Christmas Comes Early

The sun is shining so it might feel a bit early to think about Christmas, but is it? According to 41% of UK shoppers it’s never too early, meaning it can’t be too early to start planning Christmas activation either. Don’t just take my word for it, Tesco had sold over 100,000 mince pies by 30th August last year according to Dunnhumby. So, are you missing out on extra sales?

Starting Christmas planning now helps retailers; but how? Helping spread the cost of Christmas is something extremely important to shoppers and can be a big win for brands. For example, shoppers can start stocking their freezer with party essentials and Christmas trimmings months before Christmas to help spread the cost. This is also a big win for brands, driving incremental sales and building loyalty.  

As we approach Christmas, footfall both in-store and dot.com will dramatically increase, meaning retailer and proximity media could deliver better ROI than more traditional ATL media. Tesco.com received more than double the number of visits than the most watched episode of I’m a Celeb! during the Christmas period last year.

Here are a few consideration points for your Christmas shopper activation and campaign planning:

o   Where are your audience buying? Are they researching on Dot.com, but actually buying in-store?

o   How do they shop, weekly or regular top up shops two to three times per week?

o   Can your comms better align with the changing shopper mindset over Christmas shopping periods?

o   Make sure you know the purpose of the comms, from priming to appear on shopping lists, right through to protecting and rewarding your customers to gain loyalty.

o   Be innovative to stand out.

o   Don’t forget to keep an eye on your competitors!

If you’d like to chat about how you can wow retailers this Christmas please get in touch.