BY Rachel Cagle
27% of U.S. consumers plan to start their holiday shopping in October, according to a previous SalesFuel blog. And according to a study by LG Ad Solutions, there’s a strong correlation between those early shoppers and CTV viewers. In short: It’s time to get your client’s holiday connected TV ads up and running!
Connected TV Ads Drive Early Holiday Sales
CTV Viewers are Getting a Head Start
Most holiday shoppers in the U.S. plan on starting their shopping before Thanksgiving. 27% will start in October, and another 26% will start in November (but before Thanksgiving). Only 16% of consumers plan to wait until December this year.
LG’s data suggests that many of those early shoppers will be CTV users. Their research shows that CTV users expect to start their holiday shopping in:
- October (or earlier): 37%
- November (but before Thanksgiving): 23%
- November (after Thanksgiving): 26%
- December (before Christmas Eve): 11%
The percentage of early shoppers (those shopping before Thanksgiving) among CTV viewers grew by 25% year-over-year.
According to LG, the early shoppers among CTV viewers also plan on spending more this holiday season. These shoppers will spend an average of $868, with 45% saying they’ll spend more in 2024 than in 2023. That’s more than late shoppers among the CTV audience who plan to spend an average of $718.
Now is the time to start airing holiday connected TV ads to target these early big spenders.
CTV Ads Inspire Purchases
Not only are CTV viewers primed to start shopping early and spend more, they’re also influenced by connected TV ads. According to LG, “43% of CTV users find that ads on TV (incl. the TV home screen) provide useful information on holiday gifts.” Additionally:
- 69% of CTV viewers remember holiday shopping ads they see on streaming TV (a 33% increase YoY)
- 68% prefer video ads to inform their holiday shopping (a 14% increase YoY)
And personalized ads are way more effective than ads that shoot in the dark. According to another SalesFuel blog (based on data from Digiday), connected TV ads:
- Improve ad relevance: 40% of marketers agree
- Offer precise audience targeting: 39%
69% of CTV viewers agree and enjoy that streaming TV ads give them relevant holiday shopping information. Overall, CTV viewers want holiday shopping TV ads to be:
- Personalized to their preferences: 73% of CTV viewers agree
- Relevant to what they’re watching: 69%
Outside of holiday specials, do you know what types of TV programming your client’s target audience likes the most? Find out on their profile on AudienceSCAN on AdMall by SalesFuel.
Creating the Best Holiday TV Ads
Make the Ads Shoppable
CTV viewers are already primed to buy while they’re watching. And LG says that 71% want holiday connected TV ads to make it easier for them to make purchases. So, your client’s CTV ads need to be shoppable.
72% of CTV viewers are open to scanning QR codes on TV ads to purchase products during the holidays. This also makes life easier for the 69% of CTV users who prefer to do their holiday shopping online.
In fact, 87% of CTV viewers say that they shop on other devices while watching TV. That gives your client plenty of opportunities to show shoppers multiple relevant ads.
Promote These Gift Categories
LG says that the top gift categories CTV viewers will be spending money on this year are:
- Clothing and apparel: 64% of CTV users expect to buy gifts from this category this year
- Gift cards: 62%
- Toys, books, video games and media: 54%
- Food and candy: 37%
- Health and beauty: 37%
- Home electronics: 32%
Promote these products in your client’s connected TV ads for higher engagement.
Photo by: joshua herrera