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The holiday season in 2024 is shaping up to be bigger than EVER.
An analysis by Emarketer forecasts 2024 holiday retail sales at $1.353 trillion, growing 4.8% YoY—a clear indicator of the excitement in the air. For brands, this isn’t just an opportunity; it’s a call to action.
How do you stand out in the busiest shopping season of the year? By crafting campaigns that don’t just sell but resonate—campaigns that create moments, memories, and connections.
In this piece, we explore the dominant festive season marketing trends fueling the surge in holiday spending and provide action-oriented strategies to create marketing campaigns that capture attention and drive meaningful, measurable results.
The current landscape of holiday shopping
Before we dive into the holiday marketing campaign strategies that can help you leave a mark, here’s a look at the critical trends influencing the season:
Early shopping is the trend: Shoppers are diving into holiday shopping earlier than ever, with many planning to wrap up purchases even before November. Deloitte reports that 45% of shoppers aim to browse and buy early, a trend partly influenced by the shorter gap between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Focus on value-driven spending: Economic uncertainty and inflation are steering shoppers toward value-focused decisions. While 26% of consumers plan to spend more, nearly 29% intend to cut back, often switching brands or retailers for better deals.
The rise of omnichannel: The blend of online and in-store shopping continues to dominate. While online shopping remains a go-to, physical stores play a significant role in offering festive vibes and holiday-specific items. Shoppers increasingly jump between channels, highlighting the need for seamless experiences across touchpoints.
Prioritizing experiences: Gifting trends are shifting toward experiences over material items. Consumers gravitate toward unique holiday moments, such as event tickets, travel packages, or interactive in-store experiences like workshops and live events.
Gen Z’s growing impact: Gen Z is emerging as a significant driver of holiday spending. Their budget has grown 59% over the past two years, and they’re emphasizing sustainability, self-gifting, and authentic, experience-driven purchases.
QR Codes are in action: QR Codes are becoming an indispensable part of the holiday shopping journey. From sharing product information and exclusive deals to creating interactive content and facilitating checkout, they offer a convenient way to enhance engagement and drive sales.
Balancing innovation with basics: While innovation and trends capture attention, the fundamentals still hold weight. Reliable delivery, smooth online shopping, and excellent customer service are essential for creating a hassle-free experience that shoppers can trust.
Holiday marketing tips for a successful campaign in 2024
Start early to build momentum
As mentioned, consumers start shopping earlier every year, so you might also want to get an early head start in planning and launching your campaign. The sooner you launch, the better your chances of grabbing eyeballs before your competitors flood the market.
Look back at your 2023 festive marketing efforts—what worked, what didn’t? Use those insights to create a more effective strategy for 2024. Reflecting on past efforts will give you a leg up as you plan your next big move.
IKEA, for example, got a head start on the holiday spirit by launching their 2024 Christmas Collection well before Halloween, catering to an audience that likes to plan and shop early for the festive season.
Optimize for fast fulfillment and customer service
As the BCG report mentions, the basics of holiday shopping—fast shipping, convenient checkout, and responsive customer service—remain non-negotiable. As you gear up for high demand, using QR Codes can streamline your operations. Here’s how:
- Simplify tracking for customers: Use QR Codes on packages to allow customers to scan and instantly track their orders. It minimizes inquiries and keeps customers informed.
- Speed up returns: Include QR Codes in receipts or packaging for fast and easy returns. Scanning the code can guide customers to return portals or specific return instructions.
- Enhance in-store pickup: Use QR Codes to verify curbside or in-store pickup orders, eliminating manual checks and speeding up the process for both customers and staff.
- Streamline customer support: Direct customers to support pages, FAQs, or chatbots with QR Codes. They can quickly find the help they need without waiting on hold.
- Enable one-click reorders: Add QR Codes on packaging for reordering popular products, making repeat purchases quick and convenient.
Integrating QR Codes into your fulfillment strategy can help deliver speed and convenience, ensuring a smoother shopping experience during the holiday rush.
Craft emotional campaigns that connect
Holidays are all about emotions. So naturally, tapping into themes such as family, nostalgia, and generosity would work when it comes to wooing your audience. Think about how Coca-Cola’s 2023 ‘The World Needs More Santas’ campaign inspired audiences with themes of goodwill and generosity while emphasizing one of their core brand values: kindness.
One way to make your campaign stand out is to focus on how your product or service can enhance the holiday experience. Try telling stories that resonate emotionally with your audience, using visuals and messaging that reflect holiday warmth. This strategy will help you create stronger bonds with your audience, helping your brand stand out in a crowded holiday market.
Create engaging in-store experiences
For offline stores, your physical space must scream “holiday,” adding to the holistic customer experience. Whether transforming the ambiance with decorations or creating immersive experiences like virtual try-ons, ensure your store offers something that online shopping can’t replicate.
💡Pro Tip: Enhance the in-store shopping journey with QR Codes
Use QR Codes in-store to connect the physical and digital worlds. Position them in highly visible, easily scannable spots and link to online promotions, exclusive product information, or additional resources. This can help create a smoother, more engaging shopping experience for your customers.
Create festive content and packaging that resonate
Holiday-themed content is your ticket to top-of-the-mind recall during the festive season.
Whether through videos, blogs, social media posts, or even product packaging, this approach highlights how your products bring joy and magic to holiday celebrations. Focus on creating content that evokes the season’s warmth, excitement, and togetherness while smoothly integrating your brand’s message.
Starbucks nails this every year with its iconic holiday campaigns. Think coffee trees growing, beans roasting, cups toasting, and lights glowing. Their festive red cups don’t just hold coffee—they deliver the joy, nostalgia, and anticipation of the holiday season to customers and partners alike.
🧠 Did you know you can design custom QR Codes to match your holiday branding?
A festive touch on your QR Codes ties together your marketing materials and adds a memorable, personal touch that stands out in your campaigns. Check out our beautiful QR Code frames that get customers to want to scan them.
Focus on a user-friendly website
Even though omnichannel shopping is growing, your website is still at the heart of your online presence. A fast, mobile-friendly website can make or break your holiday sales. Make sure your website is easy to navigate, loads quickly, and works smoothly on mobile devices.
🧠 Did you know you can create a landing page for your holiday sale without a website?
If you are a small business with no website, consider creating standalone landing pages for your holiday marketing campaign. Uniqode’s Linkpage feature lets you design, launch, and share custom landing pages without needing a website, hosting, or domain. Here’s how to do it in just a few steps:
- Log in to your Uniqode dashboard and create a new Linkpage
- Add your content (links, widgets, images, etc.)
- Customize your page’s background, buttons, and branding
- Fine-tune your settings and launch your page
Use technology to appeal to younger audiences
Since Gen Z is all about innovation, grabbing their attention means focusing on tech-driven, interactive and engaging holiday marketing ideas during your campaign.
Consider things like shoppable Instagram posts, AR filters, AI image editor or interactive live events that allow users to engage with your brand in real time. QR Codes are another example of how you can integrate technology into your strategy.
Here are some QR Code ideas to inspire your next marketing campaign.
Highlight giftable products and special offers
The holidays are centered around the spirit of gift-giving, so your holiday marketing strategy needs to highlight how your products can be the perfect present. Limited-edition bundles, seasonal packaging, or special holiday promotions can sprinkle extra festive flavor.
Consider how Cadbury’s Secret Santa initiative lets customers send free chocolate bars to loved ones to foster a spirit of sharing and surprise. Or how Pepsi transformed gifting into an interactive experience, allowing participants to send cash prizes to friends, family, or charities via social media.
💡 Pro Tip: Add QR Codes to gift guides for effortless shopping
Enrich your gift guides by integrating QR Codes that link directly to product pages or exclusive deals. Place the codes next to each item, making it simple for customers to scan and shop instantly.
Get creative with:
- Interactive bundles: Use QR Codes to showcase curated gift bundles or personalized recommendations.
- How-to videos: Link to videos showing how to use the product or creative gift-wrapping ideas.
- Special discounts: Add codes that unlock time-sensitive discounts or holiday promotions for specific products.
- Wishlist creator: Let customers scan to add items directly to their digital wishlist or cart.
Incorporate interactive campaigns and contests
Interaction drives engagement, so why not integrate a contest, quiz, or holiday challenge into your campaign? Whether asking customers to share photos of their holiday celebrations or creating a holiday-themed quiz, make it fun. Add in exciting prizes to further incentivize participation.
For example, Cutwater’s Holiday Concierge Service allowed customers to enter sweepstakes via Instagram, offering prizes like a $10,000 home bar makeover. This clever campaign drove engagement while aligning perfectly with their brand.
🧠 Did You Know you can use QR Codes to simplify contest entries?
With a quick scan, participants are instantly directed to entry forms or contest details, making it easier to enter and increasing the chances of higher participation.
Explore influencer marketing and user-generated content
Influencer marketing and user-generated content (UGC) are powerful tools for building trust, engaging with your audience and a sense of community.
Gen Z, in particular, is highly receptive to social media trends and influencer recommendations. Team up with influencers to amplify your brand message and reach this key demographic authentically.
But it doesn’t stop there—you must tap into the power of your customer base! Encourage them to share their experiences and feature their content on your platforms (a small incentive would definitely help!). UGC acts as authentic social proof that boosts engagement, builds a strong community, and enhances your brand’s credibility. You may also consider collaborating with UGC creators to scale this content effectively. It’s a win-win for both your audience and your brand!
For example, Office Depot’s Elf Yourself app became a holiday sensation, with over 92 million downloads between 2012 and 2015. The app allows users to upload their photos and see themselves as dancing elves, creating a fun, shareable experience.
Retarget your audience for more conversions
Not every shopper will buy the first time they visit. That’s where retargeting comes in. Retargeting ads can bring back potential customers who previously interacted with your brand but didn’t convert and can even improve conversion by 70%. This helps keep your brand at the top of your mind, increasing the likelihood of conversions.
💡Pro Tip: QR Codes aren’t just for acquisition—they’re also a great tool for retargeting and retention.
Is your target audience scanning your QR Code but not converting? Use Uniqode’s QR Code retargeting feature to capture prospects via Google and Facebook ads. Check out our article to learn more.
Drive excitement with limited-time bundles and offers
What’s a holiday campaign without discounts? To drive immediate action, introduce limited-time bundles or flash sales that give customers the feeling of snagging an exclusive deal. These time-sensitive offers encourage shoppers to act quickly before they miss out, creating a sense of excitement and anticipation.
💡 Pro Tip: Create exclusivity with Smart QR Codes
Use smart QR Codes to personalize offers based on location, visit frequency, or time. For example, set up a time-based rule that leads the first 100 scanners to an exclusive discount or lucky draw page while directing those who scan later to a page highlighting the campaign’s end. This creates an aura of exclusivity, making your customers feel like they’re getting a special, limited-time offer.
You can take personalization up a notch with device-based redirection. Customize offers based on whether a customer is on mobile or desktop. For example, you could target mobile users—who tend to be on the go—with quick, easy-to-purchase offers like one-click discounts or flash sales. On the other hand, you can serve desktop users with more detailed product information or bundled deals, catering to their tendency for longer browsing sessions and more thoughtful purchasing decisions.
Promote loyalty and repeat purchases
The 2024 Deloitte Holiday Retail Survey shows that savvy consumers searching for the best deals are increasingly challenging brand loyalty. While discounts and sales are essential for attracting attention, loyalty programs are crucial in converting one-time buyers into repeat customers.
To build stronger loyalty, focus on delivering compelling rewards and personalized offers that resonate with their customers. Providing exceptional customer service across all channels also fosters positive relationships. Additionally, differentiating your brand through unique products, sustainability initiatives, or meaningful community engagement can create deeper emotional connections and set your brand apart in a competitive market.
Level up your holiday marketing’s efficiency with QR Codes
The 2024 holiday season is your chance to stand out and make a lasting impact. With shoppers eager for unique experiences, it’s time to step up your game and deliver campaigns that engage and connect. The secret to success? Tools that bring your ideas to life—such as QR Codes.
Use them to transform every touchpoint into an interactive experience. Whether it’s simplifying gift guides, enhancing fulfillment, or driving instant engagement, these tools make connecting with your customers in meaningful ways easier than ever.
Make your mark this holiday season—create your QR Codes today and turn festive moments into lasting brand connections!
Frequently asked questions
Q1. What is the best form of marketing for the holiday season?
The most effective holiday marketing blends online and offline strategies, creating a seamless experience across all touchpoints. Use emotional storytelling, interactive experiences, and limited-time offers to connect with your audience. Emphasize trends like QR Codes for convenience, Gen Z-focused tech-driven campaigns, and omnichannel approaches to enhance engagement.
Q2. What are some popular holiday sale campaigns?
Here are examples of successful holiday campaigns:
- Coca-Cola’s Heartwarming Ads: Tapping into family, nostalgia, and generosity to evoke holiday emotions.
- Cadbury’s Festive Packaging: Creating seasonal excitement with limited-edition designs.
- Pepsi’s Holiday Offers: Special promotions tailored for gifting.
Q3. How do you create a holiday campaign calendar?
Follow these steps to plan a successful campaign calendar:
- Start Early: Build momentum by launching campaigns before the peak season.
- Set Important Dates: Focus on major events such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or Christmas Eve.
- Incorporate Offers: Align deals with consumer habits, such as limited-edition bundles or exclusive QR Code promotions.
- Create Content Themes: Use storytelling to highlight gifting ideas and holiday moments.
- Plan for Execution: Map out your timeline in a simple content calendar to ensure consistent delivery across all channels.
Nidhi is a content marketer at Uniqode, where she explores the phygital world one scan at a time. When she’s not praying to the SERP gods to get her content noticed, you’ll find her teaming up with product folks to decode the tech behind QR Codes and exploring fresh use cases for these tiny squares and circles. She also lives for customer conversations and goes full detective mode on Reddit, uncovering insights like she’s working on a true crime case. She scans every QR Code she finds, analyzing the tech behind them and critiquing campaigns (yep, Taylor Swift’s included). If you’re curious about what QR Codes can do (spoiler: they can do SO much), she’s your go-to guide for understanding their full potential.
