Snapchat Showcases Marketers on Holiday Shopping Opportunities

Snapchat showcases marketers on holiday shopping opportunities, showing off ad formats and campaign tools to lift engagement and drive seasonal sales.

Snapchat is pushing marketers to start their holiday marketing early so advertisers can take advantage of consumer shopping behaviors during this high point in the year. Nearly two thirds of Snapchat users already started looking for gift ideas in July, according to a range of new data notes from Snap.

Preliminary Planning and Purchase Behavior

By September and October, 60% of Snapchatters are in the phase where they are working on their gift plans, while 26% report having already made purchases by October.

According to Snap:

“It’s not all happening the week of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but discovery now can lead to a greater return when that time comes. Snap is a communications platform where ideas, gifts, products are easily sharable, and peer validation can help move shoppers from inspiration to purchase.”

Benefits of Early Campaigning on Snapchat

There are advantages to running campaigns early; we see an increase in conversion rate and a CPM for all projects.

“CPM’s surge in November, and can be up to 70% lower in October in contrast to the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend. Ahead of this spike, it’s best to know what creatives are working, what audiences to target, and what your opportunities on Snapchat are. Launching early provides lower costs and better opportunities for testing.”

Conversion Spikes and Higher Spending Intentions

Conversions increase 150% after the first week of November through Cyber Monday, proving that advertisers need to build brand value early well before the prime shopping days.

Furthermore, 45% of Snapchat users plan to increase their holiday spending this year, making early engagement critical for capturing this motivated audience.

Strategic Takeaways for Marketers

Though these findings may simply reinforce the suspicions of many marketers, the bottom line is to do something sooner rather than later.

Consumers’ changing habits are extending the holiday season beyond the traditional Black Friday-Cyber Monday window.

Snapchat’s data reinforces the value of brand-building and sustained visibility to sway purchase decisions at a time when consumers are planning and buying earlier than before.

Bottom Line

Marketers looking to fine-tune their holiday strategy can dive into an in-depth webinar hosted by Snap, which includes a deep look at best practices and recommendations for engaging the Snapchat community this key shopping season.

You can learn more in this webinar recording (viewable with email sign-up).