Apr 24, 2013
Written by
Sandrine Thompson
Since becoming a mother, I realize just how much parents sacrifice for their children and I feel compelled more than ever to find a really great Mother's Day gift—one that's sure to impress and make Mom's day.
But finding that gift is no easy feat. The search term "mothers day gift" trends high in Google in early May for a reason. More than ever, shoppers are turning online for Mother's Day shopping—25 percent of Mother's Day sales last year were purchased online, according to Shop.org—and shoppers are consulting affiliate sites and online stores during the sales process.
In examining the CJ Network sales data for Mother's Day 2012 for trends, we identified three key trends our clients should bear in mind during this year's Mother's Day sales season.
The peak sales day for Mother's Day 2013 will likely be Wednesday, May 8. Last year this day proved to be the most popular day for shopping with department stores, clothing/apparel, computer & electronics and gifts & flowers advertisers and we anticipate the same shopping behavior.
Yet, the shopping pattern for Mother's Day shows a longer "let's get down to business" mode that begins on Monday, May 6 and lasts through Friday, May 11. We believe that advertisers and publishers should sustain their promotions through the week to capitalize on this late-shopping behavior. To help spur conversion, advertisers can highlight their shipping policies and services that will get last-minute gifts delivered on time.
Publishers in the network that offer shopping comparison and product discovery sites last year saw a 17 percent YoY increase in clicks and a 41 percent increase in sales in the days leading up to Mother's Day 2012. Sites that provide product recommendations, pricing or reviews, for example, are proving to be very popular with online shoppers who are using them for discovery and research during gift-buying holidays and beyond.
Optimizing with these types of publishers will set an advertiser up for sales success for Mother's Day—and throughout the year. A critical component for working with these publishers is a robust product feed. CJ can consult with advertisers on this effort—click here for more information.
Flowers and gift baskets remain the most popular gifts for Mother's Day, but sales lifts in the Recreation & Leisure, Health & Wellness and Sports & Fitness categories suggest that Mother's Day gifts may be evolving beyond traditional boundaries. Advertisers selling fitness apparel, for example, saw an average 10 percent increase in sales in the days leading up to Mother's Day. Sales increases in the Art/Photo/Music and Entertainment categories during the same time period suggest that advertisers beyond the traditional gifting categories have an opportunity to attract shoppers seeking gifts that appeal to a mother's hobby or music preferences.
To capitalize on this emerging trend, it's important for advertisers to create affiliate ad banners that target Mother's Day shoppers and also communicate with publishers via newsletters that their products have gift-giving potential.
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