Consumers are not only starting their holiday shopping earlier, they are treating themselves to gifts when shopping for family and friends. During the 2015 holiday season, 50% of shoppers bought something for themselves when shopping for others, a seven percentage point increase from 2014, according to Deloitte.
Consumers’ willingness to stuff their own stockings during the holidays means retailers need to be thinking about ways to entice consumers to splurge on them- selves, in addition to developing promotions that appeal to early-bird holiday shoppers.
“The trend of consumers buying for themselves during the holidays has been picking up steam the past several years,” says Greg Zakowicz, marketing automation provider Bronto Software LLC’s senior commerce marketing analyst. “Offering consumers bigger savings on purchases is a great way to encourage them to buy for themselves too.”
Pitching a promotional code for hitting a spending threshold with a single purchase or over several purchases during the holiday season is one way to encourage shoppers to spend on themselves since many consumers will use the code to purchase an item on their wish list.
“Setting a spending bar to earn a coupon not only helps increase average order size, but can keep shoppers coming back during the holidays to earn the incentive,” says Stephanie Hileman, e-commerce digital marketing specialist for athletic apparel and shoe manufacturer Brooks Sports Inc., a Bronto client. “We see throughout the year that customers often struggle with the fear of missing out when it comes to deals so we try to leverage this during the holidays.”
Emailing consumers daily deals is another way to entice holiday shoppers to indulge. To make a daily deal appealing, Hileman recommends segmenting offers among email recipients so that shoppers receive offers tied to their specific interests. “Our loyal customers, for example, are notified about deals and discounts first,” Hileman says. “Consumers like to be treated special and VIP treatment helps us stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Alternatively, promotions can be built around product categories or brands the customer favors.
“A lot of our customers like to shop by outfit, so we might offer a deal that rewards them with a free accessory when they buy an outfit or a discount on pants when they purchase a matching top,” she says.
Offering gift card buyers a second gift card of lesser value for meeting a spending threshold, such as a bonus $50 gift card when purchasing a card of $100 can coax shoppers interested in buying for themselves to convert. In many cases, a shopper will keep the free gift card—and then spend more than the value on it when redeeming it later for herself, Hileman says.
“By adjusting the redemption date on the free gift card to post-holiday, retailers can maintain momentum after the holidays,” she says. “This works well in our industry especially since several people begin to tackle their New Year’s fitness goals in Q1.”
With some consumers starting their holiday shopping weeks in advance of Black Friday, retailers can’t afford to wait until Thanksgiving to start offering holiday deals, Zakowicz says. But retailers must be careful, lest they sacrifice sales they’d otherwise get later in the season by offering their best deals early.
Zakowicz recommends gradually increasing discounts and other incentives as the holiday shopping season progresses to keep shoppers interested.
“Retailers can still offer good value in their early promotions, but the goal is to steadily increase the value offered so their marketing strategy doesn’t peak too soon,” Zakowicz says.
E-retailers should also lay the groundwork to nurture future sales from customers gained during the holidays. Thanking a customer via email for her business and including a coupon for a future purchase, or sending loyal customers sneak previews of future sales can keep shoppers coming back once the holidays are over.
“Retailers that recognize consumers buy for them- selves during the holidays and that holiday shoppers are starting earlier will be more successful in their holiday marketing efforts,” Zakowicz says.
This was originally published on Internet retailer.
Greg Zakowicz is a retail and eCommerce marketing speaker, analyst, strategist, and award-winning podcaster whose experience spans email, mobile, and social media marketing. More about Greg here.