If we take a look back at festive shopper behaviour trends for 2014, marketing communication, personalisation and engagement throughout both the shopping phase and buying phase are key for increased sales.

A recent in-depth retail study states that “retailers should focus their efforts on improving the personalization of their emails to increase the likelihood of opens, click-throughs, and eventually purchases. This will also push more consumers into the "shopped from website before" group, helping to create a growing, loyal customer base. Success here is tied to customers&apostrophe; ability to access the content they need to move from awareness to consideration in a simple, fast and reliable way - regardless of content type, device being used, or location.”

Retailers need to ensure that consumer online digital experiences are optimized across multiple devices, screen sizes, OSes, browsers and locations so customers have a consistent, reliable experience wherever they are. With increased use of mobile search, having a marketing strategy that is easily accessible on mobile devices to enable quick review of products, images, reviews and more whilst in the buying phase increases the conversion rate.

Real time engagement and personalisation is key for engagement, and ultimately sales. Deployment of PURLs, personalised email campaigns and investment in data analytics and insights are vital resources for market leaders in their festive marketing activities.

If your business is looking to invest in any of the above services - Pro Active offers fully managed digital marketing and analytics for personalised marketing campaigns of all scales from SMBs to global brands. We also offer personalised print, direct mail and bespoke marketing services. Contact us for a no obligation quote today to see how we can help your retail business increase sales and conversion rates this festive season.