Smart Ways to Bag 2023’s Holiday Shoppers

Retailers should avoid clobbering consumers with an ongoing onslaught of similar marketing messages during the upcoming holiday shopping season. Otherwise, they will tune you out.

Those are among the major findings of Optimove’s 2023 Holiday Survey, which details insights into consumer behaviors that drive sales during the holiday season.

The results show that holiday shopping starts early, as 50 percent of respondents will begin by the end of October. Further, results show that most shoppers (55 percent) will tire of holiday marketing messages that same month, and such frustration will rise to 73 percent by November.

To counteract that, brand marketers should focus on delivering personalized, relevant, and timely content to engage consumers, says Optimove CEO Pini Yakuel, CEO of Optimove.

“Managing communication frequency and relevancy is crucial for avoiding customer dissatisfaction and unsubscribing,” Yakuel said.  “Most brands struggle to do this effectively as they either batch-and-blast consumers or use rigid journey builders that cater to the ‘average consumer.’ In a world where consumers demand personalization and relevancy, brands must embrace AI (Artificial Intelligence) to orchestrate individualized journeys and messages. Embracing AI enables brands to meet consumers’ evolving expectations, create meaningful connections, and differentiate themselves in a competitive market.”

The Optimove 2023 Consumer Holiday Shopping Report was based on queries of 281 U.S. citizens in July. Respondents were ages 18-plus, 50 percent male/50 percent female (no respondents were non-binary or declined to answer); and household incomes of $75,000-plus.

Click here for access to the full survey.