Mobile usage is widespread among the French in their daily lives, as numerous studies have shown. With over 33.7 million mobile users daily, 90% of them connect at least once a day. This trend is now firmly embedded in our daily routines.
So, what about the Christmas period? During the holiday season, everything speeds up. Many French people will be searching for gifts and organizing their meals, making them particularly attentive. In fact, among the 89% who plan to shop online, 16% will use their phones. In addition, there are those who will use their smartphones to search for gift ideas and begin the shopping journey.
Mobile usage appears to be a great 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, SEO efforts, etc. To develop a mobile strategy, the first step is to take what already exists and tailor it for the small screen. This can involve creating online ads optimized 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, for example, you might think about launching an SMS campaign. SMS campaigns tend to 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 greatly 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 serve as a bridge between 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. Considering that only 29% of brands use them, push notifications can be an effective way to stand out.
A specific interactive progressive web app
Creating a mobile app can be complex and costly. Fortunately, there’s another solution that 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. Simpler than a full app, some brands embark on PWA projects to create a special Christmas store, reaping the many benefits of an app, such as customer support access and geolocation.
Emphasizing e-gift cards
Digital gift cards are an effective marketing tool for Christmas. Since these are digital, it makes sense to optimize 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 do their holiday shopping 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 own app, it can enable users to 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 rather seeking information, a service, or a product. To do this, they turn to a digital device, predominantly the mobile phone.
It’s crucial for brands to seize these intent-rich moments. The challenge lies in creating effective and easily discoverable content. The message itself should be clear and quickly comprehensible to stand out from the general noise that prevails during the holiday season.
Another important factor to consider is personalization. Mobile users searching for specific information often expect content that’s tailored to their needs. For instance, if someone is looking for a store with Christmas gift ideas, they’ll want to find one near their current location.
The key 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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