Spooky season ends and 'tis the season begins. Stores are decked out with red, green and gold. Christmas trees and wreaths line the fronts, and holiday music has already begun playing on the local radio station. Christmas may be December 25th, but it starts on November 1st.
Given this, it is no shock that 22% of people plan to start their holiday shopping in October. Since 2008, holiday spending has been increasing every year. This Christmas season, it is estimated that American adults will spend approximately $900 on gifts per person. Nationwide holiday spending is projected to exceed $1 trillion. (Investopedia). Almost half of holiday shopping occurs online (46%) and believe it or not, men will spend more than women.
Bottom line, holiday spending is big and all of the stores want you to spend money. And frankly, if the item and price are right, chances are, you are looking to spend your money too.
Black Friday has already sprung up and maybe you've done a great deal of holiday shopping, but don't turn away just yet. During this holiday season, you will spend money you are anticipating on spending, as well as money you did not initially intend on spending. How come? That my friends, is a combination of good marketing, a little bit of persuasion and convenience.
One or more of these factors will play into giving addition business from the consumer side, and scoring additional business on the company side. How can you recreate these factors for your business?
Here's the challenge-
Take an introspective perspective on your spending from now until the end of the year and ask yourself these questions:
- Have you walked into a new store you've never been in? If yes, how come? Did a sign catch your eye? Did it smell good? Did the atmosphere seem appealing? Was it next to another store you were going to? Was it on your way back to your car?
- Have you gone inside a store you weren't planning on attending? If yes, what made you decide to take the time to stop? A sign? Notice something about a sale? Did you remember an add you saw? Did you remember an item you own that you enjoy and either need another one or want to give it to someone else?
- When entering stores, where in the store were you drawn to first? Try to really think: what drew you to that part?
- Did you make an additional last second purchase while at the register? Why?
- Did you find a sign that caught your eye? Why? Color? Placement? Wording? Message?
Happy introspective shopping! On next week's blog we will give more statistics about convenience purchasing and the power of signage, don't miss it!
