How to use mobile in your Christmas strategy?

Numerous studies have shown that mobile usage is widespread among the French in their daily lives. With over 33.7 million mobile users daily, 90% connect at least once daily. This trend is now firmly embedded in our daily routines.

What about the Christmas period? During the holiday season, everything speeds up. Many French people will search for gifts and organise their meals, making them particularly attentive. In fact, among the 89% who plan to shop online, 16% will use their phones. In addition, some will use their smartphones to search for gift ideas and begin the shopping journey.

Mobile usage is an excellent opportunity for additional traffic and increased revenue for Christmas.

Adapting your strategy for mobile

Brands and retailers may already have a well-established online strategy for Christmas, including email campaigns, online advertising, and SEO efforts... The first step to developing a mobile strategy is to tailor what already exists for the small screen. This can involve creating online ads optimised for mobile, monitoring mobile SEO performance, and adjusting email formats to ensure readability on smartphones.

Additionally, consider the unique aspects of mobile devices. In addition to email campaigns, you might think about launching an SMS campaign. SMS campaigns perform well and allow for multiple touchpoints with your target audience.

Having a mobile app

Having a mobile app for Christmas presents an opportunity for brands. Besides being an additional touchpoint, it dramatically enhances the mobile experience and can foster customer loyalty.

While web browsing is still prevalent on mobile devices, apps offer advantages by enabling access to the phone’s features, such as GPS, NFC, camera, and more. This enriches the user experience, especially since mobile apps can bridge the digital and physical worlds.

For example, someone in a physical store can use their app to scan a product and get more information about it.

Another example is push notifications. They have a 90% open rate with a conversation rate four times higher than other channels. Why? With geolocation, consumers receive app notifications at the right time. Push notifications can stand out because only 29% of brands use them.

A specific interactive progressive web app

Creating a mobile app can be complex and costly. Fortunately, another solution falls between a website and a full-fledged app: a Progressive Web App (PWA). PWAs are neither extensions of a website nor apps that need to be downloaded from an app store. They leverage native app functionalities while remaining accessible through web browsers.

PWAs are particularly appealing for ephemeral campaigns that proliferate during Christmas. More straightforward than a full app, some brands embark on PWA projects to create a unique Christmas store, reaping the many benefits of an app, such as customer support access and geolocation.

Emphasising e-gift cards

Digital gift cards are an effective marketing tool for Christmas. Since these are digital, it makes sense to optimise them for mobile devices to facilitate their registration. A mobile-friendly gift card allows consumers to quickly make purchases through their devices or visit physical stores to redeem them.

Consider the following scenario: a brand offers a limited-time digital gift card as part of a Christmas campaign, encouraging customers to shop with the brand. If users can easily register it on their mobile devices, it encourages spending and generates additional revenue.

If the brand has a mobile app, allowing users to register the gift card directly on it can be advantageous. This enables push notifications to promote its use. For example, notifications can be sent to remind users of the card’s expiration date or to encourage them to use the gift card if they haven’t already.

If the brand doesn’t have its app, users can register their gift cards in mobile wallet apps. Users can check their card balances, and brands can send geolocation-based push notifications through these wallets.

Leveraging micro-moments

Embracing mobile also means embracing micro-moments. These micro-instants happen increasingly throughout a consumer’s day, typically when an internet user has a specific query and wants immediate information. For instance, when someone is looking for a nearby restaurant, searching for the best Christmas gift ideas, or planning to buy shoes. They aren’t necessarily looking for a particular brand but seeking information, a service, or a product. To do this, they turn to a digital device, predominantly the mobile phone.

Brands must seize these intent-rich moments. The challenge lies in creating effective and easily discoverable content. The message should be clear and comprehensible to stand out from the general noise during the holiday season.

Another essential factor to consider is personalisation. Mobile users searching for specific information often expect content tailored to their needs. For instance, someone looking for a store with Christmas gift ideas will want to find one near their current location.

The critical questions for brands and retailers are whom to target, on which specific queries they can assist, in which geographic areas, at what times of day, and what content these users are looking for.

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