Experian Releases New Study on 2012 Holiday Shopping Trends

Nov 19, 2012 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- Experian Marketing Services projects a positive outlook for the 2012 holiday season, based on data from client polling and Experian-owned index sources. Specifically, two-thirds of all marketers surveyed are anticipating 2012 sales to be higher or much higher than in 2011.

The study showed that the importance of online shopping is now at a premium for marketers, as 2011 marked the first time Cyber Monday surpassed Black Friday as the biggest online shopping day of the year — surging from 138 million visits to 177 million visits to Experian Marketing Services' Retail 500 Index, a custom category of 500 leading retail Websites. Experian Hitwise data also showed significant growth in visits to retail sites on the day after Christmas as consumers took advantage of post holiday discounts and offers.

The top digital tactics marketers plan to employ this holiday season to engage consumers include email marketing, "text to join" programs, loyalty programs, retail address captures, and engaging customers in store with live Twitter and Facebook feeds. Another critical development this year will be the use of Pinterest in driving traffic to shopping sites. This year, 71 percent of marketers say they will invest in their Pinterest boards for the holiday season, compared with 30.2 percent who used them in 2011.

This year marketers can expect to see firsthand the evolution of mobile devices into interactive marketing tools that will have a tremendous impact on the 2012 holiday season as retailers utilize flash sale deals and establish online communities. Mobile-optimized Websites are expected to become far more popular as a marketing tool this year.

"Marketers' outlook for the 2012 holiday season is positive, according to our study," said Bill Tancer, head of global research at Experian Marketing Services. "To maximize their interaction with eager holiday shoppers, marketers will need to focus on providing a personalized and dynamic customer experience to remain relevant. Implementing loyalty programs and in-store experiences through social media and email will yield additional possibilities for marketers to engage with consumers this season." The full Holiday Marketer Report is available for free download at the Experian Marketing Services Website, and marketers also can listen to a prerecorded 30-minute Holiday Marketing Webinar. Additional holiday marketing content can be found on the company's Marketing Forward blog, which serves as the destination for a wide array of direct-marketing insight, consumer trends and marketing strategies from Experian Marketing Services.

Experian Marketing Services delivers customer data and insight, digital-marketing technologies and data management services into multiple regions around the globe.

Experian is a global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients around the world.

More information: www.experian.com/marketingservices ((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

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