Experian Reveals What Advertisers Can Do to Get Ready for the Holiday Season

The Winter Holiday season is easily the biggest time of the year for advertisers and businesses alike. With thousands of other companies competing for space in your target audience’s brain, what can you do to stand out from the crowd and attract those holiday dollars?

Thanks to years of experience and a recent report from our partner Experian, Genius Monkey has the tools your business needs to thrive this season. Let’s dive into the numbers and see what you can do to get ready for the 2024 winter holiday season.

Key Takeaways From Experian Report

The holiday shopping season starts a little earlier every year; sales now begin rising as early as October. They continue to steadily rise for the rest of the year, spiking sharply around Black Friday, Cyber Week, and the week before Christmas. Around 35% of all holiday shopping occurs in December.

Well over half of holiday purchases will actually be made in physical stores. In-store shopping has made a powerful return, especially during the holidays; online shopping constitutes only around 35% of holiday sales. Of course, the search for deals begins long before money changes hands; even though 65% of people buy in-store, at least 72% will search on their phone while at the store for better deals or alternatives.

How to Be Prepared for the Holiday Season

Get Started as Early as You Can

Customer spending starts to notably increase in October, when Fall is at its height and winter is right on its tail. Consumers clearly look forward to the season as advertisers do, so you’ll want to start your campaigns early enough to get your brand top-of-mind for your target audience.

Getting started in October is ideal, but your holiday campaign should be in full swing by November 1st at the latest. Marketing takes some time to sink in, so the earlier you can tastefully start, the better!

Emphasize Savings and Deals

Customers are more choosy than ever; they want to know that they are getting a good deal when they are making a purchase. Genius Monkey data has shown that consumers already pay more attention to an advertisement when it promises a percentage discount, and the end-of-year holidays is the time to really step-up those bargains.

Communicating these deals is as important as the discount itself; consumers should know when, where, and for how long they can take advantage of these deals. Many retailers will stagger sales to increase engagement; make sure to have a clear schedule so customers are aware of deals that will be coming up.

Take a Multimedia Approach; Keep an Eye on CTV

Parks reported in 2023 that the average household in the US has a whopping 17 connected devices, including smartphones, TVs, computers, and other entertainment devices. With so many screens, consumers are exposed to more ads than ever, and advertisers need to step up ad impressions if they want to win conversions.

Advertisers need to utilize all the programmatic channels at their disposal, which include display, audio, OTT, video, and more. A multichannel campaign will have a longer reach and better staying power than any one medium, and does wonder for brand recognition. Before the holidays get underway, advertisers should look at how they can place ads in front of future customers on any and every device they may use.

Take Advantage of Industry-Leading Targeting

All of these tactics discussed so far are universal and would work with a spray-and-pray style of digital advertising; but you can do better. Thanks to our partnership with Experian, Genius Monkey can help you place your messages directly in front of your target audience based on their affinities and other consumer data, no matter how niche or broad.

If you want your ads plastered on every single device within a given 100-mile radius, we can do that. Want to reach adult male football fans anywhere in the United States? Easy. Looking for married couples who graduated from college, enjoy fast food, and are searching for a last-minute holiday gift for a relative they just remembered? Say no more.

Genius Monkey: A Platform for All Seasons

Many advertisers will significantly slow down their advertising once the holidays are over because sales decline as the new year comes and goes. People are still spending though, and a lot of programmatic inventory opens up as the holidays close. That means better placements for less money, so it pays to keep your marketing strategy alive and well even when the winter festivities are past.

At Genius Monkey, we pair our strategic experience with proven data and world-class technology to elevate your advertising to the next level. Ready to increase brand awareness while decreasing your cost per conversion? Get in touch with the Genius Monkeys today to learn how!