Feature
The Gist
- Emotional connection. The holidays evoke strong feelings, creating opportunities for brands to connect emotionally with customers and foster loyalty.
- Nostalgic influence. Holiday shopping is deeply nostalgic, with traditions and memories playing a significant role in consumer behavior.
- Stress consideration. While joyful, holidays can also be stressful; empathetic marketing can address diverse consumer experiences.
When it comes to holiday shopping, the range of emotions experienced can be as varied as the gifts people buy. For many, there's a real thrill in the hunt — the joy of finding just the right present for a loved one, coupled with the festive decorations and holiday sales, can be genuinely exhilarating. It's a time when nostalgia often plays a starring role, bringing back fond memories of past celebrations. The mere act of holiday shopping carries emotional memories, connections and feelings that can create a connection with the merchant. This article will discuss the emotional impact of holiday shopping and the connections it creates between brands and their customers.
The Joy of Gift-Giving
The holidays are a time of gift-giving, celebrations and time spent with family and friends. They are also a time when consumers are prepared to spend money. According to a 2023 Statista survey, this year overall holiday retail sales in the United States are forecast to reach about $957.3 billion. In 2022, online holiday retail sales in the U.S. totaled almost $240 billion, with the majority of money spent on Cyber Monday.
Fortunately, the act of selecting and giving the perfect gift can be profoundly gratifying on an emotional level. Psychologists suggest this stems from our deep human need to express love, strengthen bonds and bring joy to others. When we invest the time to understand someone's unique personality and carefully choose a thoughtful gift that embodies this understanding, it provides a sense of fulfillment.
Tony Mariotti, CEO at RubyHome, a luxury real estate site, told CMSWire that brands can play a significant role in holiday shopping by curating thoughtful gift ideas that align with their values and customers' preferences. "Offering unique and meaningful gift recommendations can evoke emotions of appreciation and thoughtfulness. Brands can also provide guidance on selecting the perfect gift, making the shopping process more enjoyable."
The psychology of gift-giving has been studied for many years by retailers. Giving the perfect gift represents an altruistic gesture of self-expression and empathy. Seeing the recipient open and appreciate the gift satisfies our emotional needs for connection and validation of the relationship. We relish knowing this act of love has positively impacted someone we care about. The happiness we've sparked in turn boosts our own mood and spirit. For the giver, gift-giving becomes a symbolic ritual for deepening mutual affection.
Knowing this, marketers have long capitalized on the joy of giving to sell products and services. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with this practice, as long as it avoids the mistake of turning a kind, loving, gesture into a simple commercial transaction.
Related Article: The Emotional Drivers of Customer Experience
Nostalgia and Tradition in Holiday Shopping
Holiday shopping is deeply intertwined with personal and cultural traditions, often evoking nostalgia. Holiday shopping rituals often get passed down across generations, such as always buying from the same local shops or selecting specific gifts for each family member. This evokes nostalgia for childhood holidays. Other aspects of holiday shopping, such as creating gift lists, and browsing catalogs, evoke nostalgic memories of excitement, recapturing the feeling of anticipation.
For many people, the holidays involve honoring cultural heritage through food, decor, or gift-giving traditions. Shopping for these special items elicits nostalgia for celebrations of the past. Additionally, the holidays allow people to create meaningful rituals with their own families, such as taking the kids to get their picture taken with Santa or selecting a special ornament each year.
The holidays are also a time when people remember loved ones and friends who live far away. Exchanging gifts reestablishes these distant connections. Shopping for them evokes nostalgic memories of time spent together during the holidays.
The holidays are typically filled with seasonal decorations, cheery holiday music, parties and family meals, conjuring up nostalgia for the magical feeling of the season from the past and reliving that magic. Many brands have learned to effectively tap into the feeling of nostalgia in their marketing and advertising campaigns.
Related Article: What You Should Know About Nostalgia Marketing
The Stress and Anxiety of Holiday Shopping
Although the holidays are a time of joy, giving and nostalgia for many people, they are also a time of sadness, remembrances of those who have passed away, and isolation for others. A 2021 survey from the National Alliance on Mental Illness indicated that 60% of Americans feel that their mental health is negatively impacted by the holidays. Keeping in mind that all the holiday commercials, TV shows, music, and festive decorations may be a trigger for many people, it’s important to be mindful of this aspect of the holidays in marketing and advertising.
David Gaglione, founding partner at PS212, a naming and branding agency, told CMSWire that emotions have always played a big role in making shopping decisions during the holiday season, and different emotions impact different consumers. "For example, let's consider the emotions of pain and stress: in some cases, holiday shopping turns out to be a stressful experience where the final decision is heavily impacted by marketing/advertising aimed at eliminating the pain and stress of making the right purchase,” said Gaglione. “Negative emotions have always played a big role in marketing efforts, and more often than not, the consumer makes a decision based on this primary impulse."
Many people feel rushed, hurried, anxious, and stressed at the thought of having to put up decorations, buy and prepare food, purchase gifts and put on a happy face around others. This stress can manifest in many ways, and having holiday cheer thrust into one’s face on an ongoing, constant basis can exacerbate the feelings of anxiety and stress. This is another thing to keep in mind when marketing and promoting holiday content.
Often, brands tend to send out multiple marketing emails over the holidays. While these are often productive, brands must be mindful that consumers are also receiving other marketing emails, often to the point of oversaturation. This often results in unsubscribe requests, an action that brands are not happy to see; however, they must immediately cease sending email marketing messages to those who have unsubscribed. Failure to do so can result in a loss of customer loyalty, or worse, negative feedback or reviews posted on social media.
Isaac Bullen, director of marketing at 3WH, a digital marketing agency, told CMSWire that the holiday season is particularly sensitive for various reasons for everyone. "For some, this time is about warm evenings with family and loved ones, while for others, it could be the loneliest time of the year. Often, Christmas advertising campaigns focus only on that perfect Christmas scenario — a happy family, thus forgetting all the other realistic variations." Buller said that by taking this into account, during this period, brands can successfully build a connection with their clients by genuinely understanding how their products or services can resonate with their emotions and contribute to their well-being.
Marketers should craft their messages with empathy and inclusivity, acknowledging that the holidays can be challenging for some. This approach can build a deeper connection with a wider audience, demonstrating understanding and care. Brands can acknowledge the stress of holiday preparations in marketing messages, and offer practical solutions or tips to manage holiday tasks more efficiently, such as gift guides, easy decoration ideas, or stress-free party planning.
Brands can use advertising narratives that include the diverse experiences of the holiday season. This can include stories that resonate with those who might feel isolated or are grieving, showing that they are not alone in their experiences. Brands should be cautious with imagery and language that overly idealizes the holiday season, and strive for a balance that reflects both the joy and the potential stress of the period.
Grant Aldrich, founder of Preppy, an education site, told CMSWire that sharing the brand's history, values and the people behind it can create an emotional bond. “During the holiday season, brands can craft heartwarming narratives that resonate with customers. These stories can evoke nostalgia, create a sense of belonging, and remind customers of the brand's role in their holiday traditions,” Aldrich suggested.
Related Article: Marketers: Here’s What to Know Ahead of This Holiday Shopping Season
The Digital Transformation of Holiday Shopping
The holiday season amplifies the importance of a seamless online shopping experience and why the Customer Effort Score (CES) metric is so important. While the holidays present marketers and advertisers with a myriad of opportunities to connect with their target audiences, they must keep in mind that holiday shoppers tend to spend more time browsing and searching at this time of the year, and as such, they are more likely to become aggravated or irritated when pain points present themselves.
As consumers increasingly turn to digital platforms for their holiday purchases, the need for user-friendly, intuitive, and fast-loading websites and apps becomes paramount. As such, brands must ensure that they have eliminated or minimized the potential friction points that customers may come across.
When it comes to digital transformation, personalization and customization play pivotal roles. Using data analytics and AI, brands can offer customers tailored product recommendations and personalized gift guides. This level of customization not only enhances the shopping experience but also aids consumers in making quicker and more satisfying purchase decisions. By addressing individual preferences and needs, brands can create a more engaging and relevant shopping journey for each customer.
A streamlined checkout process is also crucial in converting browsing into actual purchases. Simplifying the checkout process, providing clear shipping and return information, and offering various payment options can significantly reduce shopping cart abandonment. A smooth and transparent checkout experience not only enhances customer satisfaction but also builds trust and loyalty toward the brand.
Brand Connections and Customer Loyalty
Although there are many aspects of holiday marketing and advertising to be aware of, this time of year is when brands can create positive emotional connections with customers that improve the customer experience while enhancing customer loyalty.
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The emotional impact of holiday shopping is intricately linked to building connections with customers and fostering customer loyalty. Holidays, by their very nature, evoke strong emotions. They are times of celebration, gift-giving, and reflection. Retailers and brands can tap into these emotions to create a more resonant and meaningful shopping experience, which, in turn, can significantly enhance customer loyalty.
Personalization plays a key role in building connections. When a brand demonstrates that it understands a customer’s unique needs and preferences, especially during the emotionally charged holiday season, it strengthens the customer’s emotional connection to the brand. Personalized marketing, tailored product suggestions, and remembering past purchases can all contribute to this feeling of being valued and understood.
Aldrich said that for his brand, personalization is one of the key methods of building emotional connections. "Tailoring product recommendations, marketing messages, and even the shopping experience to each customer's preferences and past interactions can make them feel valued and understood,” said Aldrich. “Providing a personalized touch, such as handwritten holiday cards or special discounts based on their history, can go a long way in fostering loyalty."
Finally, the holiday season is a time for brands to demonstrate their corporate social responsibility (CSR). Engaging in charitable activities or promoting sustainability can resonate with customers' desire to contribute to a greater good during the holiday season. This not only enhances brand perception but also fosters a sense of shared values and community between the brand and its customers.
Shawn Plummer, CEO at The Annuity Expert, a finance site, told CMSWire that many customers are drawn to brands that support causes they care about. "Brands can align themselves with charitable organizations or social causes and involve customers in these initiatives. Donating a portion of holiday sales to a chosen cause or showcasing the positive impact the brand has on society can resonate emotionally with customers."
Final Thoughts
The holidays are an emotionally charged time, interwoven with traditions, nostalgia, and the quest for meaningful gifts. This presents an opportunity for brands to tap into these sentiments to create deeper connections with customers. By understanding both the joy and stresses of the season, personalizing experiences, integrating digital strategies, and aligning with holiday values, brands can build an emotional bond with consumers, creating a strong connection and fostering customer loyalty.
