Don’t peak too soon is the message from Snapchat, as they reveal Black Friday isn’t the peak shopping period for half of Brits. Imagine the scenario… the turkey’s been sliced, the crackers have been pulled, and Grandad’s asleep on the sofa as the sun sets on Christmas for another 364 days. Welcome to ‘Crimbo Limbo’, that weird in-between time from Boxing Day to New Year’s Eve when no one really knows the date, time or how many calories they’ve eaten. Advertisers too, may take the chance for some downtime, dialling back campaigns once the last delivery day before Christmas passes – but new research from Snapchat shows they may be peaking too soon by winding spend down, whilst consumers report winding theirs up.
According to a nationally representative study of 2,001 British consumers, ‘Crimbo Limbo’ is often a bigger shopping season than other retail periods like Black Friday. With ad auctions and CPMs historically dropping significantly post-Christmas when Christmas gifting drops off the agenda, brands have an opportunity to capture an engaged audience for less in the run up to the New Year.
A whopping 84% of consumers say they shop more or the same amount between Christmas and New Year as on other peak retail periods like Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the January sales. The biggest shoppers at this time of year are Gen Z and Millennials, with nearly three in four Gen Z (72%) and Millennial (70%) shoppers spending more during Crimbo Limbo than other times of the year, and nine in ten spending more or the same amount (92% for both generations).
For the love of shopping
People really do love shopping, with over half (57%) saying it is one of their top three favourite activities during Crimbo Limbo, up there with relaxing at home and spending time with their friends and family. This is often because it makes them happy – with a quarter of people (25%) saying shopping and holiday sales is what makes them happy during this period, rising to 36% amongst Millennials – the highest of any generation.
Consumers are most interested in clothing during the post-Christmas sales (47%) followed by food and drink (33%), gifts (31%) and home goods (26%), suggesting the priority around this time is treating yourself, as well as loved ones. When asked “who do you spend most money on in December?” a quarter (26%) said they spend equally on gifting for friends and family as they do on themselves, rising to over a third (36%) among Millennials. When asked about when they tend to spend in December, 39% reported spending more money before Christmas, meaning well over half of Brits are spending equally if not more in the last week of the year.
What’s motivating this increase in spending?
Lots of people are looking for post-Christmas bargains (48%) and have more money to spend after getting cash gifts (25%). While special promotions top the list of motivating factors for shoppers of all ages, Gen X (53%) are more influenced than Gen Z (45%) by sales or discounts.
Consumers are shopping online and in-store during this period, but almost half (47%) of Gen Z and 42% of Millennials are more likely to shop online for their post-Christmas purchases, suggesting that digital platforms are favourable for both inspiration and purchase decision-making.
Digital platforms driving opportunities
Almost half (48%) of consumers use digital platforms more during Crimbo Limbo, including almost seven in ten Gen Z and Millennial respondents. In the lull between Christmas and New Year, younger people are interested in interactive features and virtual try-ons, with nearly two thirds (63%) of Gen Z and three in five Millennials (59%) feeling more excited about shopping thanks to these online features.
Snapchat’s latest insights highlight a golden opportunity for brands and advertisers to capitalise on an underutilised shopping period, making marketing spend more efficient. With Gen Z and Millennials leading the trend to shop more, and Snapchat’s unique reach of 90% of 13-24-year-olds and 75% of 13-34-year-olds, Crimbo Limbo highlights the significant potential for retail engagement, particularly on Snapchat, connecting brands with shoppers looking for inspiration. With many embracing interactive experiences, the period creates a dynamic space for advertisers to boost engagement and sales.
At this time of year, brands can often forget that important downtime post Christmas when people are still very much in a spending mindset – and with Christmas shopping out of the way, they often have more time and are online looking to treat themselves. Combined, Gen Z and Millennial shoppers hold over $4.4 trillion in spending power globally so with more of them shopping on digital platforms after Christmas, the Crimbo Limbo period should be considered an integral peak opportunity for advertisers to reach consumers ready to be inspired, and to shop!
– Bridget Lea, VP & UK General Manager, Snapchat
