Continuing our Holiday Advertising Series, we’re walking you through each week of the holiday season and how to adjust your advertising strategy accordingly. From budgets to messaging, learn what to keep in mind this holiday season.
Christmas is over and you’ve probably used most of your ad budget capitalizing on the holiday season gift buying. But now that the day has come and gone, what’s the best advertising strategy moving forward?
It’s true that online shopping will slow down—so there will be less traffic to capture and less competition for ad space. You’ll start to see your CPCs go down and your ad spend naturally decrease as a result.
Even so, the week after Christmas presents some unique buying trends. In this article, we’ll go over what they are and how you can leverage them in your advertising strategy to increase sales on Amazon and other ecommerce platforms.
Post-holiday advertising factors
People don’t stop buying online just because Christmas is over. Here are some unique trends we’ve noticed in past years:
Gift card spending
This is the time that many spend their holiday gift cards or cash. Many times, it’s on items they didn’t get for Christmas. So retailers need to make sure they have plenty of inventory on hand for these post-holiday spenders.
Winter products
Christmas may be over, but winter is not. People will continue to need seasonal items like coats, sweaters, winter boots, and so on. And since it’s cold outside, more people will shop for these online from the comfort of their home. So now is the time to keep up your ad spend on winter-related products.
New Year’s resolutions
As January approaches, we hit the “new year, new you” period. People are starting new diets, exercise programs, and lifestyles—and spending accordingly. So this is a very popular time for buying products that help with personal wellness. In fact, ecommerce traffic spiked on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in 2016, 2017, and 2018 and continues to grow from year to year.
Interested to know more New Year’s shopping trends? Check out our data analysis: The Market Impact of New Year’s Resolutions.
Post-holiday advertising strategies
Now that you know the main post-holiday shopping trends to look out for, here’s how you can optimize your ad strategy:
Retire Christmas ad copy
Once Christmas is over, the first thing you should do is turn off any Christmas ad copy. Shoppers are far less likely to click on ads if they are obviously outdated. Any custom ad types should reflect the post-holiday season. Try targeting keywords that look forward to the new year, like “end-of-year offer” or “new year deal.” This helps communicate to shoppers that you’re up-to-date and in touch with their needs and wants.
Invest in Retargeting
Since many shoppers will be cashing in on their holiday gift cards and money, now is an excellent time to invest in retargeting. People who were on the edge of purchasing your product earlier are now ready to buy. So ramp up your retargeting campaigns to make sure nobody falls through the cracks.
Continue promotions
You’ve likely been running holiday promotions all month. But instead of turning them off completely, consider updating them. People, and especially younger consumers, love to feel like they are getting a deal, and you can use the post-holidays as an excuse for them. For example, you could advertise a winter clearance sale on limited shelf-life items or extend a Christmas offer for a limited time only.
Focus on the New Year attitude
As people try to make good on their New Year’s Resolutions, you should focus your ad spend on products that improve health and personal wellness. Think supplements, fitness equipment, self-help books, or productivity gadgets. The $1.5 trillion wellness industry is growing every year and COVID-19 has only accelerated it as more people want to prioritize mental health and get back to their pre-COVID-19 fitness levels. This time of year is a huge opportunity to get your wellness products in front of the right audience.
Maintain regular campaigns
Finally, since many brands have used up their December ad budget by now, this is a great time to stand out from your competitors by maintaining your regular ad campaigns. There’s less competition for ad space and more people will be shopping than you’d expect. Plus, CPCs will automatically adjust to traffic levels, so you don’t have to worry too much about overspending.
Partnering with Pattern
As the year comes to a close, it’s tempting for retailers to sit back and relax. You’ve been working hard on advertising throughout the entire holiday season and now you deserve a break.
But the truth is, this unique time offers hidden opportunities. Shoppers are buying things they didn’t get for Christmas and preparing for the new year. Successful brands will seize the chance to take advantage of these buying trends.
At the end of the day, if you want to accelerate your brand, you need to look at the data coming in. But that doesn’t mean you need to do it on your own. We’ve developed automated tech to help streamline your advertising for you. Interested in learning more? Let’s talk.
For more holiday advertising tips, check out the previous pieces in our Holiday Advertising Series:
