- US holiday retail sales are forecasted to reach $1.3 trillion in 2022
- Despite the rise in online shopping, in-store shopping is still incredibly popular and builds targetable online data points
- Location-based targeting can help businesses reach consumers at specific moments in their shopping journey
- Layering demographic, behavioral, and 1st-party data with location-targeted ad placements enhances the effectiveness of campaigns
With the holiday season fast approaching, retail businesses are gearing up for the busiest time of the year. According to eMarketer, US holiday retail sales are expected to reach $1.3 trillion in 2022, in spite of economic concerns. That’s a 3.3% increase over 2021! Plus, the highest inflation in roughly 40 years is also prompting people to shift their shopping habits. Consumers are starting their holiday shopping earlier this year, which means there is no time to waste when it comes to planning and launching holiday marketing campaigns.
Getting an early start means you’ll have time to develop plans while taking current trends, emerging digital advertising products, and the expectations of consumers into consideration, while ensuring you capture the attention of valuable shoppers.
Consumer shopping habits have evolved tremendously since the COVID-19 pandemic, and although online shopping is and continues to be on the rise, one thing is clear: in-store shopping is still a favorite for more than half of consumers. These brick-and-mortar store shoppers enjoy the festive seasonal atmosphere in-store while they embrace the act of discovery, finding great gift ideas, and appreciate walking out with their purchases on the same day. Interestingly, these offline shopping habits build valuable data points which business owners can capitalize on by leveraging location based display advertising, helping reach consumers at the right moments in their holiday shopping journeys.
Ready to “sleigh” the holidays with your Q4 marketing campaign? Here are 7 tips to effectively use location targeting in your marketing strategy this holiday season:
- Promote sales and events to local area residents. Addressable geofencing enables you to reach users down to the household level across all device types, which is perfect for launching your holiday promotional efforts and ensuring local consumers are in-the-know about your special offers.
- Reach people who frequent shopping centers and malls in the area, verifying that they’re active in-store shoppers. Target active offline shoppers who are most likely to visit your physical store because they have visited other stores in the local area.
- Target your highest-value customers - your own store visitors! Focus your ad messaging on driving repeat business, promoting upcoming sales, events, or new products, and cross-selling additional products.
- Reach last-minute gift shoppers in the area with gift cards and subscription opportunities. Think about items consumers can easily purchase from your store and “gift” with no hassle, and promote these products with messaging related to the ease of finding last-minute gifts.
- Focus on holiday travelers by targeting airports, car rental locations and hotels to promote your events, activities, and restaurants.
- Conquest competitor locations and drive those shoppers to your store for a better value!
- Already running a direct mail campaign targeting specific households? Augment your efforts and increase effectiveness by launching a digital ad campaign targeting the same households.
Don’t let generalized and broad-based geotargeting cause you to miss out on customers this season! Make sure you’re utilizing the most powerful location-based addressable and geofencing display ad strategies, which work across a wide variety of industries.
For assistance planning and launching the most effective holiday advertising campaign, contact AffinityX. We partner with brands of all sizes to develop and execute marketing strategies tailored to generate what matters most – measurable results.
