BY Kathy Crosett
Are your SMB clients ready for the 2020 holiday season? A new survey from Comcast Business reveals that the COVID-19-induced recession brought a drop in business for 86% of SMB owners. The drop in business also caused SMBs to make some important changes that will carry them through the holiday season and beyond.
The good news is that 78% of SMBs feel they can operate successfully if we are faced with a second wave of the coronavirus. Nearly half, 46%, of SMBs adjusted the way they do business. In the stark scenario many of these owners faced earlier this year, about 31% put new technologies in place to help them operate more efficiently. And a significant number of these SMB owners admit that without the pandemic, they might have waited longer to make these upgrades.
We don't know will happen in the coming months. But for now, 87% of SMB owners now feel more prepared for the future.
The 2020 Holiday Season
While your clients may be feeling better about the future, they must navigate a marketplace in which consumers are feeling unsettled. They want to support SMBs, say McKinney analysts, but these businesses will have to offer easy online shopping. Positive messaging and focusing on the idea of a brighter future will make a difference, too. While consumers want the holidays to be a special time spent with immediate family members, the threat of COVID-19 infection is never far off.
It should come as no surprise that the majority of people will be ordering their gifts early to ensure there are no delivery snafus. At least 66% of consumers will shop online for gifts. But many of these consumers will go to the store to pick up their items and the in-person visit gives your clients another opportunity to boost revenue. Have they considered offering a special promotion to consumers who buy online and pick-up in the store?
Busy Verticals
If you’re selling to electronics stores, remind them that U.S. consumers are significantly more likely than consumers elsewhere to buy PCs, laptops and tablets this year. With distance learning likely to continue for several more months, parents are ready to buy the tools their kids need to succeed. However, they’ll be watching the bottom line. 56% of consumers will spend less money than they did last year. And with so much holiday spending happening early, don’t let your clients miss out. They should be advertising now.
When it comes to groceries, only 26% of orders will be placed online and delivered to consumers’ homes. The rest of the time, consumers will be shopping in person. Local grocers have an opportunity to promote specialty foods and prepared meals to consumers who have had enough of cooking at home.
Holiday Parties
Holiday parties may still take place, but participants will be gathering online instead of in person, say 61% of participants in CheetahDigital’s 2020 Holiday Season Survey. Consumers are also likely to use their new electronic devices to connect virtually with friends and family members. The added devices means they’ll be looking for reliable high-speed internet access as well.
Help your clients capture their share of holiday spending. Remind them to advertise in the formats that their target audiences pay attention to. You'll find that information in the AudienceSCAN profiles, on AdMall by SalesFuel.