Three new shopper tribes identified for brands to look beyond ‘sales shoppers’
January is traditionally seen as a hard month for brands, but new insights released by eBay Advertising today reveal that there are lucrative opportunities for marketers who look beyond ‘sales shoppers’. The publisher has identified three new shopping tribes – self-indulgent shoppers, long haul listers and deferred purchasers – for brands to tap into as the nation returns to work after the festive break.
Self-indulgent shoppers
A significant chunk of shoppers treat themselves to combat the month that’s often billed as the most depressing in the calendar. Some splash out in a big way; women made more than 2,400 searches per day for “diamond ring” in the week commencing 4th January last year. Others are happy simply to indulge in a few of the finer things in life; on Sunday 11th January 2015, as the UK contemplated the working week ahead, there were more than 35 searches every hour for champagne flutes – an overnight rise of 40%.
Long haul listers
Insights from eBay Advertising show that the “January Blues” get many people dreaming of sunnier shores. In the week commencing 4th January 2015 – for millions the first week back in the office – there was an increase of 72% in searches for “beach towel” and a jump of 49% in interest for “bikini” compared to the previous week. This appetite for long-haul travel gives brands a valuable chance to interact with consumers booking or planning to book a trip.
Deferred purchasers
It’s also common for Brits to make those ‘sensible’ purchases that they deferred from the expensive Christmas shopping season. In January 2015 searches for “washing machine” on eBay.co.uk were almost a fifth (19%) higher than in the previous month, demonstrating the potential opportunity for home-ware and home appliance brands.
Phuong Nguyen, Director, eBay Advertising UK, commented: “Historically, January has been seen as a challenging month for brands, as the shopping frenzy of Black Friday, Christmas and the Boxing Day sales subside and consumers tighten their purse-strings. What this data shows is that there are several factors at work in New Year shopping – from wanting to splash out, to an urge to ship out of the country.
If brands can identify different shopper mind-sets and use this understanding to be hyper relevant, they’re in a good position to start 2016 with a bang.”
Pauline Robson, Director, MediaCom Real World Insight, said: “There’s no doubt that, overall, brands have to work harder for consumer spend in January than they do in the run up to Christmas. But shopping doesn’t grind to halt at the beginning of a New Year – rather that people are even less inclined to spend time and money on offers that don’t match their priorities. As a result, it’s more important for marketers to forge a closer relationship with audiences and use this knowledge to help and inspire them.”