The holiday season is just around the corner, ushering in the most important time of year in retail. Are you ready?
We have gathered the top consumer trends to help you knock this Q4 out of the park.
Here are the trends you must know:
Your New Homepage? Product Detail Pages
The importance of product detail pages has long been on the rise, with PDPs evolving into micro-universes for showcasing products.
It is no longer enough for the consumer to browse the “What’s new” section on your website when planning for a purchase - now they want all the details and they want them as quickly as possible.
Make sure your PDPs are holiday ready. Update content with a gifting angle or holiday themed content, such as how to style a piece of clothing for a Christmas party or who the perfect recipient for a pair of headphones is.
Do you have any limited edition products? Sell out early by enriching the corresponding PDPs with high quality content. Think tutorials, gift wrapping ideas and mini-guides.
Generational Marketing
Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers; you’ve heard all the nicknames for people born in the past 80 years, but did you know that each generation is gravitating more strongly towards distinctive identity markers?
Deep down, we’re not that different. However, it is undeniable that the generations are doubling down on what makes them unique - be it with regards to aesthetics, product preferences orhumor.
“Generational marketing” is a concept gaining traction, and with good reason. Think about how you can market to each generation during the holiday season in everything you do: should you use Millennial Pink or Brat Green in your next campaign? Will you be styling a skirt with high or low socks?
All those choices subtly but convincingly communicate to the different generations, allowing them to feel seen and to understand your messaging properly, thus making your brand more effective.
Reviews Reign Supreme
While not many people review their gifts, public opinion on a product plays a crucial role for shoppers buying said gifts.
Think about it: gifting is personal, and you want to make sure to pick something the recipient will fall in love with.
You can leverage the growing importance of reviews during gift-shopping season in a few ways:
- Implement filters such as “most popular” or “highest rated” on your website
- Create dedicated gift guide content
- Use third-party “authentication” by leveraging influencers and user-generated content (USG) across your digital channels
- Make reviews extra visible on PDPs during the holiday season
New Relationships
Holiday shopping is a great opportunity for discovery. Wishlist in hand, many customers search the internet for the perfect deal on a certain product, very possibly seeing that product or retailer for the first time.
This is a golden opportunity to expand your customer base. How are you following up with new customers? Chances are that someone shopping for a loved one will have a lot of overlapping preferences, and if they interact with your business for the first time, they are likely to become a repeat customer themselves, if you build the relationship right.
Make sure to follow up with new customers. Prompt them to get something nice for themselves by unlocking personal discount codes or funnel them through your content universe to make them familiar with your offerings.
Shopping is Now Social
Shopping and inspiration are no longer two silos. The modern consumer can easily shop from their social media feeds just as they can get product education via a brand’s e-commerce website.
Millennials and Gen Z especially operate this way, mostly learning about products from social media and then expecting a direct shopping opportunity then and there.
Grab the attention of shoppers visiting your website by presenting your content in a way that’s familiar to them. This could be laying out short-form shoppable videos in a carousel or allowing shoppers to scroll through your shopping catalog on-demand like they would TikTok.
The familiarity of the layout will trigger the same mechanisms and attention they give products discovered on social media.
If you leverage these five trends as you prepare for the holiday season, you’re bound to see your sales and engagement light up as brightly as a Christmas tree - and the sooner you start getting ready, the better your chances of becoming this season’s go-to brand for gift hunters.
.png)
