Understanding Consumer Behavior Shifts During the Festive Season
As we approach the most competitive and lucrative time of the year – the festive season – brands and businesses are gearing up for holiday marketing initiatives. This period is marked by a surge in consumer spending as people embark on a shopping spree. The year-end season, with its eagerly anticipated holiday shopping, presents a prime opportunity for businesses to maximize festive season sales. Despite our best efforts at planned spending, the festive season often becomes a time of indulgence, making it crucial for brands to align with the evolving consumer behaviour during this period.
Several factors contribute to the upswing in spending during the festive season, including:
The Urge to Splurge: Understanding Impulsive Buying Behavior
In times like these, the “urge to splurge” becomes prevalent, signifying the tendency to purchase items that are not necessarily essential—essentially, engaging in impulsive buying. Some psychologists posit that this inclination to buy impulsively is linked to a desire for a sense of empowerment and an effort to boost self-esteem.
Research indicates that individuals experience a sense of accomplishment when discovering an exceptional deal. Holidays, characterized by a general uplift in mood, are prime times for people to indulge in activities that bring joy, such as acquiring new possessions. During festive seasons, there is a notable uptick in both the frequency and amount of purchases people make, reflecting an increased willingness to spend.
Christmas and New Year Offers and Discounts
For many holiday shoppers, the allure of a good offer surpasses brand loyalty. The festive season provides a prime opportunity for consumers to capitalize on substantial discounts on their purchases, coupled with enticing incentives such as complimentary gifts, free shipping, and other bonus items. As a result, individuals meticulously sift through numerous deals, selecting those that appear most advantageous.
Throughout the holiday season, consumers are inundated with mega offers and sales promotions across various online platforms and traditional advertising channels like television and radio. Leveraging the human tendency to capitalize on advantageous situations, these promotions and discounts serve as powerful motivators for increased purchasing. The fear of missing out (FOMO) plays a significant role, as nobody wants to pass up the chance to acquire their favourite items at unbelievably discounted prices.
The Joy of Gifting to Friends and Loved Ones
Every festival marks a special occasion for celebrating with loved ones. As we delve into the holiday season, especially in the months of November and December, the focus shifts towards the act of gift-giving. It’s a time when we invest in thoughtful presents for our friends, family, and loved ones, providing us with a profound sense of fulfillment and love. This tradition contributes to an increased demand for gift items, fostering a culture of heightened spending during this festive period.
Gen X and Baby Boomers Embracing Mobile and Online Marketing Trends
The COVID-19 era has prompted a significant shift towards increased reliance on technology, notably observed among millennials and baby boomers. According to a recent Facebook report, approximately 50% of baby boomers and 72% of Gen X reported spending more time on their mobile devices during the pandemic. While the online trend was already in motion, the COVID-19 era accelerated it. Globally, an average of 85% of people now shop online, with a noteworthy 80% of this group consisting of baby boomers and Gen X. As these demographics dedicate more time to online shopping, this trend is expected to persist and flourish, particularly as the festive season approaches.
Here are some tips to make the most of spending during these seasons:
Budgeting
A good step toward optimizing our spend during these festive seasons is to create a budget indicating how much you wish to spend. Here you set a spending limit for yourself, for example one can decide that you will only spend within 50% of your regular monthly income. This way you can get to enjoy the festivities without straining your finances in anticipation of the coming year. You can make sure that you are fully and constantly aware of the actual amount you must spend during the holiday, and how much you are expected to have in your accounts after the festive spending as stay well within your plan and budget. Kowri, the app to look out for has features that could help you monitor and limit your spending. With their spending limit features, a wide variety of vendors and constant updates and reminders that help keep you in check.
Comparing Prices to Get the Best Deals
It is important that you be patient and compare prices to get the best deals. It is suggested that you check out prices across the e-commerce platform, compare them with their respective terms and conditions to help in making informed choices and avoid overpaying. Looking at festive discounts from the customer’s perspective might seem beneficial at first but we should take a closer look at the terms and conditions which we so often overlook. With some of our fast-rising Ghanaian apps like Kowri, you can compare the offers and price from your variety of vendors and select the best offer that suits you. This way, you can track your expenses and still enjoy the Christmas season.
Hide your Debit and Credit Cards – Use Apps instead
This tip or suggestion might come across as hilarious but it is a very critical part of the Christmas spending matrix. We normally make payments and purchases using our Credit cards. And hence during this Christmas season when we are tempted to overspend, it is important to keep our credit cards very much out of sight as much as possible. Rather it is advised that we make use of apps which will give us access to a real time detailed summary of our spends. That way we can on a daily basis trace and track what you bought or spent money on over a one- or two-day period with a view to limiting or checking our spending limit in the subsequent days. And it is important to not feel the impulsive need to exhaust the monies on our debit or credit cards due to peer pressure or because the card is readily available. Having a reliable app like Kowri, makes you almost forget that you have a debit or credit card. And in addition to your benefit, you can easily and seamlessly track what you spent money on, and plan how you want to spend the rest of your money without going broke for the dreaded month of January.
The holiday season this year is going to be slightly different with the setting in of these factors. And as more people turn to online options, digital marketing has become more relevant and more dominant. Hence, the need for the hour is to become more digitally sound and savvy so that we can take our holiday shopping to the next level which is why apps like Kowri seek to help you track and optimize your spending whilst allowing you enjoy yourself with friends and family during this Christmas season.
Have a blissful Christmas……
