No one needs to tell brick-and-mortar businesses how important November and December are to revenues. Holiday sales will represent 19% of the retail industry's annual sales of $3.2 trillion in 2015, according to the National Retail Federation.¹ And with 93% of annual retail sales still occuring in physical stores, compared to just 7% for ecommerce, the holidays are a critical time for every business to focus on driving more foot traffic through their stores' front doors. ² ³
Last year was the most connected holiday season ever, with over 78% of consumers using the Internet for holiday research, and nearly $1 trillion – 28%- of all retail sales influenced by shopping-related mobile searches, and the 2015 holiday season promises to only strengthen that trend.
Research also showed that during the holidays, brand loyalty is up for grabs – over half of respondents in a Google survey claimed to look to new stores and brands for their holiday purchases.⁴ It's clear that the holiday season presents marketers with a unique opportunity to engage their mobile customers, reach new ones, and drive a significant increase in online and in-store sales.
The holidays are an important time of year at Yext too. It's when we see the most traffic on the Yext platform as many of the more than 500,000 businesses in our system update their business listings and websites with holiday hours, seasonal specials, and more.
We've drawn on our expertise from years of helping top brands prepare for the holiday to compile our 10 Holiday Tips for Location Marketers. Download our holiday guide now to take advantage of this expert insight and make the most of this holiday season!
