The biggest shopping season of the year is just around the corner — can you believe it? During the 2023 holiday season, online shopping saw a 4.9% increase year-over-year, reaching a record $222.1 billion. Mobile shopping also took the lead, accounting for 51.1% of all online sales for the first time ever.
We expect these trends to continue this year, with social media remaining a major influence on consumer purchasing behavior. So, how can you drive more sales this Christmas?
The key is to harness the power of influencers to elevate your social media strategy and boost holiday sales. Influencer marketing is a powerful tool to reach your customers where they are and create meaningful impact throughout your sales journey. In the following sections, we've compiled some of our top Christmas season influencer marketing tips, supported by fresh data and insights, to help you succeed this season.
1. Start Planning Now — It's More Critical Than Ever!
While starting your holiday planning early is always a smart move, this year, it's absolutely essential to begin as soon as possible. Here's why:
The 2024 holiday season is set to be very different from the past few years, thanks to several key factors:
- The 2024 Election: With the election happening on November 5th, the holiday season could be more complex for marketers. In 2020, we saw a dip in consumer spending before and after the election, and it’s likely this trend will repeat itself this year.
- Shorter Holiday Season: The 2024 holiday season is unusually brief, with only 27 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is the shortest holiday span since 2019, when marketers responded by launching campaigns earlier and extending store hours during peak shopping periods.
- Early Shoppers: Around 16% of U.S. consumers started their holiday shopping as early as June, and many others are looking to capitalize on major summer sales like Amazon Prime Day to grab gifts and other holiday deals.
Planning ahead is more than just a recommendation this year—it’s your opportunity to maximize the surge in holiday spending. For influencer marketers, an early start means you’ll have ample time to onboard your creators, ship products, approve content, and launch your campaigns well before the election-related distractions begin.
Pro Tip for Brands: Looking to collaborate with influencers to enhance your brand's visibility before the holiday season? Platforms like SocialBook Product Launcher simplify the process, allowing businesses to connect with micro-influencers who can pitch collaboration ideas directly to you.
2. Create Irresistible Holiday Deals and Discounts
According to Salesforce, 43% of consumers are carrying more debt this year compared to 2023, a trend that spans all income brackets. Consumers are increasingly turning to credit lines, making it more important than ever for brands to offer attractive deals that appeal to shoppers of every budget.
Given the current macroeconomic climate, it's crucial to offer cost-saving opportunities and exclusive promotions that can entice shoppers during this pivotal time.
One of the most effective ways to do this is by launching an influencer-affiliate campaign. Provide your influencers with unique discount codes to share with their audiences. This not only excites consumers with the prospect of discounted products but also helps your brand drive sales, even in challenging economic conditions. At the same time, your influencers will benefit from commissions based on the conversions they generate. There are many types of influencers you can reach to. If you have difficulty in finding the perfect influencer for your brand, SocialBook can help you discover the right match for your marketing campaigns based on audience engagement and brand alignment. This intuitive platform enables you to discover influencers by analyzing important factors such as engagement rates, audience demographics, and other key metrics. Utilize its data-driven insights to refine your marketing approach and enhance the impact of your campaigns.
Can't wait to give it a try? SocialBook's Al Requirement Diagnosis feature can offer intelligent influencer recommendations and the best collaboration strategies by analyzing your target region, budget, and preferred platforms. It only takes a few minutes, try it now!
In addition to offering traditional discounts, consider incorporating a "Buy Now, Pay Later" option into your holiday strategy. Studies reveal that 45% of consumers are more likely to make purchases they otherwise wouldn’t have, thanks to the flexibility of this payment method. What’s more, average order values (AOV) are 85% higher when shoppers choose "Buy Now, Pay Later." This approach not only makes purchases more accessible, but it can also boost your revenue.
Understanding consumer psychology during the holiday shopping season is key to maximizing this strategy. Many shoppers are driven by the desire to secure a deal, but they may hesitate to make a purchase upfront if they feel the financial commitment is too great. The "Buy Now, Pay Later" option alleviates this concern by offering a flexible payment solution. Additionally, consumers often experience a heightened sense of urgency during the holiday season, whether due to time-limited discounts or low stock levels. This urgency can push them to make quicker purchase decisions—especially when they feel they have an easy payment option available.
Different consumers exhibit varying shopping behaviors: some prefer to shop early to avoid missing out on sales, while others wait until the last minute in search of the best possible deals. These behaviors are often influenced by factors like discounts, social proof (such as influencer recommendations), and product availability. Shoppers who are uncertain about making a purchase now might be more inclined to act when they see trusted influencers promoting a "Buy Now, Pay Later" option, which provides both convenience and financial flexibility.
Encourage your influencers to share the benefits of this payment option, highlighting how it can help shoppers manage their holiday budgets while still securing the items they want. By tapping into these psychological triggers, you can drive both conversions and higher AOV during the busy holiday season.
3. Perfect Your Mobile Shopping Experience
As mobile shopping continues to dominate, it's crucial to ensure your mobile shopping experience is optimized for the modern consumer. During Cyber Week 2023, mobile devices accounted for 76.6% of all website visits, with a remarkable 66% of conversions happening on mobile. This shift is only set to grow, with mobile expected to contribute 27.9% of the total ecommerce growth this holiday season.
Given that consumers are spending more time on their phones than ever before—eMarketer forecasts an average of 3 hours and 6 minutes per day in 2024—it's no surprise that they’re also spending more money. This makes it essential to capture and maintain their attention during their mobile shopping journey.
To make the most of this trend, it’s vital to optimize your mobile experience from top to bottom. Work closely with influencers to create engaging, mobile-first vertical content that resonates with the fast-scrolling, on-the-go shopper. Streamline your website for mobile use, ensuring fast load times, easy navigation, and a frictionless checkout process. Consider integrating social commerce tools like TikTok Shop to allow customers to purchase directly within the social platforms they already love, reducing the barriers to purchase.
By prioritizing mobile optimization and aligning your strategy with how consumers shop today, you’ll not only meet their expectations but also increase your chances of driving sales this holiday season.
4. Boost In-Store Traffic with Local Influencers
While ecommerce continues to thrive, an increasing number of consumers are returning to physical stores, embracing a hybrid shopping experience that blends online and in-store purchasing. The lines between these two channels are increasingly blurred, with shoppers viewing them as interconnected parts of the same buying journey. In fact, studies show that 49% of consumers prefer a mix of online and in-person shopping, and an impressive 97% of Gen Z shoppers enjoy visiting brick-and-mortar stores for the instant gratification of getting products right away.
This shift presents a valuable opportunity to drive foot traffic to your physical locations. Leverage local influencers to promote in-store shopping and exclusive deals that can only be redeemed offline.
Platforms like TikTok, which serve location-based content to users, are ideal for this strategy. Partner with influencers who are based near your store locations and have them create content highlighting in-store-only promotions. Rather than sending followers to your website, direct them to a store locator page, allowing you to track the effectiveness of these influencer-driven visits. Make sure your store locator is optimized for social platforms, offering an easy and seamless experience that mirrors your digital presence.
If you're struggling to find influencers in specific areas, tools like SocialBook can help. With advanced filters, you can pinpoint local influencers by location, follower size, audience demographics, aesthetics, and more. If you need a niche group—say, pet-loving influencers in Los Angeles—use SocialBook to set up a targeted campaign and attract influencers who match your criteria. Once your campaign is live, the relevant influencers can reach out to you, helping you connect with the right local voices to amplify your in-store promotions.
5. Broaden Your Marketing Strategy Across Diverse Channels
With the election looming, political advertising spend is expected to escalate, making paid ads more expensive and the digital advertising space more competitive. To break through the noise and capture consumer attention, it’s essential to spread your holiday marketing efforts across a variety of channels. Beyond just organic and paid social media, consider leveraging email, SMS, out-of-home ads, and even newer platforms to reach your audience where they are.
The key to standing out in a saturated market is crafting content that feels personal, relatable, and authentic. Partner with skilled creators to produce high-converting visual content—photos and videos—that can be repurposed across all your marketing channels. This not only increases efficiency but also ensures that your messaging is consistent and cohesive, whether on social media, email, or elsewhere.
A multi-channel approach maximizes your reach, engaging potential customers at multiple touchpoints across different platforms. By meeting your audience where they spend their time and tailoring your content to each channel, you enhance the chances of driving deeper engagement and stronger conversions. This strategy ensures you're connecting with your customers in the moments that matter most, ultimately driving sales and boosting brand loyalty this holiday season.
6. Be Prepared with Re-engagement Strategies
During the holiday shopping season, cart abandonment rates tend to rise as consumers browse multiple options, compare prices, and wait for better deals. In fact, data from Maymard 2023 revealed that 22% of shoppers abandoned their carts because of the complicated checkout process, while 18% left their carts due to the unsatisfied return policy.
However, there's good news—marketers saw a 20-30% increase in opt-in rates ahead of holiday season, indicating that shoppers are open to receiving communications from brands. This presents an ideal opportunity to re-engage potential customers who have dropped off and reignite their interest with targeted strategies.
Cart Abandonment Emails: Don't let them forget you. Use your cart abandonment emails to create a sense of urgency, incorporating influencer-generated content (IGC) and social proof. Shoppers are more likely to complete their purchases when they see real people enjoying your products. A/B testing different influencer content can help tailor your message to specific customer segments, enhancing conversion rates.
Wishlist Reminders: Many consumers use wishlists to save products for later, often waiting for discounts or special offers. In fact, 54% of U.S. internet users added items to their wishlists during last year’s holiday season. Follow up with personalized reminders, especially when those items go on sale or stock is running low, prompting shoppers to act before they miss out.
Targeted Ads: Reconnect with site visitors through retargeting ads that feature influencer content. Even better, invest in amplifying organic influencer posts with paid media to create Partnership Ads. This approach has been shown to lower cost-per-purchase by 3.9% and deliver 2.4 times higher conversion rates.
By leveraging these re-engagement tactics, you can bring lost customers back into the fold and increase the likelihood of converting them into paying buyers during this critical holiday period.
Final Thoughts
The 2024 holiday season offers immense potential for brands to drive sales and engagement, but success depends on smart planning and execution. Influencer marketing remains a key strategy to reach your audience, build trust, and amplify your message. From leveraging influencers for early promotions to optimizing mobile shopping and using flexible payment options like "Buy Now, Pay Later," these strategies will help you stand out and boost conversions.
Start planning early, diversify your channels, and use tools like SocialBook to connect with the right influencers for your campaigns. With the right tactics and data-driven insights, you can turn this holiday season into your most successful one yet.