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Remember the days when Black Friday was the deal-stealing, door-busting event of the year? Consumers would be up at the crack of dawn just to be first in line for a flat-screen TV at 75% off.
While Black Friday still very much has a pulse,1 there’s no arguing that the mobile landscape has changed the way consumers shop for the holidays.
With so many opportunities to find deals, customize gifts, and compare products, users tend to procrastinate when it comes to holiday shopping. More than 50% of shoppers wait until the last month to do their shopping — and approximately 40% wait until the final week.2 This results in over 15% of all holiday purchases occurring the week leading up to Christmas.3
Your users might get away with procrastinating, but you won’t. Knowing the right times and touchpoints to target your users is critical to hitting your end-of-year objectives at the 11th hour.
Users don’t have time to browse or wait for items to be restocked. They want to know exactly what’s available and where. Over half (54%) of consumers say clear, accurate tracking is an important consideration for the majority of their purchases.4
Giving your users visibility into available inventory helps them make quick purchasing decisions during the final hours of holiday shopping. A digital gift guide that updates in real time or geo-targeted ads that let users know what’s available for pick up near them are great ways to encourage conversions.
Sephora offers an accurate update of the stores nearby that are carrying a specific product, making it easy to navigate last-minute holiday gift ideas.
Picture this: you find the perfect gift a week before Christmas. You select the right style, color, size, even customize it with a nice message. Once you add it to your cart do you see the delivery date is scheduled for January 2. Womp womp.
When it comes to the final days before Christmas, users are looking for something convenient, fast, and (most importantly) delivered on time.
Clearly display the shipping cutoff date for the item to arrive before Christmas, or do what Amazon does and plainly state it on the product page:
Another way you can communicate shipping cutoff dates is by incorporating it into a marketing campaign. Create a countdown on your website that counts down to the final day to order or put a visual list together of important shipping dates and send it out to your users in an email or push notification.
Mixtiles sends an email out notifying their users there’s still time left to order for guaranteed delivery before Christmas and throw in a discount as an additional incentive:
Other ways you can promote convenience to your users is by offering expedited shipping or gift wrapping for an added cost.
Users are looking for a one-stop shop for all their holiday needs. Make that your app.
Encourage your users to spend more with giveaways. Offers like “Free gift with $75 purchase” or “Buy 3 get the 4th free” are great ways to boost Average Order Value (AOV) and engagement within your app.
Another way to boost AOV is by offering free shipping. 60% of shoppers are willing to add more products to their cart to qualify for free shipping.5
It happens to everyone. Things are going well, you think it’s about to become official and then suddenly… a user abandons their cart.
Don’t take this personally. Around the holidays, there are many reasons why people leave without hitting purchase.
The weeks leading up to Christmas present the perfect opportunity to remind your users of items they’ve left behind.
While a single email might not be the most effective (considering some users haven’t provided their email at this stage yet), understanding where and why users are falling off of the purchase journey can give you an idea of how to tackle the issue.
Installing webhooks to track user events and trigger reactions helps you fight cart abandonment.
Once the cart is abandoned, a push notification can be delivered as a reminder to complete the order. If the push notification fails, a fallback email (if you have one) is sent. If no action is taken within 2 days, another push notification or SMS message is sent.
Another way to create a sense of urgency would be to offer a discount if they purchase within a given time limit.
These automated event triggers help re-engage distracted customers or those who simply need time to research before they purchase.
Showing appreciation for your users has a lasting effect on your brand.
It’s no surprise that users want to be appreciated. In fact, over 60% of customers leave because they feel the business doesn’t care about them and only 14% say it’s due to product dissatisfaction.4 Users who feel appreciated are more likely to turn into loyal customers.
Other than the obvious social media post or email expressing your appreciation, there are many ways to show your gratitude: you can host an event, launch a rewards program, or even send your users a hand-written note wishing them a wonderful holiday season.
Even at the 11th hour, there’s still time to hit those ambitious, end-of-year conversion goals.
By sending your users the right message at the right time, you can attract new users, deepen loyalty with existing customers, and leave lasting impressions that will keep the conversions coming well into the new year.
Happy holidays!
2019 Holiday Engagement Tactics
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