2019 Holiday Marketing Trends You Can Use Now

Get an Early Start

If this year is anything like the last one, then you can expect the trend of early shopping to continue. In 2018, 22 percent of U.S. shoppers began in October or earlier, and the majority (46 percent) got going in November.

Source: marketingland

While this data shows 1 in 5 shoppers starting on the earlier side, there is still time to engage those who are waiting until later. Even though they may not make purchases until November and December, they are likely browsing beforehand–and this is where your opportunity to identify and nurture them lies.

Make It Personal

Personalization has been on the upswing this year for marketers and good reason: 70 percent of marketers say personalization has an active or extremely strong impact on advancing customer relationships.

This holiday season will be no exception. Personalization is one of the significant 2019 holiday marketing trends. It is one of the best ways to connect with consumers, establish trust and loyalty, and generate higher revenue – especially as the competition increases for shares of wallets this holiday.

While there are numerous ways to employ personalization in your holiday marketing, here are some of the best places to start:

•     Email marketing
•     Website
•     In-person
•     Mobile apps

As an example, consider that earlier this morning, I was browsing video games on the Target website. About an hour later, as I was writing this blog, I received a text message from Target announcing deals on video games. You can expect more of this type of personalization as we get closer to the holiday season, especially as consumers increasingly come to anticipate this level of personalized communication from companies.

Be Mobile

There is no doubt consumers are spending more time on their mobile devices during the holiday season, from researching to final purchases. In 2018, 40 percent of online sales came from smartphones and tablets. 

Source: digitalcommerce360

Creating satisfying and straightforward mobile experiences will be top-of-mind this holiday season as marketers serve this growing audience. To capture sales on mobile, companies need to optimize their mobile sites for the best user experience, including boosting page load speed, offering mobile-only deals, and reducing the friction from completing transactions.

Considering the time frame we are working with at this point, you may not be able to optimize all pages of your mobile site; however, your website consultant can advise you on best strategies to make the most of this marketing trend in time for the busy holidays.  

Remarketing and Retargeting

To make the most of holiday marketing, more businesses will engage remarketing and retargeting as a way to reduce the number of lost sales. Whereas remarketing re-engages customers through email marketing, retargeting attempts to recover sales through online ads and display ads. Both methods attempt to reach out to website visitors who have already shown an interest in products or services but then left the website without completing a conversion.

Even if your business isn’t part of the retail category, you can use remarketing and retargeting to re-engage your prospects this holiday season.

Free and Fast Shipping

Marketers have been using free shipping as a way to entice customers for a few years, but this year more consumers are expecting fast shipping as well. You can look to Amazon and other retailers as the inspiration for this trend.

Source: bizrateinsights

If you are a retailer or eCommerce brand, then offering not only free but also fast shipping can give you the edge you will need to compete with other companies in your industry.

Even though the holidays are just around the corner, it’s not too late to prepare and launch your marketing campaign.

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