HOLIDAY SHOPPING – BLACK FRIDAY WEEKEND
Shoppers swarmed the stores and scoured online to get their holiday shopping done. Between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday, 196.7 million consumers shopped whether in-store or online, which is a record-high number. “Shoppers spent an average of about $325 on holiday-related purchases over the weekend” compared to $301 last year, according to the NRF. The overall holiday shopping season, November 1st through December 31st, is anticipated to “rise by 6% to 8% from last year between $942.6 billion and $960.4 billion.” According to the NRF CEO, “the weekend’s biggest takeaways are that Americans are eager to shop in-person again and that they’re hungry for big bargains” as more than 122.7 million consumers shopped in store this Black Friday weekend. (CNBC: 11/29/22)
According to Adobe Analytics, “consumers spent $35.4 billion online over the five-day period.” On Thanksgiving Day, sales hit $5.3 billion, the weekend totaled $9.6 billion, and Cyber Monday hit a record $11.3 billion (up 5.3% over last year). However, factoring in inflation, “consumers could be spending more for less.” (Washington Post: 11/29/22)
MARKETING FLEXIBILITY
The WSJ offers several “Pro Tips” in their article on marketing strategies in response to economic uncertainty, going into detail on each. Included are “focus on return on investment”, “be flexible about tactics”, “align with business goals”, “maintain your identity”, “innovate”, and “if you can help consumers in tough times, say so”. (WSJ: 11/27/22)
SVOD CHURN
Research by market research firm, Antenna, looked at acquisition and cancellation activity among leading subscription-based video-on-demand (SVOD) services from 2019 through September 2022. In Q3 2022, combined subscription cancellations (churn) increased by 14% when compared to Q2 and Q1. They also identified “a significant slowdown in SVOD growth”, with a “quarter-over-quarter subscriber growth rate at 1.5% – the lowest since the company started tracking the market in 2019. (MediaPost: 11/29/22)
NOSTALGIA IN ADS
Speaking of nostalgia … It is no secret that the past few years have been full of change and unknowns. This has led marketers to tap into consumers’ nostalgia. “Marketers this year have frequently turned the clocks back to transport people to better times.” Marketing has seen the “demand for escapism” so even as our technology continues to progress, campaigns are focusing on bringing back childhood memories. A few to note are McDonald’s teaming with Cactus Plant Flea Market to make adult-branded Happy Meals, Kraft Real Mayo partnering with Juicy Couture with their tracksuit, Oreo and Blockbuster take it back to 2007 promoting Cakesters return, and Michelob Ultra joining the 90s nostalgia as it recreated the game NBA Jam. (MarketingDive: 11/21/22)
