HOLIDAY SHOPPING BEHAVIOR:

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM

YOUR CUSTOMERS

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ABOUT NETELIXIR

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Our Team: 100+ fanatically analytical search marketers, operating in three countries.

Our Partnerships: We are a Preferred Partner of both Google and Bing .

Our Value: We combine our expertise and our proprietary technology to generate demand for your digital storefront and convert it into sales

TECHNOLOGY{ }

PAID SEARCH& SHOPPING

MANAGEMENT

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

PAID SOCIAL MANAGEMENT

SERVICES CONSULTING++

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FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

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FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

WEB ANALYTICS

DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY

ON DEMAND TECH SUPPORT

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DON RODRIGUEZ

DIRECTOR OF ANALYTICS

• Google Analytics user since 2007.

• Former eCommerce Director for Utrecht Art

Supplies.

• Teaches MBA classes at Rutgers.

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http://www.linkedin.com/in/donrodriguez

{ }HOLIDAY SHOPPING

BEHAVIOR:

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM

YOUR CUSTOMERS

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SURVEY METHODOLOGY

• Use Google Consumer Survey Tool to Survey 1000+ Customers– Google.com/insights/consumersurveys

• Responses gathered week of Sept 27th

• Questions Asked:– How much of your holiday shopping is already complete?

– What are you gifting this holiday season?

– How important is brand name to you when buying a gift?

– Where are you most likely to buy a holiday gift this season?

– How many people are you shopping for this holiday season

– While holiday shopping , I mostly use my mobile device to…

• Room for Error

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METHODOLOGY HAS SOME BIAS RELATIVE TO US INTERNET

POPULATION – SKEWS MALE & YOUNGER

Sampling

bias:

What the

question

looked like to

respondents:

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IN LATE SEPT, 1 OUT OF 4 RESPONDENTS HAD ALREADY

STARTED AND COMPLETED SOME HOLIDAY SHOPPING, WHILE

11% WERE COMPLETELY DONE!

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KEY TAKEAWAYS –PEOPLE HAVE STARTED THEIR HOLIDAY SHOPPING

EARLIER - LAST YEAR, 20% STARTED BEFORE OCTOBER

• Could Prime Day have skewed this buying behavior? Amazon had its biggest sales day ever

this year – US orders rose by 50%

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57% ARE PLANNING TO BUY GIFTS ONLINE

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KEY TAKEAWAYS – KEEP YOUR EYE ON

MARKETPLACES

• Marketplaces have become dominant over the past couple of

years.

– A 2015 survey of retail executives showed they expect marketplaces to

have 40% market share by 2020

• Sites like ebay, amazon and alibaba offer sellers access to a huge

customer base, making them attractive to retailers that struggle to

drive sales on their own sites.

• Marketplaces pose many challenges for retailers

– Commoditization / loss of brand equity

– unhealthy price competition – amazon changes 2.5MM prices a day

– sharing of customer data

– doing business with potential future competitor

• Retailers need to carefully weigh the pros and cons of selling

through marketplaces

MARKETPLACES VS. RETAILER WEBSITES: WHERE DO THE 1%-ERS

SHOP?

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KEY TAKEAWAYS -HIGHER INCOME GROUPS CHOOSE

AMAZON/MARKETPLACES VS RETAILER WEBSITES.

• Is retailer brand equity losing the

battle for the consumers’ wallet

to more choice and lower price?

• Is convenience of Amazon too

much to overcome?

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AGE AFFECTS WHERE PEOPLE PLAN TO SHOP.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Baby Boomers prefer picking up the ordered

item in-store. This may be driven more by

“habit”.

• Interestingly Millennials also exhibit a

preference of ordering online and picking up

in store. This may be an outcome of their

mobile shopping behavior and propensity to

conduct “near me searches”.

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82% PLACE LITTLE OR NO EMPHASIS ON BRAND NAMES

WHEN BUYING A HOLIDAY GIFT

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Buying preferences are increasingly influenced by

price and promotions.

• Growth of marketplaces may be leading to brand

commoditization.

• If you are #2 or #3 in your category, there is

opportunity to take share by targeting #1 brand with

paid search ads.

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GIFT CARDS DOMINATE GIFT CATEGORIES EXCEPT FOR

18-24 YRS

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Millennials are top experience gift givers

• Clothing, shoes, jewelry skews younger.

• Are you taking advantage of

demographic bid adjustments in paid

search?

• Are you promoting your gift cards, e-gift

certificates effectively throughout the

holiday season?

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LARGEST % (62%) SAID THEY DO ALL 4 SHOPPING

ACTIVITIES ON THEIR MOBILE DEVICES.

#1

Research a certain product.

#2

Research a certain product.

Research gift ideas in general.

#3

Research a certain product.

Research gift ideas in general.

Buy gifts online.

#4

Research a certain product.

Research gift ideas in general.

Buy gifts online.

Search for coupons while in-

store.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS – RETAILERS NEED TO FOCUS ON WHOLE FUNNEL

IN THEIR MOBILE EXPERIENCE

• Largest group does all aspects of purchase funnel on mobile

• Usage skews younger in each activity

• ‘Researching certain product’ as #1 activity indicates that retailers

need to have their PLA ads working on mobile during the holidays.

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SUMMARY

25%COMPLETED SOME HOLIDAY

SHOPPINGwhile 11% were completely done,

slightly up from last year.

82%PLACE LITTLE EMPHASIS

ON BRAND NAME

Means an opportunity for

lesser brands to grab share.

#1GIFT CATEGORY

Is Gift Cards/Cash.

For all age groups except

18-24.

MILLENNIALSARE THE MOST LIKELY

AGE GROUP TO GIFT AN

EXPERIENCE OVER A

TANGIBLE ITEM.

57%PLAN TO BUY ONLINE

with 41% citing online marketplaces like Amazon,

eBay.

DEMOGRAPHIC BID ADJUSTMENTS

ARE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR

RETAILERS SELLING CLOTHING,

JEWELRY, SHOES

LARGEST %USE THEIR MOBILE DEVICES AT ALL

STAGES OF THE PURCHASE

JOURNEYRetailers can not afford to ignore any

aspect of their mobile experience.

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CONSUMER INSIGHT

email: university@netelixir.com

SOURCES

• http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/13/amazon-prime-day-is-biggest-day-for-online-retailer-

ever.html

• https://www.fundivo.com/stats/retail-holiday-shopping-statistics/

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QUESTIONS?

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