It may only be October, but new data from the National Retail Federation shows that a surprisingly large number of consumers start their holiday shopping research as early as summer, with October topping out around 25%. (NRF Retail Holiday Planning Playbook 2017)
With e-commerce sales at an all time high, and trends pointing to continued growth, the average shopper is savvier than ever. They read reviews, they talk to friends (offline and on social media), they scour Pinterest, they peruse Amazon’s recommendations, and so on – all before they ever click “add to cart.”
What’s more, a recent survey shows that 85 percent of consumers plan to use their mobile device to complete some of their holiday shopping and 95 percent of marketers agree that mobile provides great opportunities for reaching and engaging with customers.
But if the fourth quarter snuck up on you, don’t worry. It’s not too late to get in on the holiday shopping frenzy happening on mobile right now. Here are 3 easy ways to use geofencing and location-based targeting for your holiday campaigns:
- Last-minute or lightening deals: Most retailers like to capitalize on the impulse buyer by promoting limited-time-only deals and sales at various times throughout the year, but we see even more of these promotions during the holidays. For brick-and-mortar retailers, simply placing signs in the window and sending emails isn’t enough to capture attention in real-time. By geofencing areas immediately around the store, retailers can drive additional foot-traffic for shoppers in the area who may have otherwise passed by.
- Localizing national franchises: One of the great advantages of owning a franchise is that the parent company typically does the heavy lifting for general brand marketing at the national level. However, when it comes to running local promotions, the franchisers are generally responsible. Geofence advertising makes it easy to run localized promotions for specific locations with minimal ad waste, which makes it a cost-effective option for quickly and efficiently getting the message out about whatever is happening at that specific location.
- Co-opt the opportunity: For product manufacturers and marketers that rely on retailers to carry and promote their products, a partnership promotion might be a great option for two reasons. For one, it lets people know about the product and secondly, it tells them where to buy it, driving additional awareness for the retailer. And, by partnering with the retailer on the mobile promotion the costs are shared, which saves money for everyone.