Inside Outdoor Magazine - Fall 2018

In-Season Inside Outdoor | FALL 2018 35 And despite assumptions that it’s a legacy or less relevant platform for marketing, email remains the number one channel through which consum- ers want to be contacted by retail- ers and brands regarding sales and promotions, show several surveys. That’s particularly true on Cyber Monday. Despite the fact that nearly a third of brands sent messages around this event last year, the conversion rates on Cyber Monday were the highest during the holidays, according to an analysis by Yes Life- cycle Marketing of nearly eight billion emails sent in Q4 2017. Emails also should be mobile friendly. If trends continue from last year, mobile will likely be an e-com- merce driver. Salesforce estimates that this year, mobile will be a conduit for 68 percent of all e-commerce traf- fic this holiday season, up 19 percent from 2017. And it’s not just about browsing. Salesforce researchers pre- dict mobile phones will be responsible for more online orders than desktops (46 percent versus 44 percent). “While more online shoppers plan to make purchases on their PCs (79 percent), the number buying on their phones jumped to 67 percent this year from 59 percent last year among mobile shoppers,” said Deloitte researchers. All told, more than three-quarters of consumers surveyed by NPD plan to do at least some shopping online, with on- line shopping intent rising 4 percentage points from the same time last year. Bazaarvoice, meanwhile, found that 89 percent of respondents plan to shop on- line for holiday gifts, with more than half of those shoppers planning to buy more than half of their gifts digitally. Despite any estimates or expecta- tions, however, it’s important to remem- ber that as much as 85 percent of 2017 holiday spending took place in physical stores. The Bazaarvoice study also found that about two-thirds of internet users expect to conduct at least half of their holiday shopping in-store. Logical- ly, the top reason for shopping in-store during the holidays was to see products in person (75 percent). But brick-and- mortar also provides emotional benefits that are hard to reproduce online – 42 percent said they shop in-store for the holiday ambiance and 27 percent to spend time with family.  A good chunk of holiday shop- pers, however, head in-store simply because they run out of time to wait for delivery. Indeed, one of the main reasons people don’t buy gifts online is fear they won’t get them in time, show surveys. And as the holiday season rolls on, stories also begin circulating about packages being lost or stolen after delivery, slightly hin- dering online shopping, said Marshal Cohen, chief industry advisor at NPD Group. About one in six shoppers (17 percent) have had a package stolen in the past, show NDP figures. Blis, a provider of location-based advertising, found that 65.4 percent of adults aged 35 to 64 years old fit the profile of “last-minute gifters,” or those who mainly start look- ing for gifts well after the holiday season begins. Of course, these last-minute gifters are notori- ous deal shoppers, and retailers know all too well the damage deep discounting and heavy holiday promotions can have on margins. An upside of cutting down prices, however, comes via a survey by the National Retail Foundation showing that 64.7 per- cent of holiday shoppers are willing to ignore their budgets if the store they walk into is offering a sale. And some of these consumers are willing to go significantly over budget for a good deal – nearly half said they would go 20 percent to 50 percent over budget if an appropriate gift is on sale. As much as anything, retailers must keep in mind that the holidays are a stressful time for everyone, so anything that can be done within mar- keting efforts to offer help and advice will likely resonate the loudest with customers – from ways to survive the “holidaze” to unique and personalized gift suggestions. “Last-minute gifters are looking for instruction, and a late smash-and-grab for gifts can be stressful,” said Alex Wright, head of insights at Blis. “If you can offer an easy decision and put your product, brand or store in front of this audience, you’ve made their lives easier. They will view this as a win-win and be grateful for your help.” Much the same can be said across the board, early or late. So with that mind, here’s a few last-minute gift ideas to bring into your store. Ho ho ho. Amount In-Store Holiday Shoppers Are Willing to Go Significantly Over Budget for a Good Deal Would exceed budget by 10% to 20% 34.2%  Would exceed budget by 20% to 40% 31.3% Would exceed budget by more than 50%  16.8%  Won’t go over their budget regardless of sales 17.6%  Source: RetailMeNot