Briefing

Believe it or not, we’re already in a key, ‘pre-holidays’ buying phase.

Pinterest has recently shared that ‘festive-gifting’ searches saw a spike at the start of this month, a consistent trend since 2020. We often find behaviour on this platform to be a good barometer of consumer purchasing.

Peak season in 2023 falls amongst a backdrop of economic hardship. This makes tactical planning this quarter more important than ever. 

With Google reporting that 50% of shoppers are intending to start early in order to spread costs, now is the time to be confident you aren’t missing out on demand during the remainder of 2023. 

Looking beyond Black Friday

Peak season is no longer confined to just one weekend in November and Christmas. It extends well beyond, offering valuable opportunities for your brand.

Can your brand tap into growing global events like Singles Day on November the 11th? In 2022, 1 in 5 German consumers recognised it. Embracing it can help retailers diversify their revenue beyond Black Friday.

This year, Black Friday arrives 30 days before Christmas, the longest gap in five years. Given consumer scepticism about Cyber Period discounts, it’s crucial to plan your December coverage – especially with Google reporting that 30% of Q4 sales occurred in the last three weeks of 2022.

January also presents significant opportunities as consumers focus on resolutions and self-gifting. It’s a prime time to nurture existing customers and refine your creative using sales data.

Planning for demand

Be clear on what spend allocation looks like over the next few months in order to best meet end-of-year targets. With major testing (hopefully) complete and First Party Data capture fully underway, now is the time to plan for demand capture ahead.

Does your Q4 campaign plan look to ensure visibility when and where it matters to your consumer? This could mean betting heavily on the big discount periods to achieve growth or, on the reverse, opting to invest in other, less competitive periods to achieve efficiency. 

Use performance insights gleaned from pre-peak to make sure your media investment is planned in the right areas. And as always, keep an eye on what your competitors are doing – deal-hunting season is the time consumers are most likely to switch retail brands. Make sure you aren’t lost in the noise.

Need support? Get in touch with our team.