Christmas Shopping Has Already Begun! What Will Christmas Look Like In 2020?

The Time to be Thinking About Christmas is Now - Ready or Not

by Darrelyn Dunmore

2020 – What a year it has been and now the holidays are upon us! We all know, ad nauseum, that the times they have changed, etc., etc.,  but what does that mean to you, as a business?  What information is out there that will help you grow and gain the attention of your clients and customers? Do you have the time for research? I have been researching and I hope the information will be of help. This will be the first in a series of blogs on some holiday ideas and hints.

The Foley Main Street COVID consumer study gave us insight. Your customers and clients want to shop local, eat local and partake of local professional services – they want you to tell them how. 

How?  Start now. In an article called 2020 Christmas Predictions 5 retail trends by Netimperative, October is the month increasingly that people begin to look and to shop for Christmas.  There will still be shopping in November and December – but because of COVID and the economy, they will be starting early,  watching their money, researching, and looking for unique reasonable gifts and experiences.

Consumers are more likely to look for reviews via social media. So utilize the months of October and November to create those moments.  Look to friends who have businesses that compliment what you have and put together packages.

If you don’t want to create an online store right now, that’s okay.  Take pictures and put them in Pinterest, share ideas on Instagram, or on Facebook.  Make sure you check your posts on a regular basis – by answering back to those who post questions, you are creating a relationship.  Consider this fact:

“55% of customer requests for service on social media are not acknowledged.”                                                                                                                                                         Esteban Kolsky

So why take the time?   Because people are looking for those relationships - they want your story they want to be a part of you.  Two more facts to keep in mind:

Customers who had the best past experiences spend 140% more
compared to those who had the poorest past experience.
                                                                                                Harvard Business Review
 
Highly engaged customers buy 90% more frequently, spend 60% more per transaction, and have 3 times the annual value compared to other customers.                                                                                                                                                            Rosetta

Stay tuned for next week’s blog:  Christmas with Attitude!