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Frugal Festivities
More than a third of consumers say they plan to spend less this holiday season. How can marketers adapt?
Frugal Festivities
More than a third of consumers say they plan to spend less this holiday season. How can marketers adapt?
Today in Digital Marketing
by Tod Maffin email • LinkedIn • socials
Today's News
Holiday Spending to Drop This Year
More than a third of consumers plan to spend less on holiday shopping this year, according to a new Bankrate study.
High interest rates and inflation are the main reasons for the cutback.
Only 24% of shoppers say they will spend more
43% will spend about the same as last year.
Breakdown by Generation
Older generations are more worried, with 34% of Gen X and 29% of millennials feeling the pressure. Gen Z is less concerned, with only 21% saying holiday shopping will stress their budgets.
Shopping Starts Early
Despite the stress, many shoppers are planning to start shopping early. Almost half of those surveyed say they will start shopping by Halloween. Retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target are already rolling out October sales events.
Online Shopping Leads the Way
E-commerce will be a key channel this season, with 42% of respondents saying most of their holiday purchases would be done online, compared to 23% of shoppers who intend to do most of their holiday shopping in stores, according to Bankrate.
Recent surveys also suggest that more shoppers, most notably Gen Z, will make their holiday purchases using such social media platforms as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
And a report from Adobe Analytics predicts that more than half of online sales this holiday season will occur on mobile devices.
Marketing During a Downturn
1. Retention over Acquisition
Email Marketing: Send personalized, exclusive offers to your subscribers to make them feel valued and appreciated.
Social Media: Share user-generated content, respond promptly to customer inquiries, and use social listening to stay on top of customer concerns.
Loyalty Programs: Offer rewards, discounts, or exclusive access to loyalty program members to encourage repeat business.
2. Work on Your Web Site’s CRO
Streamline Navigation: Make it easy for customers to find what they're looking for by simplifying your website's navigation and reducing clutter.
Page Speed: Aim for a page load time of under 3 seconds to reduce bounce rates and improve conversion rates.
Checkout Process: Reduce friction in the checkout process by offering guest checkout, saving payment information, and providing clear shipping options.
3. UGC and Influencer Marketing
UGC Campaigns: Encourage customers to share photos or videos of them using your products by offering incentives, such as discounts or free products.
Influencer Partnerships: Partner with influencers who have a genuine interest in your brand or products to promote your offerings to their followers.
4. Data-Driven Decisions
Track Key Metrics: Monitor metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, and customer acquisition costs to identify areas for improvement.
A/B Testing: Test different subject lines, ad creatives, and landing pages to determine which variations perform better.
Segmentation: Segment your customer base to create targeted marketing campaigns that resonate with specific groups.
5. Offer Flexiblility
Financing Options: Partner with financing providers to offer customers flexible payment plans.
Bundle Deals: Offer discounts for bundling products or services to increase average order value.
Free Shipping: Offer free shipping on orders above a certain threshold to reduce cart abandonment rates.
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Google to End Enhanced CPC
Google Ads is getting rid of Enhanced cost-per-click (eCPC) bidding.
The company is emailing advertisers to let them know that new campaigns won't have the option to use Enhanced CPC starting in October. Existing campaigns will still work until March 2025.
What's Changing
In March 2025, all campaigns using Enhanced CPC will switch to Manual CPC bidding. Google says it's making this change because it has better bidding strategies now — smarter, they say, thanks to machine learning.
What Advertisers Should Do
Google suggests advertisers switch to Maximize conversions or Maximize conversion value. If an advertiser doesn't have conversion goals, they can use Maximize Clicks instead. If advertisers don't make any changes, their campaigns will automatically switch to Manual CPC bidding in March 2025.
Google Ad Tech Trial Begins
The American justice department is taking Google to court this week over its ad tech business.
If Google loses, it could be forced to sell its publisher ad tech business. This would be a huge change for the programmatic industry.
I know it’s hard to keep up with the Google vs. America lawsuits — this is not the same one which found the company to be a monopoly. An update on that ruling in a moment.
Short-Term Chaos Expected
If Google is forced to sell its publisher adtech business, it could eventually increase competition in the market.
However, given the tangled nature of adtech, disrupting the balance between Google’s sell-side tech and publishers’ business models could lead to some wild uncertainties, complications, and chaos in the short-term, according to publishers—particularly around changing the level of demand and incurring publisher costs.
“Even in short-term pain, there’s still winners and losers,” said Scott Messer, founder of consultancy Messer Media. “The winners are going to be those who have premium offerings and can command the attention of buyers, and the losers are going to be the long tail of the web with relatively undifferentiated supply and lower-quality inventory.”
Ad Server Tech Could Get More Competitive
Google's ad server tech is currently bundled with its ad exchange. This makes it cheap for publishers to use. If Google is forced to sell its ad tech business, a new owner might not be able to offer such low prices. Other ad servers could emerge to help publishers manage their ad businesses, but they might be more expensive.
Google Monopoly Fix Coming
In the previous court case, which ruled that Google was a monopoly, a U.S. federal judge says he expects to decide on a punishment by next August.
This is the next step in an antitrust case that could change the tech giant and competition on the internet.
New Trial Ahead
Judge Amit P. Mehta asked the Justice Department and states to submit a proposal by the end of the year. After that, he will hold a new trial to hear evidence on how to proceed. This trial is expected to take place in March or April.
Considering New Tech
Judge Mehta said he will take into account the changing technology landscape, including new competition from artificially intelligent chatbots. Google and Microsoft have added AI to their search, and OpenAI's chatbot is being used for search.
Possible Fixes
Proposed remedies could include restrictions on deals that feature Google's search engine on mobile devices or even a breakup of the company. The Department of Justice is weighing asking for a breakup of Google, separating search from businesses like its Chrome browser and Android operating system.
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Google Flags Broken Appointment Links
Google is now emailing businesses when it detects a broken appointment link in their Google Business Profile.
The email, titled "Fix your business Google link," alerts owners to update the link to maintain customer confidence.
What's in the Email
The email explains that a broken appointment link can hurt a business's online presence and ability to attract customers. It provides the specific link that's not working and includes an "update link" button for easy fixing.
Limited to Appointment Links
For now, Google is only sending these emails for broken appointment links. It's unclear if the company plans to expand this feature to other links in Google Business Profiles, such as website links.
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