The holiday season is a big deal for everyone in the retail sphere—shoppers and business owners alike. While getting in the holiday spirit looks different for everyone, for retailers, it means prepping for the beginning of their busiest, most important sales period.
Holiday sales can make or break a retail store's bottom line, so to get customers in the door, retailers often turn to holiday promotions. But the big question is: do these promotions actually work?
In our article, we'll discuss the effectiveness of promotions during the holiday shopping season, a few promotion ideas you can implement in your retail business, and how Clientbook can help you get the word out to your customers.
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Are holiday promotions effective for retailers?
The short answer: yes. Considering that 57% of consumers will begin holiday shopping on or before Thanksgiving, promotions can really only help create more sales for retailers. According to Tinuiti's 2022 Holiday Shopper Study, the top influences for holiday shopper decisions are the price of a product (50%) and retail sales or discounts (22%).
One-third of consumers say their holiday weekend spending is driven by holiday promotions. So, post-Halloween is the perfect time to begin running your holiday marketing campaign, attracting potential customers, and bringing back loyal customers.
Statista says that 25-34% of retailers' yearly sales happen in November and December, so this is a crucial time of the year for retailers—and potentially your busiest time. Limited-time offers, user-generated content, and flash sales are just a few ways to get your retail business on the minds of your customer base.
To find success in the midst of retail competition, it's highly recommended that you get on the holiday promotion train—or sleigh—and see your customer satisfaction soar.
Holiday promotion ideas
Here is a list of holiday promotion ideas that retailers can consider to boost sales and engage with customers during the holiday season:
Early bird discounts: Offer exclusive discounts to shoppers who start their holiday shopping early. Some retailers will even offer a discount on gift cards to encourage future sales.
Holiday gift guides: Create curated holiday gift guides to make shopping easier for customers and help them to find the perfect gift.
Flash sales: Host limited-time, high-discount flash sales on popular products.
Buy one, get one (BOGO): Run BOGO promotions or "buy one, get the second at a discount" deals.
Loyalty program bonuses: Reward loyal customers with extra points, discounts, or exclusive access to deals through a loyalty program.
Gift with purchase: Offer a free gift with a purchase over a certain amount.
Free shipping: Provide free shipping for all holiday orders or for orders above a minimum spend.
12 days of deals: Run a promotion similar to the 12 Days of Christmas, with daily discounts on different products.
Social media contests: Host holiday-themed contests on social media platforms with prizes for participants.
Email exclusive offers: Send exclusive promotions to your email subscribers.
Extended store hours: Stay open later or open earlier on key shopping days like Black Friday and Christmas Eve.
Gift cards with a bonus: Provide a bonus gift card when customers purchase a gift card over a certain value.
10 tips for how to implement holiday marketing
Having a holiday marketing strategy is vital to your seasonal success. You should begin planning your holiday marketing campaign months before the holidays and be prepared to release it at just the right time.
According to LocaliQ, 56% of shoppers plan to complete their holiday purchases before December, and roughly 30% of shoppers are kicking off their holiday shopping as early as October or even before (2022 holiday shopper study).
This means that you should get an early start on your holiday campaigns.
Here are a few holiday marketing tips to kickstart the festive season:
1. Set clear goals
Define specific, measurable goals for your holiday marketing campaign. For example, increasing holiday season sales by a certain percentage, growing your email subscriber list, or boosting website traffic.
2. Understand your audience
Analyze your customer demographics, preferences, and purchase behaviors during previous holiday seasons to tailor your marketing strategies accordingly.
3. Create a marketing calendar
Plan your holiday marketing activities well in advance. A detailed calendar should include key dates, promotions, and deadlines.
4. Build a festive brand image
Update your branding to reflect the holiday season. This can include festive visuals, seasonal logos, and holiday-themed messaging.
5. Optimize your website
Ensure your website is mobile-friendly, loads quickly, and is easy to navigate. Create a dedicated section for holiday promotions and gift guides.
6. SEO and keyword optimization
Optimize your website and product listings with holiday-related keywords to improve search engine rankings.
7. Email marketing
Segment your email list and send out a series of holiday-themed emails. Include promotional offers, gift ideas, and reminders of important shopping dates.
8. Social media promotion
Plan a social media content calendar with engaging holiday-themed posts. Consider running targeted ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
9. Content marketing
Create blog posts, videos, and other content related to holiday topics, gift guides, and DIY ideas to attract and engage your audience.
10. Thank your customers
After the holidays, express gratitude to your customers for their support with follow-up emails or special offers.
Remember that a successful holiday marketing strategy often involves a combination of online and offline efforts, with a focus on providing an excellent customer experience. Adapt and refine your approach based on the results you see and feedback from your customers.
How Clientbook can help you get the word out to your customers
Clientbook is a customer relationship management (CRM) software built for retail. Clientbook makes communication and clienteling with your customer base easier and more effective than ever. Manage your customer information and the holiday rush by using this multi-purpose retail tool.
Below are just a few perks of using Clientbook in your holiday marketing efforts.
Personalized promotions
One of the key benefits of Clientbook as a retail CRM is its ability to segment and target specific customer groups. This allows retailers to create personalized promotions that cater to individual preferences. Personalization is a powerful tool in today's market, as research shows that 60% of consumers say they’ll become repeat customers after a personalized shopping experience.
Clientbook's client management and analytics features help retailers gather data on customer preferences, past purchases, and browsing history, enabling them to offer promotions that are more likely to resonate with their target audience.
Multi-channel marketing
Holiday promotions encompass various marketing channels, from email campaigns to social media advertising and in-store displays.
One of the biggest challenges in multi-channel marketing is efficiently managing the ever-expanding pool of customer contacts acquired through various channels. The more avenues you provide for customers to discover your business, the more extensive your contact lists become. To maintain order and optimize this process, clienteling software like Clientbook proves to be an invaluable tool.
Clientbook streamlines the storage of all your client data, whether they came from your physical store or online advertisements. With this software, you can create comprehensive client profiles, employ tags and filters to categorize and group key clients, and even initiate individual or group messages to follow up with them, be it after a purchase, an online shopping experience, or an in-store visit.
Measuring the impact
One of the most significant advantages of retail CRM software is its ability to measure the impact of holiday promotions. With Clientbook, retailers can track the performance of each promotion in real-time, allowing for quick adjustments to improve results.
This data-driven approach helps retailers determine which promotions are effective and which ones need to be re-evaluated. A study by McKinsey & Company found that companies using data analytics are 2.6 times more likely to surpass their sales goals.
Conclusion
So, circling back to the original question: do holiday promotions actually work? The answer is a resounding yes—provided they are well-executed and based on data-driven strategies.
Clientbook's retail CRM software plays an important role in having a happy holiday, enabling businesses to personalize promotions, time them effectively, ensure consistency across marketing channels, and measure their impact accurately.
Book a demo today to begin planning and implementing your holiday strategy with Clientbook!
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