We know that many online sellers will be only too pleased to put their holiday settings on and shut up shop for Christmas, but there will be others working through the holiday period and, for those staying open for Christmas, this is a time to take full advantage of shoppers with no work and nothing better to do than some online shopping.
It is inevitable that once the presents are opened and Christmas lunch is done that, with Christmas TV being the inevitable repeats, smartphones and tablets will be coming out and online shopping till take place.
New insights from eBay Advertising UK reveal an overlooked opportunity to engage with time-rich consumers in what they’ve dubbed the ‘Chrimbo limbo’ period between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Daily searches on eBay UK climbed 62% in the three days following 25th December last year and remained consistently high for the final days of 2018 – highlighting an additional retail moment for brands to add to their (post-advent) calendars.
According to eBay data, shoppers left disappointed by their package of presents come out in force as they switch to selfish mode and hunt down gifts for themselves that they didn’t receive. In 2018, selfish shopping kicked off on Christmas Day itself, with daily searches on eBay UK for ‘Xbox’ jumping 71% overnight and rising a further 31% on Boxing day. Likewise, searches for ‘iPhone’ and ‘Mulberry Handbag’ surged 70% and 85% respectively on the 25th of December and rose a further 22% and 33% the following day.
The data also reveals a cohort of ‘left it too late’ shoppers, who are still searching for gifts after Santa has been and gone – whether that’s down to disorganisation or simply taking advantage of the Boxing Day sales. In 2018, searches for ‘Christmas’ on eBay UK shot up by almost half (47%) in the three days after Christmas, compared to the three days before. Women are the primary culprit during this time, accounting for a 63% rise in searches for the keyword compared to a 26% increase in searches made by men.
“As they relax at home in the days between Christmas and New Year, Brits are truly in the shopping mood – whether they search for great gifts for themselves, their friends and family, or simply browse for purchases for the New Year. But, while this is a brilliant opportunity for brands to engage with time-rich consumers, they need to be really strategic. Armed with smart behavioural insights, brands can better understand the fluctuations in shopping interests and motivations throughout December – and work out how to reach consumers with the most relevant message when it counts.”
– Mike Klinkhammer, Director of Advertising Sales EU, eBay
If you are staying open for Christmas then consider upping your advertising over this period. eBay Promoted listing campaigns are something that you can set up now before Christmas to run from the 25th of December through to the new year. Not only will the selfish shopping be taking place, but bear in mind New Year’s resolutions and consider bidding for anything from fitness to smart watches and diaries to desk planners.
“As these new insights demonstrate, the week after Christmas is an important additional retail ‘moment’ for marketers to focus on. While brands battle for consumer attention in the busy build up to Christmas, there’s a good argument to be made to stagger spend throughout December and hold back some budget for the post-Christmas period.”
– Pauline Robson, Managing Partner, MediaCom
