Last year's holiday season was the biggest on record, with global sales increasing by 50% from the previous year reaching $1.1 trillion in global sales. While we've all seen that the use of technology accelerated by 10 years in a mere 18 months, it comes as no surprise that digital played a large part in the 2020 holiday season. No where was this more clearly reflected than in the global retail search trends. In Q4 2020, global retail searches grew at a rate over 3X higher than the same time last year. While the vaccine rollout and return to stores will change the upcoming holiday season yet again, this digital influence is here to stay. To prepare your brand for another record-breaking season, learn how to influence consideration early, maximize sales and win the season with data.
1. Influencing consideration early will be the key to new customer acquisition this holiday.
Many brands ramped up their digital and omnichannel strategies last year, which will make it more important than ever to select the right channel mix that resonates with potential and current customers. This year is projected to be a continuation of this digital acceleration. In fact, E-marketer is forecasting that the US digital ad spending will increase 25.5% in 2021, the fastest growth rate since 2018. To cut through the noise, understanding new customer motivations will reinforce your brand in their consideration set early. New customers are on average 3X more likely to be prompted to shop by something they saw, watched, read or talked to someone about than existing customers. In order to translate mindshare into market share, engage in a full funnel strategy that includes:
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Keeping your brand top of mind by reaching your audience where they're at with TrueView for Reach & YouTube Mastheads. Don't forget to turn spontaneous discovery into sales by partnering with YouTube creators with YouTube BrandConnect.
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Capture undecided shoppers in moments of research with strong category search coverage and Discovery Ads with custom intent audiences to inspire potential customers.
2. Maximize sales
Window shopping has moved online, so any effective omnichannel strategy leads with a digital-first approach. Consider what key categories will be top-of-mind to integrate into your holiday game plan and update as shopping preferences shifts with Rising Retail Categories. Once you have the key shopping categories in place, drive profitable sales and maximize demand with automation.
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Acquire new customers when they are most likely to engage with your brand with formats like video action campaigns, smart shopping campaigns and app campaigns.
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Increase sales (online + offline) with omnichannel bidding to drive consumers where they are most likely to convert
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Drive traffic to stores by reaching shoppers who have shown intent using Local campaigns
3. Win the season with your data
There has been a digital migration for all customers to do more online, and there's no turning back. This means that more data is being generated in the shopping journey, and more customer journeys are starting with digital. For brands and retailers, offer a meaningful reason for a customer to engage with your business over time - whether it is discounts, exclusive access to new merchandise or to reward their loyalty. By fostering these personalized connections, it will allow brands and retailers to better understand their customer's wants and needs. Over time, this first-party data can improve and continually deepen the understanding to drive lifetime value. In order to do this, think through how your current and potential customers might engage.
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Reach existing App Users with more unique shopping experiences, customized to what they are interested in to cater to their needs.
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Grow sales online & offline by delivering the right message, in the right moment.
For more tips on how to capture the comeback this holiday season with Google, tune in to Think Retail 2021 for winning holiday strategies.