Strategic audience planning to drive retail Christmas sales

As the UK gears up for the Christmas shopping frenzy, both brands and their media agencies brace themselves for key sales events: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas. These periods create increased competition for a share of consumer spending, requiring innovative marketing strategies from brands and advertisers to cut through the noise.

And yes, advertising costs also soar during these times. When everyone wants a slice of the consumer pie, the cost per thousand impressions (CPM) inevitably rises. On platforms like Facebook, CPMs can double or even triple as brands and agencies compete for attention.
 

Strategies to manage rising costs

Here’s how to keep your advertising budget in check:

1. Early planning & budgeting

Start early. Booking campaigns before the peak season can secure lower CPM rates and establish your brand presence ahead of the competition.

2. Segment & target intelligently

Use data to segment your audience and deliver personalised messages. Precision targeting minimises wasted ad spend and boosts conversion rates. Experian’s pre-defined segmentations, like our socio-demographic profile Mosaic segments or Shopper behaviour profile segments, can help refine your targeting approach. Curated audiences, or “syndicated audiences”, such as those based on transactional behaviour, can pinpoint key consumer segments to tailor ads to effectively.

3. Optimise ad creatives & copy

Align creative with the target audiences you are looking to engage and then continuously test and refine your ad creatives and copy. Engaging, relevant and high-quality ads perform better and can lower overall costs by improving view through / click-through rates and conversions.

4. Consistent audience targeting across media channels

Ensure your targeting strategy remains consistent across multiple channels, both online and in-store. By reaching customers through various platforms with the same precise audience targeting, you can drive brand engagement more effectively. This omnichannel approach is especially powerful during sales or peak shopping seasons, as it not only reinforces your brand’s presence but also strategically pushes customers towards making a purchase when they are most likely to buy.

Download our syndicated audiences for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas gifting
 

Shifting retail trends during the Christmas season

Consumers are increasingly shopping across channels and so for many retailers, there is a focus on hybrid business models that offer customers multiple shopping possibilities and experiences. With media spend escalating during the holiday season, brands are investing across both online and offline channels to capture a diverse audience to drive in-store and online purchases. Here we have listed some of the key trends that advertisers should consider when planning their festive campaigns:

The rising popularity of online shopping

Variety, ease, comparability, and better accommodated returns processes have driven that increase in digital shopping channels. Despite all of this in-store shopping is still valued for immediate purchases, tactile experiences, or personalised service. Recognising this, retailers are strategically enhancing their physical stores to complement their online offerings. They are integrating technologies such as augmented reality and providing personalised services and exclusive in-store deals to create unique shopping experiences that draw consumers back to brick-and-mortar locations.

A focus on younger demographics

Younger generations, particularly Gen Z, are more likely to spend during Black Friday, with 79% planning to shop and averaging £176 spend each[1]. This generation, raised in the digital age, tends to be more engaged with online shopping, influenced by social media trends, and responsive to personalised marketing. In stark contrast, only 8% of the Silent Generation (those born before the baby boomers) plan to participate in Black Friday, with a modest average spend of just £27[2]. To maximise your impact this festive season, combine these demographic insights with a deeper analysis of spending patterns across your target audiences.

Longer engagement windows

Larger shopping periods such as Cyber Monday and Cyber Week have also become increasingly significant. Cyber Monday has seen consistent growth due to consumer preference for online shopping and better deals. This event has evolved into a “Cyber Week”, providing retailers with a longer engagement window to attract consumers with their competitive deals.

With a longer engagement window, it’s crucial to maintain momentum across the entire period, especially the lead up to it. Be front of mind before they get shopping. This requires a well-planned approach to audience segmentation, ensuring that you’re reaching the right consumers with relevant messages at each stage of the shopping journey. Build awareness in the lead up to start them thinking about your brand and drive interest and consideration. Then move to targeting the more attentive and high-intent shoppers early in the week with offers that encourage immediate purchases. As the week progresses, adjust your targeting to include broader audiences, including those who may need a final nudge with limited-time promotions or additional incentives.

Leveraging consumer data for effective advertising activation

To truly maximise the impact of your advertising campaigns, leveraging accurate and compliant consumer marketing data is essential. Experian’s comprehensive audience solutions empowered to make informed decisions and execute highly effective campaigns.

• Get a read on the market: understand how you are performing against your competitors to build winning strategies as part of your campaign planning Our advanced analytics tools provide deep consumer insights, uncovering patterns and trends that drive more effective marketing strategies
   
• Syndicated audiences: Our off-the-shelf syndicated audiences are curated for key seasons like Black Friday and Christmas, helping marketers reach the right consumers with the right message at the right time
  • We’ve curated a Black Friday and Christmas Audience Guide to help you source pre-selected audiences that align with your media plans. From intent-based audiences with a history of purchasing at specific stores to interest-based audiences whose shopping habits and behaviours make them more likely to purchase during the Black Friday sales, our syndicated audiences have multiple options for you to choose from
     
• Boost audience precision: Experian offers dynamic consumer intelligence, including spend and mobility insights, allowing marketers to understand and predict consumer behaviour more accurately. By analysing market transactional insights, you can identify regions or neighbourhoods where customers are spending the most during the Christmas season. This allows you to create targeted campaigns aimed at these high-spend areas, offering selected products or exclusive deals that resonate with your shoppers
   

How can we help?

Check out our latest Syndicated Audiences guide to explore how Experian can enhance your marketing strategies with our syndicated audiences for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas Gifting.

As the landscape of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Cyber Week, and Christmas shopping evolves, brands and their agencies must stay ahead of the curve. With Experian’s robust consumer data solutions, you can confidently navigate this season and beyond, ensuring your marketing efforts are both impactful and data-driven.