As we approach the busy Q4 shopping season, it's crucial for companies with shopping rewards programs to fine-tune their marketing strategies to make the most of this lucrative period by driving browser extension installs, and encouraging people to engage with those tools and make purchases.
We put together some key insights and best practices to help you capitalize on holiday shopping trends and consumer behavior.
Understanding the Q4 Shopper's Mindset
The holiday season brings a unique shopper mindset, combining the goals of gift-giving, value-seeking, and creating festive experiences. Most consumers - especially those participating in your program - are motivated by discounts, convenience, and the desire to find special gifts for loved ones. Secondarily, they're also more inclined towards charitable giving and supporting local businesses.
Key Q4 Shopping Trends
- Holiday Gifts: Toys, electronics, clothing, jewelry, and books see a surge in demand.
- Festive Decorations: Christmas trees, ornaments, and holiday decor fly off the shelves.
- Food and Beverages: Specialty foods and drinks for holiday gatherings become popular.
- Winter Apparel: As temperatures drop, consumers stock up on coats, boots, and cold-weather gear.
- Travel and Experiences: Many people plan vacations or purchase event tickets during this time.
- New Year's Resolution Items: Towards the end of Q4, fitness equipment and self-improvement products gain traction.
The Q4 Shopping Calendar
To maximize your marketing efforts, align your campaigns with these key shopping events:
- 🎃 October: Halloween promotions and Breast Cancer Awareness campaigns
- 🦃 November: Thanksgiving prep, Veterans Day sales, Black Friday
- 🎁 December: Cyber Monday, Green Monday, last-minute gift promotions, Christmas/Hanukkah deals, and New Year's Eve offerings
Below is a month-by-month chart with more detailed breakdowns of categories and retailers to promote:
Note: Black Friday and Cyber Monday are still the busiest shopping days of the season (and in some cases, the entire year). Some noteworthy statistics:
- 61% of holiday shoppers begin buying gifts before Thanksgiving
- 30% of Cyber Weekend shoppers plan their purchases weeks in advance
- Online sales on Black Friday exceed the year's average daily online sales by 212%
To capitalize on this shopping frenzy:
- Start your promotions as early as possible
- Remind customers how they can save by combining your extension plus retailers’ Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals
- Create a sense of urgency by highlighting retailers’ limited-time offers
Notably, Wildfire clients that heavily promote the extension prior to Black Friday experience an average 47% spike of install growth prior to Black Friday with Labor Day shopping and early Black Friday promotions.
In comparison, clients that operate normally with little-to-no lift of marketing see a natural 10% install growth during the season.
Cashback Rewards Extension Marketing Best Practices for Q4
Maximize installs of, and engagement with, your cashback rewards extension during Q4 by leveraging the following non-email exposure and messaging opportunities. With these, you can provide relevant information, and create a seamless shopping experience that encourages users to install and utilize the extension, ensuring they never miss out on cashback opportunities.
- Website and Mobile Optimization
- Use "toasters" (pop-up notifications) to highlight your extensions’ value proposition (e.g. save even more during the Q4 holidays with our free cashback browser extension)
- Consider a homepage takeover to maximize visibility (example below from Rakuten)
- Social Media Strategies
- Instagram: Leverage Stories, Reels, and shoppable posts to highlight the extension. Create holiday-themed content showcasing where to buy popular products
- Facebook: Create holiday-themed ads, and/or posts to make it easy for your users to see the benefits of using the extension during holiday shopping.
- Twitter: Share quick updates or highlights, and customer testimonials. Use holiday-specific hashtags to increase visibility.
- Pinterest: Create holiday-themed boards and pins featuring gift ideas, DIY holiday projects, and festive home decor; be sure to include the value using the extension brings
- TikTok: Create fun and engaging short videos that highlight the benefits of the extension. Participate in holiday challenges and trends to increase visibility.
- Public Relations
- Craft stories that resonate with the holiday spirit, such as giving, family, and celebration. Align your narrative with your brand and extension benefits.
- Plan your PR activities well in advance, identify important dates, such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and key shipping deadlines, to maximize media coverage.
- Leverage Thought Leadership, work with influencers to create holiday-themed content, such as gift guides, product reviews, or unboxing videos, to reach a broader audience.
- Share stories of your employees’ involvement in community activities or holiday traditions to connect with your users.
- SEO and Content Marketing
- Create seasonal landing pages highlighting popular items and gift guides. You can highlight the cashback a shopper would get if they shopped with your extension.
- Develop content around holiday shopping tips, trends, and gift ideas
- Rakuten creates seasonal pages to help guide the shopper and create a simple one stop shopping experience during an already busy and stressful time.
Cashback Rewards Extension Marketing Best Practices for Black Friday
Google Trends show users searching for Black Friday as soon as late September. Many Merchant Black Friday preview promos also start in September, immediately following Labor Day sales. Drive installs and enrollment early.
Our recommended best practices include the following.
First, give users a compelling reason to install:
— Incentive to install campaign
— Boosted offers campaigns
Then, make it sticky by multiplying product impressions:
— Non-logged in placements above the fold
— New customer onboarding
— Start Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Holiday Shopping SEO content early
— Persistent logged in placements on both mobile app and desktop
— Thematic/timely creative for all digital placements and ongoing emails
— Customer benefits placements
By implementing these strategies and focusing on key trends, you'll be well-positioned to make the most of the Q4 shopping season. Remember to start planning early, take advantage of multiple opportunities to message your customer base about your extension, and continuously analyze your results to optimize your campaigns throughout the holiday period.
