Poor weather predicted for August could kick start Christmas shopping across the UK, according to insights released by eBay Advertising today.
The publisher has revealed that searches for Christmas-related items spiked significantly when Hurricane Bertha brought unseasonably bad weather to the UK during the second weekend of August 2014. And with the Met Office forecasting another spell of unsettled weather across the country this August, eBay Advertising is advising brands to be prepared for a similar peak in interest this year.
Searches for “Christmas stocking”
Between 9th and 10th August 2014, searches for “Christmas stocking” jumped by 82% overnight as shoppers stayed indoors and planned for the winter months. Searches for “Christmas tree” and “tinsel” also spiked by 61% and 54% during the same weekend, demonstrating that weather can be as important as season when it comes to festive shopping.
To mark the start of the Christmas countdown, eBay Advertising today released its 2015 Christmas Tracker, to help brands better plan their campaigns. The Tracker maps the windows of opportunity across different categories, based on 2014 shopper data from ebay.co.uk.
The Christmas Tracker reveals that kids were first in line on people’s present-buying lists last year, with @eBayAdvertising eBay’s ‘Toys & Games’ category being amongst the earliest to see a protracted peak in interest, potentially due to the release of retailers’ “top toy” lists in late summer.
Home entertainment brands, on the other hand, should be poised to capture maximum interest closer to Christmas; searches in the ‘DVDs, Film & TV’ category peaked in mid-November 2014 and remained high right up to the week of Christmas itself, as people looked for easy last-minute gifts and ways to entertain the family over the holiday.
eBay’s ‘Clothes, Shoes & Accessories’ category, alongside ‘Toys & Games,’ registered the longest peak in interest in 2014, as consumers splashed out on outfits for the Christmas party season, as well as presents for loved ones. This gives brands a huge opportunity to tempt both long-listing and last-minute-gifting shoppers.
Phuong Nguyen, Director, eBay Advertising UK, commented: “If our Christmas Tracker shows one thing, it’s that there’s no longer a set gifting season in the months preceding Christmas. Consumers are shopping how and when they want to, and if bad weather turns shoppers’ attention to Christmas in the summer, they expect the freedom to start their purchase journey there and then.”
Pauline Robson, Director, MediaCom Real World Insight, commented: “From now until 25th December, brands will be facing tough competition for share of wallet. The ability to pinpoint which stage of the gifting cycle audiences are at will empower marketers to take campaigns to a new level of sophistication.”
“As always, it’s about being in front of the right audience, at the right time, with the right message – and in the approach to Christmas the stakes are higher than ever.”