The day after Halloween decorations were packed away, a full onslaught of Christmas candy, lights, inflatable lawn decorations, music and holiday product displays went up. Retailers mean business this holiday season. The National Retail Federation estimates that the average consumer plans to spend about $737.95 on gifts, holiday décor, greeting cards — up 2% from 2012. So how can you ramp up your online marketing efforts to compete? We’ve compiled eight key trends that will direct how you approach your holiday advertising in 2013. 1. Mobile site optimization matters. The Adobe Digital Index survey of 400 U.S. shoppers revealed that 35% of 18-to-34-year-olds will use their mobile devices to compare prices while shopping in stores this year. (That number is up from 22% last year). 2. Mobile apps make shopping easier. We’re likely to see an upswing in mobile apps this year, the Adobe survey confirms. Overall, just 36% of U.S. […]
Do you have marketing weariness yet? I’ve unsubscribed from so many mailing lists I forgot I was even on — now that they have been arriving to my inbox every single day since Thanksgiving. Christmas may account for up to 40 percent of annual sales, so it’s understandable that marketers place a lot of stock in their holiday campaigns. They must be careful not to push potential customers away, however, as we saw with some of the failed Black Friday tweets. Here are 8 common holiday marketing mistakes… 1. You didn’t plan. Suddenly, it’s December — and you realize that you really had nothing special prepared. It is not enough to throw a couple of reindeer and the word “Christmas” into your marketing materials. You need a strategic game plan that includes measurable goals, benchmark deadlines, and metrics that will show if you are on-track or not. 2. You don’t have any holiday […]