping in 2024 is expected to have a mix of digital and in-store experiences. Some of the 2024 marketing trends that will shape holiday shopping behaviors include home delivery and BOPIS: Buy Online, Pick-up In-Store.
Among millennials and Gen Zs, sustainable shopping, self-gifting, and paying for experiences rather than physical items are in demand. Seventy percent (70%) of Gen Z buyers also emphasize the importance of mobile payments during holiday shopping. Because of their interest in authenticity, this generation of buyers also value influencer and celebrity endorsements when considering brands.
On the other hand, Gen X and baby boomers prefer practicality and convenience, often opting to shop in physical stores. For those who shop online, hassle-free returns (86%) and return options (73%) are two of the most crucial factors that influence their brand choices.
Tips to Prepare for Holiday Marketing
The outlook for holiday shopping in 2024 is geared toward personalized experiences, practical spending, and technology integration. Adapting to these dynamic changes with the help of a digital marketing company and decisive strategies will help you build a competitive advantage early on.
- Launch Campaigns Earlier
The ideal period to start preparing for the holiday season varies depending on the nature of the business. You can plan as early as eight months prior. Use this period to assess the previous year’s campaigns and to gather insights into this year’s new trends.
By September or October, you should already start launching teaser campaigns and early bird promotions. Your holiday campaigns should be in full swing by November.
Set up a detailed schedule for the upcoming holiday campaign. This will help allocate appropriate time and resources to ensure smooth execution.
Getting an early start will also allow you to test out your campaigns. Collect feedback from these pre-holiday campaigns to get an insight on how to optimize upcoming holiday promotions. You can also build anticipation this way by giving your target customers a glimpse of your offers.
Here are some of the most anticipated events and holidays in 2024 so you can set up the right marketing foundations prior to these events.
- Halloween: October 31
- Thanksgiving: November 28
- Black Friday: November 29
- Cyber Monday: December 2
- Christmas: December 25
- New Year: January 1
- Invest in the Right Marketing Channels
People are more inclined to explore new products and services during the holidays. If they discover your brand when browsing through their preferred channels and see that it offers an interesting story and value, they will be more open to learning more about it.
That is why you need to target channels that your customers frequently visit. For example, if you are a B2C brand, you should invest in social platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Meanwhile, Youtube, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter) are common B2B marketing channels.
Leveraging the right channel can also help you maximize your holiday marketing budget. For example, customers primarily find restaurants through Google, Facebook, and YouTube. If you’re a dining brand, you can take advantage of this trend by creating holiday menu teasers on YouTube and optimizing your Google Business Profile to be more visible in local searches.
- Capitalize on SEO
Implementing search engine optimization (SEO) is ideal when preparing for the holiday season. Since buyers will be searching for information, products, or services through Google, being on the first top results will give your brand ample advantage.
Availing of SEO packages Philippines to produce relevant content and buying guides will help you build trust and initiate engagement in Google. Here are some examples depending on the niche:
- Local stores: compile a list of must-have items and prime events from your locality to direct tourists on what to do here.
- Financial institutions: promote budgeting tips on how to save during the holidays.
- Fitness centers: talk about how to remain healthy and fit during this period.
You can also revisit top-performing content from previous years and update it with fresh keywords, data, images, and links. Even if the content is not directly related to the holidays, you can rewrite it to make it relevant for the season. Add links to relevant products and pages to encourage more engagement with the brand.
- Be Active on Social Media
According to a Shopify-Gallup survey, 48% of consumers are planning to make their holiday purchases through social media. This emphasizes the importance of partnering with a social media marketing company Philippines to set up a solid social presence and enable convenient transactions through these platforms.
Moreover, the younger generation is more inclined to use social media for product research. Because Gen Zs rely more on authenticity, they use social media to get a perception of how other consumers view certain brands. Crowd sentiment is critical for this demographic, so leveraging strategies like influencer marketing and consumer-generated content will help you cater to this trend.
- Seasonal Link Building
Seasonal link-building is the practice of acquiring relevant links during periods of heightened interest in specific topics or events. Securing links related to holiday topics will positively impact your organic traffic and conversions. You can work with seasoned link builders to correctly plan and execute the campaign.
However, it is important to build on this strategy months prior to the target holiday. One month would not be enough to secure enough links for better visibility. It is also not recommended to spam your way into getting enough links in time for the holiday season.
Boost 2024 Holiday Sales with the Right Marketing Support
The 2024 holiday season brings a unique mix of opportunities and challenges for brands and marketers alike. By understanding user behaviors and trends and partnering with the right support team, you can start your holiday campaigns early and build sufficient visibility to generate more sales.
Start your holiday marketing right with the help of Digital Marketing Philippines (DMP). We offer content writing, link building, paid ads, and social media marketing services to help you build the right foundations for the holiday surge.
Contact us today at info@digitalmarketingph.com to consult with qualified digital marketing experts, or visit our website at https://digitalmarketingphilippines.com/ to learn more about our services.
References:
https://nrf.com/tag/holiday-forecast
https://www.stackadapt.com/resources/blog/digital-channels-for-holiday-marketing
htt https://searchengineland.com/seo-tactics-holiday-period-435252
Jomer B. Gregorio is a well-rounded expert when it comes digital marketing. Jomer is also known as a semantic SEO evangelist and practitioner. Check out our Digital Marketing Services today and let us help you in achieving positive and profitable results for your business.