The most wonderful time of the year is upon us and the big question on advertisers’ minds is what’s in store for the holiday shopping season. The past months have seen consumers feeling the pinch from surging inflation rates, but with the economy now stabilizing, how will they be approaching the upcoming holiday season? To dig into this important question, we partnered with global research firm Harris X to survey more than 2,500 U.S. adults about their holiday shopping plans.

The insights from our 2023 Holiday Report highlight just how important it is for advertisers to ensure ROAS for every holiday campaign dollar, with many shoppers no longer available via traditional platforms. Advertisers who strategically connect with their audiences across every platform and screen will be well positioned to win consumer dollars. 

Read on for key tips and takeaways for marketers to apply to their 2023 holiday strategy, and for a deeper dive download the full report.

 
1. With millennials planning to spend the most of any age group this season, target them directly with holiday dollars

As millennials age up and take on a new role as parents, they plan to spend an average of $1,474 this holiday season - exceeding any other age group by more than $600. Target them directly using Samba TV audiences and find ways to reach them across the content they are consuming. Samba data has shown that millennials love holiday streaming movies, over-indexing across Netflix releases like Santa Camp and Falling for Christmas.

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2. Embrace an omniscreen strategy that incorporates social, CTV, and linear, all of which are places that people get ideas for gifts

For the first time, social media surpassed family & friends as the number one place people draw gift ideas. To maximize reach and stickiness, it’s essential for advertisers to hit target audiences across all of the platforms they engage with, ensuring TV ads are complemented with social messaging. It’s also essential for advertisers to measure the true reach and frequency of their campaigns to ensure the platforms they use reach target groups effectively. 

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3. To take advantage of last minute shopping habits, advertisers should heavy-up retargeting during the weeks after Thanksgiving  

Last minute shopping is in this year, making Black Friday and Cyber Monday more important than ever. With over half of people planning to wait until after Thanksgiving to begin their shopping, advertisers should heavy up during the crucial weeks after Thanksgiving. Samba data has shown that affluent audiences watch programming surrounding Thanksgiving, like the Macy’s Day Parade, making viewers of those specials a good audience to retarget on digital and CTV.

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4. With price remaining an extremely important factor in choosing where to shop and shoppers looking for deals for themselves, use creatives that promote cost-effectiveness

On top of gifting and giving, the holiday season also means deals for oneself. For the first time, shoppers plan to spend more on themselves than their significant others this year, and just a few dollars less than they plan to spend on children. Ensure that creative messaging promotes deals to entice budget-conscious consumers shopping for themselves. 

5. Ensure direct call-to-actions in your CTV messaging to drive immediate action from consumers online shopping while watching TV

​​Watching TV doesn’t just mean watching TV these days. When holiday shoppers watch TV they are frequently multitasking on their phones, and with a device in hand, they are just clicks away from measurable outcomes. In particular, millennials are likely to make purchases on their phones (85% have done so) and engage with emerging technologies like QR codes shown on TV ads. 

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