Google’s Think Retail 2024, a virtual event designed for retail marketing executives, focused on preparing businesses for the upcoming holiday season.
360 OM attended the 3-hour livestream event on August 27 and heard from industry experts and Google leaders on the latest holiday trends.
The session kicked off with insights from Boston Consulting Group industry experts who provided a macro view of the holiday landscape, including the economic factors influencing consumer behaviour.
Here’s what the interactive livestream experience had in store.
- Access to Product Experts: Top experts engaged and answered questions directly in online product lightning talks and during the livestreamed holiday product workshop.
- Holiday 2024 Insights: Speakers from BCG highlighted the latest macro retail industry, election, and consumer insights shaping this holiday season.
- Peer Success Stories: Best-in-class retailers like Ace Hardware, Adidas, Athletic Propulsion Labs, Free People, Movado, and more shared their Google AI-powered ads success stories.
Overall, the highlight of Think Retail 2024 was its actionable strategies to help your retail business adapt, plan with agility, and drive sales success.
2024 Holiday Macro Industry Insights
The 2024 holiday season is unlike any other.
It’s not only about hitting the bottom line, but about connecting with your shoppers at every stage—from discovery to devotion.
Here are the top stats from Google you need to know:
- 63% of US consumers agreed that making the right purchase decisions requires more effort than it used to.
- 60% abandoned a purchase altogether because there were too many options and/or too much information.
- Confident consumers are 10x more likely to be very satisfied post-purchase and 6x more likely to say they would buy again than those who have low confidence.
- Purchase confidence is highest when category knowledge is higher, information is relevant and shoppers have a relationship with the brand.
- Google is the #1 resource for holiday shopping and consumers found 1.7X more “very relevant” information on Search, Maps, and YouTube.
With a condensed shopping season and economic factors affecting consumer confidence, retailers must make the most of every customer interaction.
Top Challenges During The 2024 Holiday Season
One of the most significant factors impacting the 2024 BFCM season is its shortened duration. Starting November 29, 2024, the shopping event will be approximately 5 days shorter than in previous years.
Here’s how this will impact consumers and retailers:
Impact on Consumer Behaviour
- Closer Proximity to Christmas: The shorter BFCM period places it closer to Christmas, which could potentially influence consumer spending priorities. Some shoppers may allocate a larger portion of their holiday budget to Christmas gifts, reducing their spending during BFCM.
- Less Time for Returns: With a shorter shopping window, there may be less time for consumers to receive and return items, leading to a higher return rate or less overall satisfaction.
- Compressed Shopping Behaviour: The compressed timeframe could lead to more intense shopping behaviour. Consumers may feel the need to make purchases quickly to take advantage of limited-time deals.
Impact on Retailers
- More Deals and Choice in Less Time: To capitalise on the shorter shopping period, retailers may offer even more aggressive deals and promotions, creating a highly competitive environment. This could also lead to a wider variety of products and brands available during BFCM.
- November YoY Comparisons: November YoY comparisons may not be directly comparable due to the shorter BFCM period. Sales figures may appear lower than in previous years, even if the overall sales performance is similar.
- Shift in Promotional Calendar: Some of the usual November sales may shift into December, especially as Cyber Week falls in the first week of December. Retailers will need to adjust their promotional calendars and budgets accordingly to maximise sales during both periods.
How To Master the Holiday Mindset
- Time it Right: The compressed peak shopping period means every day counts. Focus on optimising strategies for all phases of the holiday season, not just the peak days.
- Target Different Shoppers: Generational differences impact shopping preferences. Tailor your approach to address the specific desires, expectations, and tactics relevant to each generation.
- Leverage Pricing and Promotions: Competitive pricing and strategic promotions are more crucial than ever. Use the increased demand during seasonal sales to build long-term brand loyalty.
While the shorter BFCM window in 2024 presents many challenges for retailers, they can adopt effective strategies to boost sales.
12 Holiday Season Strategies from Think Retail On Air 2024
At Google’s Think Retail 2024 event, experts shared valuable insights for retailers looking to maximise their holiday sales by focusing on attribution, early planning, and data-driven decision-making.
From full-funnel attribution to pre-Q4 planning and a complete customer behaviour analysis, here are the top strategies to help you.
1. Pre-Q4 Testing
Use Q2 and Q3 to test different ad strategies and media mixes for the holiday season. Detail the types of ad strategies such as different ad formats, targeting methods, and platforms. Leverage September for testing so the heavy lifting is done beforehand.
What Experts Said: “During Q2, we experimented with various ad strategies, including video ads on TikTok, influencer partnerships on Instagram, and retargeting campaigns on Google Ads. We’re trying to figure out what our plans are going to be for Q4 and then we’re also using Q3 for even more testing.”
2. Lookback Windows
Test different lookback windows to understand how long it takes for customers to make a purchase decision. Provide guidelines to determine optimal lookback windows based on industry benchmarks and customer behaviour data.
What Experts Said: “Based on our analysis of customer purchase data, we found that the average lookback window for our products was 30 days. This information helped us optimise our retargeting campaigns to focus on customers who had visited our website within the past month.”
3. Test Different Creatives
Test different search terms, video ads, and landing pages to see what resonates with your audience. Discuss the use of A/B testing to compare the performance of different creative elements, such as headlines, visuals, and calls to action.
What Experts Said: “It’s really interesting to see what people are searching. We conducted A/B tests on our landing pages to determine which design elements were most effective at driving conversions. By testing different variations of our headlines, images, and calls to action, we were able to increase our conversion rate by 20%.”
4. Video for Brand Building
Use video ads to create brand emotion and drive traffic to your website. Focus on video completion rate for better results. Experiment with different storytelling techniques, use of music, and optimisation for different platforms.
What Experts Said: “We’re using YouTube. We’re trying to create that brand emotion, that essence. But I still have to drive people to my site and I still have to sell watches. To create more engaging video ads, we use a combination of visuals, music, and voiceover, we were able to capture attention and drive brand recall.”
5. Start Early for Holiday Preparedness
Don’t wait until the last minute. Outline a suggested timeline for holiday marketing activities, including content creation, campaign planning, and execution. The holiday season is shorter this year due to calendar shifts.
What Experts Said: “September is just in a few days. To ensure we are well-prepared for the holiday season, we begin planning our campaigns in early September. This allows us to create high-quality content, optimise our website, and launch campaigns on time.”
6. Focus on Building Brand Awareness Early
Attract customers early with engaging content to win their business over the competition. Discuss the importance of creating a content calendar to ensure a consistent and engaging presence throughout the holiday season.
What Experts Said: “Our content calendar included a mix of blog posts, social media posts, email campaigns, and video content. By planning our content in advance, we were able to maintain a steady stream of engaging content that helped to build brand awareness and drive traffic to our website.”
7. Repurpose Existing Creative Assets
Don’t be afraid to repurpose existing creative assets for different digital channels. Explore strategies to repurpose existing content, such as turning blog posts into social media graphics or repurposing video content for different platforms.
What Experts Said: “I pretty much think of app campaigns or our machine learning algorithm as being a chef in a restaurant kitchen whose goal is to make the best meal for its user. Creative assets are just ingredients. It’s important to equip it with a very good diversified mix, so it can help build the right meal for each user depending on their interests and goals.”
8. Cyber Week as Part of a Macro Holiday Plan
Use Cyber Week as an opportunity to acquire new customers and turn them into repeat buyers throughout the year. Explore strategies to build customer relationships throughout the year, leading up to Cyber Week.
What Experts Said: “I always tell my clients to not think about Cyber Week as the only part of the holiday. We launched a loyalty program that rewarded customers for their purchases throughout the year. This helped to build a sense of community and encouraged repeat purchases during the holiday season.”
9. Innovation is Key
Continuously innovate your marketing strategies and ad formats to stay ahead of the curve. Explore emerging marketing trends and technologies that can be incorporated into your holiday marketing strategies.
What Experts Said: “We experimented with AR technology to create interactive product experiences that helped to engage customers and drive sales.”
10. Focus on Omnichannel Experiences
Provide customers with convenient shopping options, such as in-store pickup, curbside delivery, and seamless online shopping.
What Experts Said: “We implemented a buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) option to offer customers more flexibility and convenience. This helped to drive in-store traffic and increase sales.”
11. Leverage Local Inventory Ads
Use local inventory ads to show customers what’s available in their local stores and encourage them to visit. Explore strategies for hyperlocal targeting using local inventory ads to reach customers in specific geographic areas.
What Experts Said: “We heavily leverage local inventory ads to capture customers early in their shopping journey. By using local inventory ads, we were able to promote products that were in stock at nearby stores, encouraging customers to visit and make a purchase.”
12. Optimise for Voice Search
Discuss the importance of optimising content for voice search queries and identifying relevant keywords.
What Experts Said: “We conducted keyword research to identify common voice search queries related to our products and incorporated them into our website content and product descriptions.”
Top 3 Shopping Ad Strategies
This shopping season, you can maximise your online shopping campaigns with a focus on budget optimisation and use Performance Max to build customer loyalty.
Here are the key insights from Google:
Use AI to Capture Consumer Demand
💡 Insight:
Nearly 3 in 4 purchases are either made online or are influenced by online touch points. As the shopper journey becomes more complex, tap into AI-powered ads to achieve scale and personalisation.
What to do:
- Use AI best practices, like a simplified account structure, conversion data signals, high quality image / text assets and complete SKU/keyword coverage.
- Understand and prove impact with a line-of-sight into media performance. This is achieved through measurement infrastructure and a rigorous test and learn program.
- Maximise scale and capture the most profitable traffic with flexible budgets and target-based management.
Optimise Budget for Q4 Demand
💡 Insight:
40% of holiday shoppers are “always on” to find the perfect gifts.
Over 80% of search demand arises from September through the end of the year outside of Cyber week.
What to do:
- Plan and set the right budgets by using Performance Planner to forecast optimal targets and budgets for your business outcomes during peak season.
- Optimise budgets before & during seasonal periods. Recommendations will help capture increase in interest with unconstrained budgets, while Campaigns Simulators will help identity conversion value and investment mix scenarios to deliver maximum returns.
- Manage budgets by implementing shared budgets and how the budget is delivering on goals with insights and Performance Max insights.
Adapt to Shopper Mindsets to Capture the Bulk of Demand
💡 Insight:
Omnichannel shopping is important throughout the season, but how well a store does depends on what they offer.
Shopping trends to remember:
- Return policy picks up in October
- Promotions become critical during Cyber Week and Christmas
- Near me is critical on Black Friday and after shipping cutoff dates.
What to do:
- Understand customer and competitive landscape with Merchant Center Insights.
- Deliver on last minute demand via upsell and cross-category purchases via omni strategy with Performance Max for Store Goals.
- Ensure creative coverage for each holiday mindset. This means 4+ unique image assets, 1+ RSA with good or excellent ad strength and business information.
As a Google Premier Partner, 360 OM is committed to sharing insider tips and tricks to propel your business to new heights.
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At 360 OM, we specialise in helping businesses take their marketing efforts to the next level. Our team stays on top of industry trends, uses data-informed decisions to maximise your ROI, and provides full transparency through comprehensive reports.
