We at Google have watched the shoppers’ movements between four distinct mindsets or what we refer to as the “4Ds”: deliberate, deal-seeking, and determined.
Beginning in July, consumers begin to plan their holiday purchases and wishlists thoughtfully.
In November and October, people are on the hunt for bargains and prioritize quality and value.
By December, they are determined to use all their resources and days to finish shopping before the holidays.
By January, shoppers have become loyal as they shop beyond the peak shopping season.
What do the 4Ds mean for your brand?
As December approaches, we will start to notice the determined mindset of shoppers. Devoted purchasers will follow this in January.
These three strategies have helped us and will help you align with busy shoppers.
Maintain momentum throughout December and beyond
Connect with your customers at all touchpoints
Brand loyalty is important for long-term success
Keep the momentum going in December and beyond
Cyber 5 is the period of peak sales from Black Friday to Cyber Monday.
A Mastercard analysis that we conducted with BCG between October 2022 and January 2022 found that 46% of holiday spending in the U.S. occurred between Cyber Sunday and Christmas Eve 2022. The shoppers spent more than $47 billion on retail goods in the two weeks following December 25.
What’s driving the consumer demand for December and January? In order to answer this question, we partnered with Ipsos and conducted a series of surveys between October 20,22 and January 20,23.
In December, consumers are more motivated to complete their holiday shopping than ever before. In the U.S., after “Cyber 5,” 50% of shoppers still had shopping to do. Gen Z had more to do than any other generation.
In January, shoppers can shop more for themselves and less to fulfill gift obligations. Our data shows that 50% of shoppers enjoy shopping soon after Christmas.
Connecting with customers across touchpoints
Last year, in-store sales reached record highs and exceeded $1 trillion.
The use of digital resources by shoppers before visiting a physical store is a key factor behind the high rate of brick-and-mortar shopping. These digital resources are useful in both making decisions and completing them.
Ulta Beauty was one company that noticed this and spoke to Google about its holiday performance.
We see that consumers are increasingly using multiple digital channels during the holiday season.
A study conducted online with Ipsos between October 2022 and January 2023 showed that more than half the shoppers in 2022 used at least five channels to shop, including video and social media. This proportion of shoppers increased during December.
We’ve seen that shoppers are using more digital tools to make purchases post-holiday. The average number of digital tools used has increased. Our research shows that Google properties like Search, Maps, and YouTube, which were already heavily used during the holiday season, are now being used even more post-Christmas.
Shoppers are not only continuing to shop but also shopping on more digital properties. Brands that are able to engage with their customers on multiple touchpoints by using omnichannel experiences can be distinguished from the rest.
Build Brand Loyalty Over Time.
A Google-commissioned survey we conducted in October revealed that there is an even greater opportunity to build brand loyalty over the long term, as nearly half of shoppers (47%) say they can shop for brands after Christmas.
You can promote loyalty or reward programs to shoppers, as they are likely to be thinking about them during this time.
We observed that in January 2023, there was a notable 50% increase in interest for loyalty programs. This includes searches such as rewards program’ and “loyalty point” compared to December. [11]
We also found that the volume of searches for gift-related terms, such as ‘gifts’ or ‘presents,’ remained high between September 2022 and January 2023. This was a 45% increase and a 15% increase, respectively compared to the early holiday months in September 2022.