As Black Friday Looms Large, Consumers Take to the Web to Discuss Holiday Gifting

Consumers are increasingly turning to the Web for information on brands and products – a trend supported by the substantial volume of buzz surrounding holiday gifts on the engines and across online platforms in the weeks leading up to Black Friday.

The Customer Insights team at 360i did some digging and uncovered the biggest trends in holiday gift conversations year-over-year across blogs, message boards, micro-blogs and comments. We also analyzed search volume to uncover the most searched toys in 2008 vs. 2009 to see which items have fallen out of favor – and which are gaining the most traction this holiday season.

Though there have been some substantial shifts in topics of conversation and toy interest year-over-year, there remains one constant: consumers are once again making digital destinations their home for the holidays – at least when it comes to seeking or exchanging information about gifts.

KEY FINDINGS

The recession is less top-of-mind with gift-minded consumers this year compared to last. References to the recession or holiday shopping budgets dropped by around 50 percent from 2008 to 2009. As worries about the economy wane, discussions about homemade gifts and gift cards have also declined. Not surprisingly, discussions that reference store-bought gifts (i.e. toys, food, clothing) have increased year-over-year.

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More consumers are getting into the holiday spirit of giving this year. Conversations about charitable gifts/shopping for a good cause are on the rise. This data seems to reflect the increasing trend of retailers launching holiday promotions around charitable initiatives, such as Things Remembered’s Make-A-Wish product line that donates a portion of its sales to the Make-A-Wish foundation.

More marketers are turning to Twitter to boost holiday buzz. There has been a marked increase in brand-sponsored Twitter conversations related holiday gifting this year – with most tweets coming from smaller retailers (i.e. local shops and niche online outlets like Etsy). According to a recent Shop.org study, 47.1 percent of retailers plan on upping their social presence this holiday season. A majority – nearly 60 percent – of marketers surveyed said they have already added or improved upon their Twitter pages.

Consumers are still trading gifting advice with their social graphs. The primary topic of conversation both this year and in 2008 relates to asking for or giving gift advice.

THE TOY STORY: WHAT’S HOT FOR THE HOLIDAYS

A child’s attention span when it comes to toy preference generally lasts about as long as a Christmas tree light bulb – not very long. Each year children are exposed to television ads, colossal toy catalogs – some of which you can now access on Facebook – and in-store promotions that pique their interest in the holiday’s hottest toys. Yet sure as the seasons will change, so will the popularity of these fleeting hot-ticket items. And thought there are perennial favorites, think classic brands like Barbie and Lego, the rise and fall of toys on the hot list is as certain as snow in the North Pole.

So what are the hottest toys on the market and the one that every kid hopes to get this year? We compared the most popular toys, based on online searches, for 2008 and 2009. The results follow in the chart and bullets below.

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The top four most searched toys have stayed put. In 2008 and now this year, Barbie leads the pack, followed by Legos, Build-a-Bear and American Girl Dolls.

… But there has been some movement elsewhere. Rising stars include Scrabble and Rubix Cubes – both up four spots year-over-year – and Nerf and My Little Pony toys (up two spots each).

Searches for Bratz dropped the most from 2008, down nine spots. Also on the decline: My Scene (down 5), Leapster (also down 5), Star Wars Legos (down 4) and Polly Pocket (down 2). Power Wheels and Hot Wheels both fell one spot year-over-year.

Vampire fever extends to toy searches. The new Twilight Barbie debuted at #5 on the list this year, fueled by the surging popularity of the Twilight films and pending debut of the latest installment, “New Moon.” Other newcomers to the top-searched list include Zhu Zhu Pets (#11) and Nerf Guns (#15).

Who’s doing the searching?

Kids will be kids – but moms also show interest. Children under 13 are conducting the most searches for top toys. Most searches originating from adults are conducted by women 35 to 44 and, secondly, women 24 to 34. As family managers, moms tend to be the household planners and researchers so this stat comes as no surprise.

You can view the complete findings below:

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Monitoring buzz and search levels helps marketers keep an eye on consumer trends in near real time, allowing brands to adjust marketing investment accordingly. For example, a brand might use these insights to increase stock levels for certain hot-ticket items or identify opportunities based on promotional trends like cause marketing. More importantly, marketers could also invest search dollars to match consumer interest.

Moreover, understanding the conversation landscape can help retailers engage consumers in ongoing and impactful dialogue. For instance, based on our findings:

• Marketers should start to back away from recession messaging and avoid over-discounting.
• Retailers can take advantage of consumers seeking gift advice each year by presenting themselves as a helpful resource in online conversations.
• Retailers can rise above the clutter by encouraging consumers to talk about their brand in social spaces; only 15 percent of holiday gift conversations mention a specific retailer.

As consumers increasingly allocate more time to engaging in online activities, marketers who keep their ear to the ground and gather actionable insights from the Web will be able to get a jump start on opportunities that can help them meet specific objectives, either in sales, engagement or both.

- Connie Hsu and John O’Neill, Customer Insights Analysts at 360i