Know your customer. This age-old strategy for growing sales is in need of an update given the latest consumer findings.
In particular, businesses need to go beyond knowing what people are buying and how they shop.
Research shows it’s also crucial to understand the consumer mindset because ultimately, that’s what influences purchase decisions.
And it’s important to know the shopper mindset now because the festive season — the biggest consumer spending period in the year — has started.
In India, the shopper mindset can be summed up in three D’s — deliberate, determined, and discerning. That mindset is shaping the behaviour of people, who’re in a mood to spend on year-end festive moments from Onam to Diwali.
To help marketers like you make the most of this peak sales opportunity, here are three insights on the shopper mindset that can sharpen your festive marketing strategy.
Shoppers are deliberate and plan early for festive buys
Customers today are intentional about planning ahead and researching their purchases. That mindset of being deliberate about what they buy stems, in part, from inflationary pressures and the sheer choice of products available.
Not only do 82% of shoppers plan festive purchases in advance,1 they’re starting their purchase journeys earlier. Search interest in “Diwali sales” last year began climbing as early as August.
So start your festive marketing campaign early, and on the channel where customers are deliberating their purchase decisions.
Research shows that 80% of consumers who shopped during a sale or festive moment conducted research on online video, and 9 in 10 of them used YouTube.2
While shopping during a sale or festive moment:
One way to reach deliberate shoppers, who’re planning early for festive buys, is with YouTube’s Spotlight Moments. It lets you raise awareness of your products by serving ads next to popular festive videos.
You can also collaborate with YouTube creators on “shoppertainment” videos, which blend shopping with entertainment, to create an immersive retail experience for deliberate festive shoppers. That’s what Ikea did to drive awareness and consideration of its home improvement solutions.
The furniture retailer launched My Happy Space, a home makeover video series in January with creators such as Debina Bonnerjee and Jasleen Royal. The influencers shared their Ikea-inspired renovation projects on their channels and extended Ikea’s reach to their many followers. That video series has since garnered over 14 million views, with 1.3X higher Search interest in the retailer and a 25% increase in absolute consideration.
Shoppers are determined to uncover deals across touchpoints
India’s shoppers are known for their love of a good deal. That determination intensified during the pandemic, along with rising costs of living. And it has not abated even as retail inflation eases.
They’re so set on finding the best deals that they’ll use multiple touchpoints, both online and offline, to do so.
On average, customers use close to five touchpoints throughout the year for shopping, and that increases during the festive period, with 7 in 10 saying they use eight or more touchpoints.3
To reach determined shoppers who use multiple touchpoints, both online and offline, in their purchase journey, adopt an omnichannel ad strategy. That’s what retailer Reliance Digital did to engage with determined, deal-seeking shoppers.
For its Durga Puja sale, Reliance Digital set up ad campaigns across multiple channels. It ran skippable in-stream ads on YouTube to create awareness among festive shoppers and set up a display campaign to drive consideration among them as they browsed websites.
To drive conversions and purchase among deal-seeking shoppers, it added a Performance Max campaign with store visits as a key goal, and local inventory ads to help customers easily locate product promotions at its over 600 stores. That encouraged shoppers to complete purchases at their nearest outlet, resulting in a 129% surge in store visits and a 35% boost in sales during Durga Puja.
Shoppers are discerning and want value beyond deals
Consumers in India are also discerning and value-conscious, looking beyond price when they make their purchase decisions.
In particular, trust, ease of finding products online, and great service are the top three attributes that shoppers look for to help them make confident purchases during festive moments.4
And YouTube is the top platform where they go to find creators they trust for product or service reviews, even if they know it's sponsored.5
So this festive season, engage discerning customers on the values that matter to them by using the platform and influencers they trust.
Leading food delivery company Zomato, for example, reached discerning customers in India’s Tier 2 and 3 cities by complementing its App campaigns with an AI-powered YouTube ad campaign that spoke to what its customers value — quality food delivered quickly.
The video ad showed famous actor Hrithik Roshan voicing his craving for a specific dish from a restaurant closely matching the viewer’s location, and receiving instant gratification via a Zomato delivery.
That hyperlocalised ad about Zomato’s timely, reliable service impressed customers so much that its new users in Tier 2 and 3 cities tripled.
Truly, India’s shoppers are discerning, determined, and deliberate. So embrace the three D’s of the shopper mindset and have customers choose you this festive season by showing up from early-on, across multiple touchpoints, and impressing them with more than deals.
