Is a customer-centric Christmas 2020 possible?

In lockdown situations and lived distance, the online world is replacing "real life" more than before, and in the process is also creating new target groups who need to find their way in the different shopping environment of the online world. Basically, Corona has shaped three overarching needs groups: The "Struggler", who are strongly negatively influenced in their buying behavior, the "Prepper", who have changed their buying behavior in terms of "arming for a rainy day" and the "Seeker", who have a new kind of incentive in shopping. The following ten theses explain which specific developments and mechanisms will be important in the 2020 Christmas season.

1. e-commerce traffic at all-time high

More people than ever before will be doing their Christmas shopping online this year. This will lead to peak loads for individual providers. At the same time, Corona has also triggered a wave of professionalization. Companies that have learned and implemented the lessons of the spring lockdown are now prepared for the online onslaught in the run-up to Christmas. The massive traffic also allows e-commerce managers in companies to quickly obtain answers to hypotheses, leading to further professionalization. The pre-Christmas period is a great opportunity for testing and rapid optimization.

2. e-commerce remains new default for Gen-X and Millenials

Generation X and the Millenials - all those born between 1980 and 2000 - are already very online-savvy and shop online. However, the lockdown has also driven up the number of online users in this target group. Mobile shopping alone has increased by 50 percent among this target group. These shoppers will not switch back to brick-and-mortar retail even after Corona. Companies should therefore focus even more on this affluent clientele. Representatives of this target group are looking for products that have a certain meaning (keyword: purpose), react strongly to social stimuli, and clearly prefer mobile access or require it by default. Companies should therefore offer a seamless mobile experience and ensure that users have a high degree of control and freedom in the processes.

3. laggards (finally) go online

Older people are now finding their way online; they are having their first online purchasing experiences. They have no experience and therefore need help, which should be offered to them in the form of contact points. They are looking for confirmation in the purchasing process and have a high aversion to risk. Companies that take these aspects into account can score points with this target group.

4. struggler: where there is hardly any money, there is hardly any commerce

People who are strongly negatively affected by Corona have a strong perception of price. To them, the feeling of having made a deal is important in this time of tight budgets. Financing models are also of great importance to this target group.

5. prepper: my home is my castle

This target group has a budget and is preparing for difficult times or building its own nest. Furniture, wellbeing products, smart home gadgets and individualized products are well received here. Representatives of this target group have a high need for control and a high risk aversion - for them, their own cocoon as a perfectly controllable microcosm replaces the uncertain outside world.

6 Seeker: Gift giving as an outlet for social deficits

These are people who are not negatively or even positively affected by the effects of the pandemic. They are also changing their purchasing behavior: their spending on gifts is increasing. With material gifts, they try to compensate for the lack of social encounters. They want to use gifts to say thank you, show appreciation and thus remain in the memory of the recipient. Many want to spend more this year than in previous years.

7. because I am worth it to myself: Gifts for ourselves

Affordable luxury products, for example lipstick or bath salts, are increasingly purchased during difficult economic phases because buyers want to do something good for themselves and thus seek compensation for the difficulties. Self-care is the primary purchasing motive here.

8. price sensitivity increases across all segments

Buyers know what they want to buy, have a fixed budget and are waiting for an attractively priced offer. High-quality small products are more in demand than inexpensive large ones. There is also strong demand for financing models.

9. customer loyalty low, weak long-term preference formation

Customers who are acquired now will not be very loyal, but will tend to remain passive in the future. Companies should enable new customers to communicate purchase decisions in their peer group. This is because social sharing forces loyalty. Regular reminders of the reasons for purchase also increase loyalty. In addition, products with a clear purpose are perceived as less replaceable and are used in the long term.

10. shifting functional and intuitive decision-making mechanisms.

Safety is one of the big winners when it comes to purchase-deciding emotions. Perceived risks in the purchasing process should therefore be eliminated. Transparency, the constant confirmation in the buying process, is also an important leitmotif. In addition, diversion plays a major role. "Online" has become "real life", inspiration and diversion must now also take place here. Shopping should therefore also be entertaining.

These mechanisms are now especially important during the Christmas season and should be taken into account by companies:

1. Strengthen community feeling, make other users visible
2. Highlight position of strength of users, put risks into perspective
3. Reduce complexity, create flow moments

What traders should do now

• Review and optimize processes, control backend integrations
• Revise persona models and target group segmentations
• Improve price communication and perception
• Align marketing measures with new customer needs
• Design measures to retain the new customers
• Experimentation and learning: many shifts will be structural