With just a couple of weeks until Christmas, radio stations have been playing their various versions of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” for quite some time now. However, this most wonderful time seems to start earlier every year. Indeed, this year, many retailers announced Black Friday sales that started the day after Halloween, and Christmas-themed advertising began to fill the airwaves and cyberspace well before Thanksgiving.

I always find myself wearing two hats during this time of year: the consumer and the marketer. So, the marketer in me is going to share two stats around holiday marketing for all you eager shoppers out there.

  • While overall retail sales are expected to remain flat (which comes as a surprise to me because my personal retail sales have skyrocketed, much to my wallet’s dismay), eMarketer projects holiday e-commerce sales will grow 17.2% this year. This means retailers must offer excellent digital shopping experiences that are on par with, you guessed it… Amazon.
  • According to a recent survey conducted by Signal, 42% of U.S. Consumers report Amazon will be their primary holiday gift destination. I mean, nothing can beat one-day shipping, right?!

Although digital is king in the way people buy their presents, this doesn’t mean the way they consume advertising is all digitally-based. Traditional print and television advertising will always be around.

For those of you working on last minute client projects or trying to promote that Etsy shop you have, here are four advertising tips to help give those shopping procrastinators some last minute gift ideas:

  1. Be clear about discounts. The holidays aren’t friendly on anyone’s wallet, so don’t hide that free shipping or BOGO offer.
  2. Feed off the urgency. Sounds cruel, but it’s true. People are rushing to get their gifts, so make messaging like “One Day Only!” or “Only Hours Left!” prevalent.
  3. Remember that gift cards exist. Tailor some early 2017 messaging around encouraging people to use the gift cards they received over the holidays.
  4. Encourage self-gifting. This one’s my favorite, as it’s always important to follow the “Treat Yo’Self” mantra. Give shoppers a reason to splurge on something for themselves.

Now, I’m going to put on my consumer hat and encourage you all to watch what I have dubbed the best advertisement of the 2016 holiday season. It goes to none other than Apple, with their “Frankie’s Holiday” advertisement. It reminds us all to be kind and accepting as we end 2016 and rush into 2017. Marketer or consumer, that’s a message I can buy.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Ad 2 Madison!

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