3 Holiday Strategies to Keep Customers Coming Back for More

As the holiday season approaches, retailers face a unique opportunity to strengthen customer relationships and drive long-term loyalty long after December. With Cyber Week spending reaching an astonishing $38 billion in 2023, up 7.8 percent from the previous year, it's clear that consumers are ready to spend, especially on digital channels.

However, for brands to get new and returning customers to spend with them and break through the noise of holiday offers, they must make a good first impression. And they only get one chance.

When seeking new ways to create a loyal customer base, brands should consider three emerging strategies:

1. Leverage personalization and zero-party data.

During the competitive and noisy holiday season, strategic timing is a crucial factor. Companies should focus on personalization strategies that consider customer movement. The best way to do so is by leveraging technology to collect and activate zero- and first-party data, as well as user-generated content. This data can unlock ​powerful ​insights into customers — from demographics and interests to clues about what products they like best. These insights inform everything from special product recommendations based on buying history to personalized email campaigns and landing pages that reflect past holiday shopping behaviors.

Many companies find the hardest part of creating personalized customer experiences is collecting and preparing zero- and first-party data, as consumers can be more hesitant about sharing their data and typical marketing and social media channels prevent brands from collecting such information. Getting over that hurdle starts with brands having channels in place to capture that information directly.

2. Build and engage a brand community.

For years, brand communities have existed in the form of reward programs and membership systems. However, as consumers' desire to interact, share and socialize has evolved, these membership systems must simultaneously evolve as well.

Brands can now easily build owned social platforms where customers can leave honest reviews and insights. This not only provides better access to zero- and first-party data, but also enables a ​powerful ​network of organic ​micro-influencers who share and honestly recommend products, unlike traditional influencers on social media. These organic and authentic engagements with both the brand and other shoppers foster a deeper connection to the products and build a sense of community to enhance loyalty and influence purchase decisions.

Here, brands can host exclusive holiday events or challenges, encourage customers to share their holiday experiences, gift ideas or product reviews within the community, and even create holiday-themed discussions or content that fosters engagement and strengthens the connection between customers and the brand.

3. Implement gamification and advocacy rewards.

Successful brands must also prioritize brand advocacy when it comes to loyalty. Rather than viewing loyalty solely as a function of repeat purchases, retailers should strive to cultivate a community of brand advocates who actively promote and endorse their products and/or services.

This is especially true during the holidays. Brands can design holiday-specific challenges or contests that encourage customers to share what they purchased within the brand community or on social media as well as offer special rewards or loyalty points. They can also create personalized post-purchase surveys, polls and quizzes. For brands, this helps collect zero-party data for deep customer insights and better personalization. This not only helps customers get additional rewards for their purchases but also helps other consumers complete their holiday shopping.

By implementing these strategies, brands can stand out amidst competition by creating a more engaging and personalized holiday shopping experience for each unique customer. This fosters long-term loyalty and turns customers into brand advocates, positioning brands for success during the busiest — and most wonderful — shopping season of the year.

Manu Mathew boasts a rich history of involvement with several marketing software-focused startups. Presently, he serves as the CEO and co-founder of Cohora, a B2C customer retention and activation platform.