The home stretch of this holiday shopping season is upon us, and now may be the best time for your current and prospective clients to do some serious advertising. While spending may have been somewhat evenly spread out since the spike on Black Friday, there's major, concentrated spending about to start and it's up to you to help your advertisers get a piece of the action.
According to the Consumer Reports National Research Center (yes, the Consumer Reports people), in recent years nearly one-quarter of shoppers surveyed said they wouldn't complete their holiday shopping until December 23rd and later. And 5% said they planned to finish their shopping after Christmas. With money so tight for consumers this year, odds are there are even more holding off as long as they can before spending their limited dollars.
So, don't let your prospective advertisers tell you that most people are done shopping after this weekend. They're not. Explain that 24% of your readership will still be shopping after the 23rd.
If they say their past experience has taught them to not even bother advertising the last week before Christmas, take a look at the ads they ran last year that led them to that conclusion. Without running the right size, frequency, and content, even the biggest spending days can seem slow for an advertiser.
Ads that work well in these last few days usually contain lots of prices and items and a strong discount in the headline. If possible, include a wide range of prices as well. One jewelry store recently said they were focusing on items $20 and under, which he claims were selling like there was no tomorrow.
