This year, with everything that’s going on, we wanted to find out how people are handling the holidays. Our insights team conducted a survey of 500 women, aged 18-54, to ask about their holiday plans for this year.
The big takeaway is that they’re taking the holidays seriously and AdThrive publishers will be at the center!
The survey we conducted helped us garner a ton of helpful consumer insights for brands and advertisers. Women, ages 18-54, are one of the most in-demand holiday demographics so we honed in on the audience our advertisers care about most. We also asked questions to determine who regularly consumed online content, so we could pull out insights exclusively for AdThrive publishers!
Our sales team has been using these insights to lock in Q4 ad dollars and keep AdThrive publishers’ sites top of mind throughout the holiday season.
This data is also incredibly useful to you, as a publisher, as you create and share out content this holiday season!
Engage your audience and attract new followers by meeting readers exactly where they are this year and optimizing your content for top consumer interest!
Here’s what you’ll find:
- Putting numbers around holiday enthusiasm during COVID
- Changes in holiday planning from 2019 to 2020
- Nostalgia vs. novelty
- Pandemic holiday budgets — saving and splurging
- Trends in internet usage for holiday inspiration + shopping
- Over 80% of people get holiday inspiration from this surprising source…
AdThrive Publisher-Exclusive content unlocked!
1) Holiday enthusiasm & escapism is at an all-time high
People are looking forward to the holidays more than EVER this season. With everything going on in the world, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s celebrations will be a great distraction for many.
- 85% said they’re excited for this holiday season
- 88% of blog readers say it’s more important than ever to celebrate
- 90% think this holiday season will provide a great escape from everything else going on this year
To do: Look for ways to frame your content as an escape — and for ways to help readers gloss over the challenges of 2020.
2) People have more free time to throw themselves into the holiday spirit
With restrictions and safety measures in place and people stuck at home, people have more free time this season to take on festive holiday projects and focus on gifts, celebrations, and traditional holiday activities.
- 3 in 5 blog readers say they will have more time to plan this year, meaning more time to spend with your content
- 2 in 3 blog readers will be decorating more for 2020 holidays than they did for 2019 holidays
- 77% plan to cook more from recipes this year
- 72% said that they plan to cook or bake more dishes from scratch this holiday season
To do: Help your readers go bigger and better with the 2020 holidays with options for more-involved projects, recipes, decor ideas, and hand-made touches.
3) People are both nostalgic for tradition and eager to try new things
A common theme we’ve seen throughout the pandemic is nostalgia, and we see that carry through into the holidays this year with people looking to their holiday traditions as a source of comfort and stability amidst this season of unpredictability.
- 72% said the 2020 holiday season will be more nostalgic than most
- 83% said they plan to stick to holiday traditions as much as possible this year, despite COVID-19
- 72% said they’ll treat holiday celebrations this year like every other year, despite COVID-19
That said, people are also willing and eager to try new things as — despite our best wishes and intentions — some things just can’t go back to normal for now.
Getting creative can be a fun outlet for people to distract themselves and find new ways to insert joy into their lives.
- 79% said this is the perfect year to try new things during the holiday season, rather than sticking to tradition
- 82% of people will be trying more new recipes than they did last year
To do: Don’t overlook tried & true holiday traditions — your readers are hungry for those! But 2020 has introduced so many opportunities for innovation and trailblazing brand new traditions. What is one great new idea you have for how your readers can celebrate this year?
4) We’ll see a mixture of saving & splurging this season
Similar to what we’ve seen throughout the pandemic and quarantines, people swing back and forth in their behavior and attitudes. There are a lot of people looking to save money and budget, but there’s also a need for small indulgences and splurges.
- On average, people plan to spend $998 on holiday-related purchases like gifts, food, and decorations for themselves and their families2
- 7 in 10 blog readers said that, compared to last year, their holiday shopping budget will be lower this year
- Still, 1 in 2 blog readers say they plan to splurge on gifts more than usual this holiday season
- Stretching budgets with deals and discounts will be one way people can “have their cake and eat it too” — with 88% of blog readers saying they’re more likely to look for deals
To do: Think about how your own budget for the holiday is changing this year. Do you have insights you can share with your readers on how to reduce spending and find great deals?
5) The internet will be the center of the holidays
People are going online for their main source of content this year. 82% of blog readers say the internet is their main source of inspiration when preparing for the holiday season.
The internet also serves as blog readers’ main source of inspiration for:
- Holiday gift-giving (87%)
- Holiday decor ideas (87%)
- Planning holiday meals (79%)
On top of that, it’s the definitive place people will be doing their holiday shopping this year. Compared to last year, 85% of blog readers say that they are more likely to do their holiday shopping online this year and just 13% of blog readers say they’ll be doing their shopping primarily in-store (vs 46% in 20193).
To do: Brainstorm time! Can you position yourself as a primary destination or a one-stop shop for holiday inspiration for your readers? How can you make it even easier for them to get ideas and then go do them?
6) Advertising gives your readers welcome holiday inspiration
Like I’m sure you know, holidays are one of the best times of the year for advertising, leading to great advertising spending and publisher ad revenue in Q4!
But did you know that many people actually find holiday ads useful for scoping out deals and getting ideas? That’s right — instead of being annoyed at ads, your readers may be loving them this time of year…
- 89% of blog readers think advertising is a great way to learn about deals during the holiday season
- 83% said that advertising is one of the ways they find gift ideas during the holiday season
To do: We’re not saying to get too aggressive with your ad layout right now… But knowing that your readers are finding ads more useful than annoying, let us know if you’re interested in some ad layout suggestions to take full advantage of holiday ad spending!
SOURCES:
- AdThrive, Holiday 2020 Study, Sep 2020
- National Retail Federation (NRF), 2020 Holiday Consumer Study, Oct 2020
- PwC, Holiday Outlook Report, 2019
