Paid Search: Clicks, Christmas, and Conversions

[mandy]

2 related articles on Paid CPC search and holiday shopping:

We see a steady march upwards in clicks starting Oct 1, with two noteworthy peaks: the first on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, and the second on December 10, which was the peak of the online holiday shopping period in 2007. We may see something a bit different this year, since there are 5 fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Furthermore, given the current economic situation, consumers are likely to be hunting for bargains, so holiday sales of excess inventory may well kick in earlier than normal. Both of these facts suggest that merchants should get an early start on planning their 2008 holiday ad campaigns...

full article: http://googleretail.blogspot.com/2008/10...-2008.html

Finally, in thinking about the 2008 winter holiday season, here's what we know:

  1. Both research and shopping will start early this year: 31% of consumers plan to start holiday shopping and research before Halloween and a majority (57%) will start before Thanksgiving.1 Therefore, the shopping has already begun...is your marketing strategy ensuring that your brand is top of mind throughout the entire research-purchase process and making it into the consideration set early on?
  2. Consumers will spend more time looking for deals: 43% of consumers say they plan to spend more time this year shopping around for gifts because of the current state of the economy.1 Consumers are taking the time to research the right purchase...Brands will need to focus on having a strong presence and clearly expressing their value proposition to guarantee inclusion in the consideration set.
  3. There are 5 fewer shopping days this year, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, than last year: This is when the peak of conversions happen; therefore, retailers need to be wary of the tightened timeline and put strategies in place to lessen the crunch, by urging consumers to start purchasing before Thanksgiving! ...

full article: http://googleretail.blogspot.com/2008/10...rends.html