Over 40% of Millennials will gift digitally this Christmas, reveals new research

New research from the UK Gift Card & Voucher Association (UKGCVA) has shown that Millennials are pioneering the idea of ‘digital gifting’ this Christmas, with over 40% of Millennials planning to gift digitally through gift cards and vouchers this Christmas.

Londoners are the most tech-savvy gifters according to the research, with over a third (35%) intending to gift digital gift cards and vouchers this year.

The research, conducted by Verdict Retail, found that Millennials are the age group most likely to gift digitally this festive season, with less than a third (29%) of Generation X and even fewer Baby Boomers (17%) stating that they plan to do so.

The Christmas spirit also encourages consumers to gift digitally, with over two thirds (68%) stating they are most likely to purchase a digital gift card or voucher for someone during this period.

Londoners are the most tech-savvy gift buyers according to the research, with over a third (35%) of consumers in the capital planning to join in and gift digitally this festive season.

Gail Cohen, Director General of the UKGCVA, comments: “As Millennials are the most likely to purchase digital gift cards and vouchers during the festive season, retailers and other issuers of these products should look to targeting this sub-group with their gift card marketing strategies this Christmas.
Our research also found that Millennials are the most likely to purchase digital gift cards and vouchers full stop. As such, retailers need to be aware of this pattern when developing their marketing strategies, not only at Christmas, but year-round.”

Presents for Self and Others, from the V&A Collection at Heal’s

While looking for 2017 calendars to gift, I'm glad to find now available at Heal's Christmas Market at their Tottenham Court Road, London flagship store is a selection of wonderful goodies - an edited pick of V&A (Victoria & Albert Museum) products on offer - including not only calendars but also notecards, note books, diaries, interesting children’s books, tote bags and an array of iconic prints.  My favourite is a William Morris colouring book.  All available until Christmas eve.

Brands use Xmas season to better connect with customers

Throughout this festive shopping period, businesses need to deliver a marketing strategy which delivers a personalised brand experience, according to Massimo Fubini CEO and founder of Contactlab (1) .

He said brands can build effective and profitable seasonal campaigns which showcase the brands' reputation and simplify the shopping experience.

Massimo comments: “Brands prepare for Christmas, well before the consumer. To get a head start, marketers need to position their brand’s presence well in advance of the shopping season. Brands need a comprehensive omni-channel and personalised strategy to win the hearts of customers. Digital marketing channels add another layer of emotion to campaigns which helps to deepen their customer relationship.”

Massimo continues: “For brands the festive season gives them with the opportunity to better connect with customers. By integrating the insights gathered by consumer shopping behaviour into brands’ marketing strategies, retailers are able to drive customers to convert their activity into sales. Brands are under immense pressure to stand out against their competitors and so capturing shopper’s attention is key to driving significant revenue.”

(1) Contactlab is a digital engagement solution partner combining its owned enabling PaaS technology with industry focused expertise. Contactlab enables brands to plan, build and monitor effective digital contact plans to drive growth. Brands can use Contactlab solutions to build personalized and cross-channel digital messages, shaped around people behaviors and product lifecycle to expand and deepen the retail experience.

UK companies will spend an estimated £5.6bn on marketing in the run-up to Christmas

After Black Friday, it's Cyber Monday, and like you, my inbox is clogged up with numerous invitations to shop and part with my hard-earned money ...once more. It's not unusual to receive extra discounts on top of discounts.

The Advertising Association have forecasted that UK companies will spend an estimated £5.6bn on marketing in the run-up to Christmas which is £300m more than in 2015.

Buster the Boxer in John Lewis 2016 Christmas Ad.

To drive revenue during this festive period, retailers invest a lot of resource, time and money on their lavish marketing campaigns to attract shoppers and raise their presence within the market.  Many brands such as John Lewis, Coca Cola and Burberry are using emotion to develop strong ties with customers.

As the countdown for Christmas begins, retailers opt to create personalised marketing strategies to help drive customer loyalty and retention, as customers develop strong connections and feelings towards a brand.

Customers will choose different channels to engage with brands and now expect a seamless integration across channels as part of their customer journey.

Tis the season to shop and spend

Did you enjoy the Black Friday sales?
Did you shop from the comfort of your home or you opted to physically visit the stores?

According to specialists' reports, physical retail traffic referred to as footfall was surprisingly strong while online sales did not grow as much as expected.

Footfall tracking specialist Springboard reported that overall footfall rose 2% on Black Friday (25th November) but fell 0.8% on Saturday.  While high streets and retail parks' traffic were up, shopping malls turned in the worst performance.

Springboard also quoted data from PCA Predict that online transactions rose only 6.7% on Friday and 1.8% on Saturday, defying preditions of 25% increase.

UK's Black Friday evolves as majority of sales move online

Slow fashion label A-MM-E by Emma Kempton is one of the British-made brands on the online store set up by
Best of Britannia, the consumer event platform of British brands.
The BOB online store will launch on November 24th to coincide with Black Friday weekend in the UK.

Experts predict Black Friday this year in the UK will be another shopping bonanza, and that £1.1bn spent last year on the day to be surpassed. Emerging key trends point to evolving consumers behaviour with  15 billion online searches a month regarding Black Friday. 

Online spending on and around Black Friday in the UK this year (that's November 24th, the day after the US celebrates Thanksgiving) will hit an estimated £6.77bn, according to e-tailer body IMRG and SimilarWeb. And around 51% of that spend will be via mobile devices as m-commerce continues to grow fast.  But insights-driven advertising technology company Captify predict the £1.1 bn spent last year on Black Friday is set to be surpassed.

Justin Opie, managing director at IMRG also said the Black Friday period is evolving but despite retailers focusing on week-long bargains, IMRG believes as much as £1.27bn will be spent on the day itself, up 16% year-on-year. And around £3.45bn of the total spend will go through smartphones and tablets.

Genevieve Sweeney lunxury knitwear for men and women is one of British labels on the Best of Britannia online shop. 

Dom Joseph CEO and Co-Founder of Captify, an insights-driven advertising technology company, also predicts the £1.1bn spent last year on Black Friday is to be surpassed.

He said, “In the six years since its introduction into the UK, Black Friday is rightly recognised as the best day of the year to get a good deal on a huge variety of products.”

“We are seeing two key trends emerge this year, firstly, more and more retailers, both online and offline, have offered discounts well ahead of Black Friday. Amazon launched its ‘35 days of Black Friday’ , while UK companies, such as Argos and Tesco, have also offered deals ahead of the day, in order to capture as many consumers as possible. Retailers know the heightened expectations that consumers have for Black Friday, which is why we’ve seen such growth in discounts before the event itself.”

“Secondly, people are now monitoring the prices of products they want to buy, months in advance of Black Friday, and researching information as early as August. Not only this, based on the analysis of 15 billion online searches, there was actually an 11% jump last month of UK consumers researching product prices related to Black Friday, compared to last year."

“Consumers will always vote with their wallets, and if Black Friday didn’t offer huge price discounts on products that consumers valued and wanted, it wouldn’t be nearly as successful as it is and will continue to be.”

London's Design Museum re-opens November 24.

London's much loved  Design Museum will re-open November 24 at its new location in upmarket Kensington, in the former Commonwealth Institute building - after 27 years in a former warehouse in Shad Thames across the river.

With the promise of three times more space than its previous venue, the Design Museum's new home is billed to have a superslick interior, designed by John Pawson, and houses three exhibition spaces, a library and archive, a restaurant and café, learning spaces and a designers-in-residence studio.   Plus an impressive "hyperbolic paraboloid" roof.

No doubt it will prove to be London's newest swanky destination - not just for our cultural enrichment, but for shopping as well with two shops filled with trendy lifestyle products.

Of course the Design Museum no longer has the view of the historic Tower Bridge.  But the new location is a stone's throw from trendy Holland Park and close to the heart of Kensington’s cultural zone that includes the Victoria & Albert Museum and Science Museum.

The permanent collection in the Design Museum is free but periodical exhibitions cost £14.
There is a public programme of talks and classes monthly and design workshops to nurture young talents.  Can't wait to get involved.

Design Museum reopens Thursday November 24 at 224-238 Kensington High Street, London. 

Photos - Design Museum's own.