The lucrative holiday shopping season will be extended this year, which may or may not be a good thing. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, retailers have begun rolling out holiday season deals this month with an aim to have them last as far into January of 2021 as possible. This seems like a great scenario for consumers to scoop up end-of-year deals, and for retailers to recoup lost revenue from throughout the year. But the pandemic has had an overwhelming impact on consumers’ lives, not the least on how they shop.

Behaviors will continue to be dictated by not only each general demographic’s precarious economic scenarios, but each consumer individually. With factors such as health concerns taking precedence, and shoppers limiting retail spending due to the uncertain economy, how will retailers keep up? And how much of this economic upheaval is permanent or just made of temporary responses to reactionary conditions?

Changing shopping behavior is based on a confluence of events on the consumer end, but retail brands will have to future-proof their businesses via new experimentation and personalization to meet the evolving demands of modern customers.

High-value promotions get people into stores — at least that’s how it was in previous holiday seasons. In fact, prior to 2020, retailers leveraged promotions to deliver “conversion-rate increases roughly three times that of retailers without similar sales.” Whether it’s Kohl’s giving $50-spenders cash for future holiday season shopping, Best Buy dropping prices on single big-ticket items each day of December before the 25th, or Target giving app-only digital coupons — promotions have been the way to offset end-of-year economic anxiety.

This year there’s plenty of economic anxiety. But with consumers undoubtedly trying to bring normalcy to their end-of-year spending by seeking out discounts, it will be up to the retailers to target which of those eager consumers are worthwhile to their prolonged digital strategies.

Brands can focus on consumer cost-savings when it makes sense for their brands and business objectives during normal years. But to capitalize on the extended shopping season in 2020 — that may be make-or-break for most — a more experimental, targeted discounting and promotional program can maximize sales margins while going the extra mile on a company’s personalization road map to customize each consumer touch point. For retailers that haven’t taken this experimental mindset, they’re in short company — 76 percent of retailers believe digital, AI-driven programs would have a positive impact on shoppers.

While hardly experimental, RevTrax solutions ensure that only targeted consumers can access offers, and enables control at an individual, device, and flow level. This gives brands the ability to glean actionable insights about customer journeys across digital channels — connecting offer-data to conversions online, in-store or to phone.

Retailers will continue to grapple with ways to drive business during and after the pandemic. But given the extended — and incredibly lucrative — holiday shopping window, brands are at an inflection point. By making the leap to promo and discounting solutions, companies will be able to better understand target audiences to attract loyal customers. By gaining perpetually loyal customers, brands will increase conversion rates and produce higher ROI.

Interested in learning more? We would love to help with your promotional marketing needs. Learn how RevTrax’s solutions can help your brand experiment the right way during this holiday season by speaking with a specialist today.