As we saw in the first article of this series, the search intentions generated by online consumers indicate that there is a season, which starts on Black Friday and extends through the main moments of this period: Cyber Monday, 13th salary payment, Christmas, Year-End Sales, and New Year. Throughout this Black Friday Season, people demonstrate different consumption habits on each date.
Cyber Monday and the 13th salary: getting the house in order
Let's take Cyber Monday, for example. If on Black Friday people generally make purchases for themselves or their homes, with a high average ticket and after a reasonable amount of time searching for products, on Cyber Monday (the Monday after Black Friday) the mindset is to reorganize finances: not by chance, 40% of financial services sales during the Black Friday Season are concentrated on this specific day¹.
Another highly searched item on Cyber Monday is mobile phone plans, since many people take advantage of Black Friday deals to buy new devices, and then need to look for services to make the best use of the product purchased on sale².
People have a similar behavior when receiving the 13th salary, whose first installment falls by the end of November. In a Google survey, 48% of respondents intend to use the 13th salary to organize their personal finances. In other words, if we consider that about 83 million people receive the benefit, this would be equivalent to 31 million consumers³.
Christmas: an offline date, focus on gifts
Christmas: an offline date, focus on giftsIf we look at the characteristics of Christmas shopping, we will also see a very specific profile, with striking differences compared to the other dates.
The Christmas shopper is focused on the celebration, so they mainly want to give gifts to relatives and friends, while – as we have already seen – Black Friday purchases are more personal. One sign of this is the data that only 15% of people use Black Friday to buy Christmas gifts or products to be used at the end of the year6.
Also unlike Black Friday, where products are searched for weeks (or even months) before making a decision, at Christmas this search lasts less time: 63% of people do their searches in the two weeks before the date7.
Another difference is connectivity. If 69% of Black Friday purchases happen online, only 45% of Christmas deals are closed via the internet8. With this, we see that many people still go out for last-minute Christmas shopping, going after their gifts at malls or walking through the street commerce.
Some of the most sought-after gifts prove this offline face of Christmas – such as clothes, which people prefer to see and buy in person. In addition, at this time there is an inversion of the most purchased categories, compared to Black Friday: Friday's favorites, such as home appliances and TVs, have lower demand during the Christmas period, whose highlights are toys, games, clothes, and perfumes9. Even alcoholic beverages are well placed – besides gifts, they are items of the holiday dinner.In each date, an opportunity
In each date, an opportunityWe saw that Black Friday does not “cannibalize” Christmas results. In 2017, in fact, Christmas sales were the best in six years, with a volume of R$ 35 billion10. In the same way, the other moments of this Season are important to people, but each in its own way – even if it is to plan, instead of spending.
Thus, each retail date needs your careful eye, so as not to miss the opportunity to talk to the public. Here are two tips on how to do this:
1) Be close by – and at the right time
In the Era of Assistance, people want more and more help to make their purchasing decisions. Especially at a time like the end of the year, with so many promotions and demand for personal items or gifts.
And one of the preferred tools at this time is videos: a survey conducted in the US shows that almost two-thirds of online shoppers sought inspiration and ideas with videos – and of these people, 90% discovered new products and brands through YouTube11.
This is a sign that your video strategy can be the differentiator in this highly competitive Season. Think about what makes one date different from another and deliver your content in the right way – and at the time your audience needs it most.
2) An increasingly personal Christmas
The audience is more demanding, and no longer accepts a generic solution for their consumption questions. For example: more than half of consumers in the US want to see personalized content related to products, and 4 out of 10 end-of-year shoppers prefer stores that remember personal details, such as clothing sizes and previously purchased items12.
This data is American, but it can help you look at your brand's audience with different eyes. Listen to your customers, anticipate their desires, and deliver what they want in a personalized way and without friction in the mobile experience.
Don't let the Black Friday Season be a headache for your customers. If you provide personalized, relevant, and efficient assistance, your brand stands out. Start by asking yourself: am I seeing Black Friday as a consumption season? Am I taking into account the characteristics of each date? This is a step toward optimizing resources, such as media investment and time, in addition to creating a long-term relationship with your audience. Thus, the chances of them consuming your brand more frequently increase.
