'Tis the Season for Driving Profitability

Holiday 2024 Overview

The good news is, inflation is cooling in the U.S., according to the Department of Commerce. However, the aftereffects of inflation continue to squeeze margins, leaving brands with the challenge of driving top-line growth in a tough economic environment.

Meanwhile, consumers are planning to spend less and save where they can. According to a survey from Transunion, 36 percent of households intend to spend less on retail. Additionally, a report from Vericast showed that 66 percent of those planning to host holiday parties this year, are looking to save as much money as possible.

So brands can successfully navigate these headwinds, this guide provides the latest benchmark data, trends and predictions for for generating new demand and driving profitability during Holiday 2024 and into the New Year.

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Veeral Shah of Nestlé on adapting to evolving consumer trends and retail dynamics

"As we think about innovation, innovation doesn't always have to be that new disruptive innovation. But, a lot of innovation today in the world of inflation, in the world of strategic revenue management, and figuring out how we can offset some of that without taking price increase after price increase is really thinking strategically about our products, the packaging, the sizes, the different flavors and what makes sense."

Spend Trends

Basket sizes are shrinking as consumers feel the aftershocks of inflation

Since 2022, Basket Sizes have become smaller each year, meaning consumers are buying fewer items per online shopping trip.

Now, more than ever, it is important to continue moving your supply. Partner with an eCommerce analytics software like MikMak to find real-time efficiencies in your strategy.

Channel Performance Insights

Despite headwinds, leading brands are increasing ad spend

According to the latest dentsu Global Ad Spend Forecasts, advertising spend is estimated to increase 5.0 percent globally this year. Quarter-over-Quarter, MikMak has seen a 34 percent increase in eCommerce media traffic. Where are brands spending that money?

Brands show the biggest lifts in investment across Social Commerce and Shoppable Video YoY

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Sucharita Kodali of Forrester on the financial future of ecommerce

“Any time when the rest of the market is doing badly, if you're in a position, if you're financially able to invest, it's a great time to gain share. This is what a lot of companies learned during the pandemic that it was a time to gain market share. And you can find bargains in the media world because nobody's spending. So it's a buyer's market.”

Purchase Intent Clicks:

The number of times a shopper has clicked through to at least one retailer during a single session

Commerce Load:

The number of times a MikMak Commerce Experience is opened

Brands see the highest Purchase Intent Rates on MikMak Commerce-enabled Brand Websites

Purchase Intent Rate:

The number of times a shopper has clicked through to at least one retailer during a single session

MikMak Commerce for Brand Websites

MikMak Commerce for Brand Websites provides the easiest implementation of omnichannel where-to-buy solutions, complete with customizable templates, filtering options and a wide array checkout options from the industry's biggest online and in-store retailer network.

Brands continue to invest in Meta; TikTok shows growth despite potential ban in the U.S.

As our data shows, brands invest in social more than any other channel type. This aligns with research from our partners at Bazaarvoice, which showed that 59 percent of shoppers prefer social media for product discovery. Here’s what MikMak found specifically about social:

Rachel Tipograph, MikMak CEO, speaks on recent earnings on Bloomberg Technology

Meta sees the highest likelihood of conversion, compared to other social channels

Retailer Landscape

Walmart is the top retailer; Instacart continues to grow

According to EMarketer, Walmart is the top retailer, based on sales, in the U.S. MikMak sees this as well, with 38.2 percent of Purchase Intent Clicks being driven to Walmart.

MikMak has also recently reported on Instacart’s growth over the years, showing that consumers value the convenience of last-mile delivery. Offering these options can help drive last-minute sales before the holidays this year.

According to the NRF, online and non-store sales are expected to increase between 7 and 9 percent in 2024, which is 4.5 to 5.5 percent more than they forecast overall sales to grow. Empowering consumers to discover your products and checkout at their preferred retailer is instrumental to sales in today’s landscape.

Channel x Retailer Mix by Category

Seasonal Dynamics & Key Dates

The two weeks before the Christmas holiday are expected to see the most eCommerce traffic

Looking at last year, the two weeks leading up to Christmas saw the most traffic, while Purchase Intent Rates (a metric MikMak uses to measure a consumers’ likelihood to convert) were highest earlier in the season. This year, with Thanksgiving later in the year, shoppers will have a shorter time frame to shop and take advantage of Black Friday and last-minute deals.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the top purchasing days across categories

Beauty, Personal Care, and Alcohol are more likely to be purchased in the evening; Grocery and Toys in the afternoon

Best Practices

With the 2024 Holiday Season approaching quickly, now is the time for brands to strategically enhance their digital presence to drive profitability. Now that we’ve looked at the insights, here are some best practices to help your brand optimize the holiday shopping experience, boost conversions, and secure long-term growth.

Leverage eCommerce enablement and analytics

Enable Shoppable Media with a partner like MikMak. When your consumer is interested in a product, the shortest path to purchase is through their preferred retailer. Every step outside of the intended path to purchase opens up opportunities for your competitors to intervene.

Get close to the data by utilizing platforms like MikMak for comprehensive eCommerce enablement and analytics to seamlessly manage multichannel retail strategies and gain actionable insights. By gathering and leveraging first-party data, brands can enhance marketing effectiveness, personalize the shopping experience, and ultimately drive profitability.

MikMak Insights: Custom Report Builder

Improve marketing effectiveness by building custom reports with all of the desired metrics, dimensions, and filters you want, directly in the MikMak Insights platform.

Continue to invest in your brand, smartly

Keep spending. With basket sizes smaller and consumers aiming to spend less, the current economic backdrop emphasizes the need for brands to look for efficiencies in their marketing and media spend. The brands that can keep investing despite this backdrop will gain share and withstand the test of time.

Diversify Ad Spend across various channels and stay informed about potential regulatory changes. Adopting more transparent and data-driven retail media strategies will be essential.

Maximize your brand’s social commerce opportunities. Continue investing, particularly on platforms like Meta and TikTok, where there is significant potential for growth and consumer engagement.

MikMak Commerce for Retail Media

Optimize for retail media. Bypass the landing page and lead shoppers straight from your ad to the retailer PDP of your choosing, reducing the number of clicks a shopper makes, while still collecting all the same data and insights expected from MikMak.

MikMak Commerce for Retail Media provides consistent and real-time reporting of retailer-specific performance data alongside national media investments including paid search, influencer media, display, video and more; empowering brands with the information needed to properly adjust and scale their retail media strategy.

Enhance shopper convenience with strategic partnerships:

Tap into Quick Commerce and last-mile delivery options. This year, MikMak observed a significant rise in consumer demand for services like Instacart. By incorporating last-mile delivery options like Instacart and Doordash into your media and brand websites, you enhance the shopping experience.

Strengthen retailer relationships. Keep a close eye on where your products are most popular and direct traffic to the best-performing retail partners, ensuring higher conversion rates. Consider using tools like MikMak Custom Retailer Allocation to achieve this. You can also use proprietary, retailer-specific consumer insights from MikMak in joint planning discussions to unlock shelf space and media value

MikMak is the first eCommerce enablement and analytics platform to integrate directly with DoorDash

MikMak launches first-of-its-kind integration for brands, enhancing shopper convenience and providing closed-loop sales attribution.

Activate DoorDash as a buying option in all media and brand websites, allowing convenient and agile delivery
Gain closed-loop DoorDash sales attribution data and shopper insights
Access DoorDash’s retail partner network of 1,000+ retailers with 84,000+ store locations in the United States, Canada, and Australia

Learn more about our latest product enhancements.

Implement scalable tools and platforms for efficiency, globally

Save time and money companywide. One easy-to-use global platform like MikMak, complete with full-service and self-service tools, automatically enables consistent reporting and fast decision-making across the entire organization. Our platform empowers you to build, design, and customize eCommerce websites and media experiences, all backed by MikMak’s best-in-class global retail network, inventory data, and sales attribution.

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Nuno Pedro of the Mark Anthony Group on Innovation in the Beverage Industry

“MikMak has been an instrumental partner throughout our digital transformation, especially across the IT, Marketing, Product, and eCommerce teams here at Mark Anthony Group. We’re an agile organization that moves fast, so one of the main reasons we chose to partner with MikMak over other providers is that they're constantly innovating, and this product release is another example of just that.”

Evolve your brand to thrive in the “Commerce Intelligence Era”

As Gen Z turns 30 in 2025 and gains buying power, brands must adapt to stay competitive by using digital commerce intelligence and first-party consumer insights. MikMak provides access to real-time data on consumer shopping behavior, allowing you to optimize your campaigns effectively.

Know the latest tips, tricks and trends for reaching Gen Z this holiday season

Offer Discounts. According to Bazaarvoice, Gen Z is the most likely to say they are more likely to purchase a holiday product online when the website provides them with a discount code, at 67 percent of respondents surveyed.
Use AI as a tool, not a replacement. The survey further showed that Gen Z is the most likely to say they’ve seen AI-generated content on social media at 67 percent. However, even though Gen Z was the most likely to care if a brand posted something completely AI-generated during the holiday season (38 percent said yes), they’re also the most likely group to say AI usage has at least somewhat of a positive impact on purchasing from that brand, at 37 percent.
Gen Z prefers highly personalized, interactive content. Bazaarvoice’s findings showed that Gen Z is the generation most likely to seek out creator content on social media during the holidays, at 17 percent. The research also shows that Gen Z is most likely to make impulse purchases. Gen Z finds personalized content more engaging during the holiday season (at 54 percent), and will be more likely to interact with a brand during the holidays if they are prompted to do so; this primarily includes the use of polls, giveaways, and interactive posts

Download Bazaarvoice's Sleigh The Holiday Season

All data and insights from this guide are sourced from the MikMak Shopping Index

The MikMak Shopping Index was developed to provide a standardized set of metrics, methodology, and benchmarks to help drive brands’ business results and strategy. It is a collection of key eCommerce KPIs collected across hundreds of brands and over 250 channels and more than 7,000+ retailer integrations to understand consumer online shopping behavior.

Data used in this report ranges from 01/01/2023 - 08/09/2024

'Tis the Season for Driving Profitability

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