The Holiday season is approaching fast and it seems like retailers are starting it earlier each year. ?Experts are predicting a solid Holiday sales season with online sales (November and December 2012) projected to be $54.5 billion, up 16.8% over 2011, which is good news for marketers and retailers.
Shoppers are doing their part by starting their shopping earlier and continuing longer through the Holiday season. They are also looking for products/deals in many ways online with tablets and smartphones that give them 24/7 access to the internet.
The big three shopping days are:
Black Friday ? Nov 23rd
Cyber Monday ? Nov 26th
Small Business Saturday ? Nov 24th
Marketers should plan to take advantage of these days as people will be shopping in a big way, but the entire Holiday season is one big shopping spree for many.
As the Holiday shopping season gets underway, there are several trends that marketers should be thinking about as they get started to work.
1. Email still works. It is still one of the top ways consumers take in marketing that affects their purchases. There are many ways to market by email effectively and the inbox really heats up during the holidays, but a well rounded campaign that gives consumers good deals and multiple choices is a good place to start. There are also other uses like reminding customers who abandoned their cart that they still have products in there that can lift sales.
2. Shoppers have gone mobile. With approximately 30% of emails opened on mobile devices and people shopping on their tablets during Thanksgiving dinner with the in-laws, mobile will have a huge impact on this season. Shoppers will be show-rooming in stores, looking at products and buying them on their mobile device while they stand in the store, grabbing mobile coupons, and taking advantage of daily deals. Are you ready?
3. Online shoppers want reviews and feedback. Is the product good and is the shopping experience positive. If you are selling to these people you need to provide these or many of them will go elsewhere to buy.
4. Shoppers want to find what they are looking for. Customers are who are searching for something want to find what they are looking for. Make ads match where the click will be directed to.
5. Shoppers are impatient. Slow loading sites and those that are not mobile optimized will kill conversions. Shoppers will not even look at what you have to offer if your site loads too slow or in the case of mobile shoppers, is not mobile optimized.
6. Shopping cart abandonment rates are increasing and will likely spike in the 80% + range during top shopping days this season. Make your checkout process fast and easy and set up a targeting campaign to remind those customers they still have products in their cart.
7. Photo sharing sites are driving retail purchases. Led by Pinterest, photo sharing sites are going to have a huge impact on sales this year. Discovery of products, contests, sharing, it all works together. Many smart brands and marketers are taking advantage of this trend. Don?t ignore it if you are not doing it.
If you have not already started your marketing for the Holidays, now is the time to start. Plan to start early and capture the minds and wallets of shoppers as they get started because it is just going to get tougher as the season progresses.
Eric
Eric is an author, marketer & moderator of IMGrind and has been making money online since 2003 focusing on e-commerce, list building and affiliate marketing. Business development is an obsession as is golf.Source: http://www.imgrind.com/7-trends-marketers-must-consider-this-holiday-sales-season/
neville george lucas numerology the game new hampshire primary hue jackson coachella 2012 line up
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.