Holiday Marketing Ideas For 2024
Starting your holiday marketing campaign early, such as in the summer, allows ample time to develop holiday marketing ideas that reflect current trends, new digital channels, and consumer expectations for the upcoming holiday season.
Utilizing Past Trends For Your 2024 Holiday Marketing Ideas
Examining historical data and trends is crucial for shaping your holiday marketing strategy. For example, if you are a video game retailer and notice that big-name franchises performed better during Cyber Monday than indie titles, this insight can guide your 2024 holiday marketing ideas.
Here are some important insights from the previous year and the 2023 holiday shopping season:
Growth in Retail Sales: Despite inflation and high interest rates, retail sales grew 3.8% year-over-year during the 2023 holiday season, reaching a record $964.4 billion USD. Annual retail sales also increased by 3.6%, reaching $5.1 trillion USD. While brick-and-mortar stores accounted for 70% of sales in 2023, online shopping is expected to grow 7-9% year-over-year in 2024.
Electronics Retailers Lead Growth: During the November-December holiday period, electronics and personal care retailers saw a 9% increase in sales. Online sales grew by 8.2%. Other categories, such as clothing, general merchandise, and grocery stores, also experienced growth.
Record-Breaking Cyber Week 2023: Cyber Week saw 200.4 million customers shopping in person or online from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. Online sales on Black Friday reached $9.8 billion USD, a 7.5% increase year-over-year. Popular items included Hot Wheels, LEGOs, kitchen appliances, and gaming consoles.
Anticipations For The 2024 Holiday Retail Season
Looking ahead to 2024, these predictions can help you plan your holiday marketing ideas:
Ongoing Retail Sales Growth: The National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasts retail sales growth of 2.5-3.5% in 2024, reaching up to $5.28 trillion USD. E-commerce sales are projected to rise 7-9%, reaching $1.47-1.5 trillion USD.
E-Commerce and In-Store Sales: E-commerce sales are expected to reach $271.58 billion USD, a 9.5% increase over 2023. In-store sales are projected to grow 3.7%, reaching $1.1 trillion USD.
Holiday Shoppers Seeking Deals: Despite economic concerns, 65% of holiday shoppers plan to spend about the same amount in 2024 as they did in 2023. Consumers are likely to continue looking for items on sale.
Increase in M-Commerce: As smartphone use grows, m-commerce sales are expected to reach $558.29 billion USD in 2024, accounting for 7.4% of total retail sales. Retailers should prioritize mobile-friendly websites and apps to capture this growing market.
Holiday Marketing Ideas To Implement In 2024
Here are six essential holiday marketing ideas to help you get started:
Adopt a Multi-Channel Strategy
Reach users across various platforms and channels for greater visibility and engagement.
Ensure a cohesive message across all channels to maximize reach and effectiveness.
Personalize Your Digital Holiday Campaigns
Tailor your messaging to specific audiences using data insights.
Develop customer profiles to identify effective digital ads and create targeted campaign content.
Explore New or Emerging Channels
Consider connected TV (CTV), programmatic audio, in-game advertising, and digital out-of-home (DOOH) ads.
Use these channels to reach engaged audiences and test new strategies.
Engage with Interactive Ad Formats
Use rich media ads that encourage interaction to build brand awareness.
Examples include discovery ads, shoppable video ads, and dynamic countdown ads.
Leverage Cookieless Targeting
Use machine learning and AI to target ads based on the content environment.
Benefit from real-time metrics, niche audience targeting, and improved brand affinity.
Re-Engage Holiday Shoppers with Dynamic Retargeting
Serve ads featuring recently viewed products to remind users of their interest.
Focus on mid- to lower-funnel tactics to drive conversions during the holiday season.
Incorporating these holiday marketing ideas will help you create a strong, effective campaign that resonates with consumers and drives success during the 2024 holiday season.
If you or your marketing team need assistance, considering partnering with Faceless Marketing and utilizing our 30+ years of expertise.
