Due to inflation and the impact COVID-19 has had on the economy, consumers are saving more and spending less. With that, marketers should find unique ways to gain the attention of these consumers and keep old customers loyal and happy.
Here are 4 predictions for the upcoming holiday shopping season:
1. AI will continue to be on the rise and influence online sales
Technology will continue to be an influencing factor, in particular, chat GPT and AI will continue to gain a lot of attention going into 2024. With that said, 17% of consumers use chat GPT for product research and inspiration and 10% are likely to use chat GPT to help with their holiday shopping.
AI has been a major influence in bringing consumers a better online shopping experience, showing them the most relevant products/services according to their behavior online. With the rise in AI, the online shopping experience will continue to become more personalized to each consumer.
Brands and marketers will continue to use this technology, especially over the holidays to create better shopping experiences for consumers and increase loyalty. With the improvement of these technologies, online shopping is predicted to produce mass sales.
2. Consumers’ increased price sensitivity = more demand in the resale market
The resale market has always been a hit, ever since the beginning of the internet age. However, due to recent economic events, saving money and caring for the better of the earth has become more important, and with that there will be an increase in demand for the resale market.
Brands such as Apple do a good job of creating programs where consumers can bring in their old apple products and receive money back. These items then can be recycled or refurbished.
Another example is Coach. Their website includes a category for “recycled” bags, products that have been previously owned that were deconstructed and redesigned into something that’s “one-of-a-kind”. This also encourages consumers to bring in an old product and trade it in for something new.
3. In 2023, shopping gets more social – bringing highest ROI
A social media strategy is a must have in 2023. With generations becoming more tech savvy, the need for higher quality content and experiences is a must.
In Q1 of 2023, traffic referrals from social channels were up 27% year-over-year. With this type of growth on social media, advertising on social is expected to generate 10 times more holiday visits to online stores compared to other traditional marketing methods. However, when it comes to social, video takes the lead. Nearly half of all TikTok users said they had bought something after seeing it on the video app.
4. Marketing to Gen Z means brands showing authenticity and purpose
Gen z is one of the biggest demographic of people, aside from millennials. They are the most diverse generation when it comes to ethnicity, identity etc.
This group of people are less likely to be influenced by creative marketing and more likely to be influenced by marketing that conveys inclusion and authenticity. They tend to value honesty and straightforwardness more than older generations. Many studies say that Gen Z also take a stand on social issues.
When it comes to marketing for this type of demographic, having an influencer strategy is also key. While they may not be entirely influenced by big celebrities, Gen Z often follow micro influencers who live a similar lifestyle to them.
Being personable and connecting with them i.e. replying to social comments will also come a long way in capturing the attention of this demographic of people.
Furthermore, since Gen Z is so diverse, they are likely to celebrate a wide variety of traditions. For marketers, this means knowing when these celebrations are and marketing accordingly around them.
