With Q4 nearing with each day, brands know that the holiday season is a massive opportunity to end the year strong. Consumers show their demand for specific retail categories with their feet, and by observing their patterns, brands are able to time their media spend to connect with consumers at the peak of their receptivity and therefore maximize the ROI from their campaigns.
In this Q4 2019 report, we’re using first-party location data from 50 million smartphone owners to map the months during winter. We’ve surfaced key opportunities for brands from October to December based on the heaviest foot traffic in each retail category in order to boost ROI.
Black Friday
Although Black Friday is touted as the biggest shopping day of the season, holiday shopping still reigns supreme. Only Department stores see its highest spike on this price-slashing day, while Big Box, Drug Stores, and Discount chains see its highest foot traffic the days leading up to Christmas.
Cyber Monday
Cyber Mondays see fairly lower than average foot traffic, confirming that consumers are where this shopping day states — online.
Pre-Christmas
While spikes in weekend foot traffic is expected, many shoppers are still in the habit of procrastinating. Brands looking to connect with the highest number of shoppers have a great opportunity to advertise on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday before Christmas.
Post-Christmas
The days after Christmas see a dip, but sustain higher than average pre-holiday foot traffic levels. This is likely due to shoppers going to stores to return unwanted gifts or cashing out gift cards. Interestingly, Discount stores don’t see as high an increase post-Christmas, likely because some Discount stores don’t offer gift cards or don’t accept returns for items.
Mega Millions
Convenience chains saw their highest foot traffic day in Q4 2018 during the Friday before the Mega Millions winner announcement. Many shoppers visited convenience stores with their fingers crossed to buy the winning ticket. The days leading up to large-figure lottery drawings are great times to connect with C-store shoppers.
How We Did It
inMarket’s first-party, SDK derived location insights platform measured foot traffic spikes and dips around key days for retailers using 50 million comScore-verified monthly active users.
So What? Why Should I Care?
Next to using a crystal ball, observing foot traffic patterns is one of the best predictors for seasonal trends.
Get the full results for this deep-dive report on Q4 2019 Foot Traffic Predictions — now available here.
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To learn how your brand can connect with consumers on key milestone days, contact us today.