Holidays 2024 Installment 1 Megan Harbold Predicts the Spending Future Street Fight

Holidays 2024 Installment 1: Megan Harbold Predicts the Spending Future

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We recently announced that because the holidays are a huge and complex spending season for MULO (multi-location) brands we are reaching out to industry leaders for their predictions about holidays 2024.

Our first perspective is from a company with a broad and deep understanding of spending data and today’s marketing strategies and tactics.

Skai VP of Product Marketing Megan Harbold has over a decade of experience working with leading consumer brands and their agency partners to deliver meaningful business results across retail media, paid search, social media, and apps.

Harbold is an expert in e-commerce, go-to-market enablement, leveraging data and insights, and advertising technology. Before joining Skai, Megan served in senior and executive roles at Amazon, The Mars Agency, and Hershey. 

What is your #1 prediction for the holiday shopping season?

“Big shopping events will disrupt how and when consumers spend during the traditional holiday timeframe. 

For example, a recent survey we conducted at Skai reveals that Amazon’s October Prime Big Deal Days may impact holiday shopping trajectories. 68% of consumers plan to shop during Amazon’s October two-day Prime event, and 54% say that their spending during this event will reduce their Cyber 5 budget. 

However, shoppers may not necessarily be eager to splurge during these timely events, as 59% of consumers revealed they might be willing to wait until January for better deals.”

What will people be buying?

“Our survey found that fashion and apparel are leading the charge against other categories, with 90.7% of consumers planning to spend in this segment. 

Other categories where consumers are planning to spend include toys and games (84.6%), beauty and personal care products (81.8%), books, music and media (78.5%), computers and electronics (73.5%), jewelry (72.7%) as well as home and garden supplies (67.7%). 

Additionally, people are spending on items that support hobbies and leisure activities (83.8%) while others are eyeing health and wellness-related purchases (74.7%).”

How will marketers and brands up their games this year?

“In order to understand how brands will up their games this year, it’s critical to also look at how consumer shopping habits are changing and–from there–how smart marketers are adapting.

In 2024, people are getting their holiday shopping done earlier. In fact, Skai data shows that 58% of consumers will begin shopping by November 1, and 15% have already begun! To adapt, marketers should have holiday campaigns set already and should be shifting their promotional schedules to capture shoppers’ attention earlier. This includes their retail media spend, their social advertising spend, and the promotion of any deals they may offer that support cost savings.

While many are shopping earlier, on the flip side, some consumers feel that holiday shopping in October is too early. As such, brands and retailers must balance these differing opinions to still experience the strong impact of traditional shopping days like Black Friday. This can mean giving steeper discounts around Black Friday to win over those shoppers and show the value, potentially testing promotions during the October shopping wave.

Marketers in top categories for gifting need to be extra prepared for this season. There was significant consumer spending in Fashion and Apparel, Toys & Games, Hobbies & Leisure, and Beauty & Personal in 2023, and these will likely be big spending areas for consumers in 2024, too. Marketers in these categories should be armed with targeted campaigns that meet changing buying behaviors–and remain flexible where possible throughout the season.”

How will AI and other technologies impact the shopping process?

“AI shopping tools are certainly on the rise, which is proven by Skai data showing that 13% of shoppers are using AI-driven tools for holiday shopping. Optimizing content will be critical for retailers so that no matter how someone is shopping and searching–whether it’s through a website’s search tools, ChatGPT or Google–their products are ranking well.”

What are YOU asking “Santa” for this year or expecting to find by the candles at your holiday celebration?

“I’m asking for new pajamas and a nice quiet movie night.”

A huge shout-out to 5WPR who assisted with sourcing experts for this series.

Want to share YOUR perspectives? Please contact [email protected] before November 15th.

For more trends, join us at Street Fight LIVE on November 7th in Chicago!

 

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Nancy A Shenker, senior editor with Street Fight, is a former big brand (Citibank, Mastercard, Reed Exhibitions) marketing strategist and leader. She has been featured in Inc.com, the New York Times and Forbes.
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