Let me kick things off! This year, I’ve really appreciated holiday gift guides. Whether they land in my email, pop up through in-app messaging, or are shared on social media, they’ve been a lifesaver for cutting down on research time. Quince’s Holiday Gift Guide from their social media page is one of my favorites so far! 

Another favorite? The Lululemon app gift finder! It’s such a clever feature, tailoring suggestions based on preferences and budget right inside the app. It’s a great example of in-app messages delivering dynamic, personalized content that makes the shopping experience seamless.

I’m also a big fan of tailored push notifications and in-app messages based on my shopping preferences. Brands like AMC and Sephora really nail it, whether it’s deals from my favorite brands or timely reminders to book tickets for saved interests like Wicked. It’s those small, personalized updates that keep me coming back for more!

So for me, it’s a mix of social media, in-app messages, push notifications, and email that really grab my attention and enhance my shopping experience.

Typically I pay most attention to my email inbox during the busy shopping season but I hate to admit that this year I did receive a direct mail gift guide from Amazon which I actually really enjoyed flipping through. I think I’ve been so used to looking at them digitally that the change of pace to get something tangible in the mail caught my attention. Also reminds me of being a kid and circling all the things I wanted in the toy magazines :) 

I recently saw the Target AI gift finder featured as a news story and thought it was really cool. You can type in certain categories you’re looking for, and they will then show you gift options. I haven’t explored it a ton in the app, but I am guessing they do some push notifications around it. 

With the number of Black Friday emails that were sent out, I definitely engaged with the emails that used more personalization, included promos right in the subject line, and included any attention grabbing details in the email. A huge plus is when a company allows you to manage your frequency subscriptions so I can choose how often I want to be emailed (since some like to send emails every single day and I normally end up unsubscribing).

By far the most effective for me is scrolling through Instagram or Facebook reels. I see a lot of cool products there that I wouldn’t have otherwise seen and wind up bookmarking them. Then the subsequent retargeting ads are fairly effective in getting me to come back.

Email is always first in my heart and I love following the holiday season sales in my inbox, but I’ve found myself falling for social media sales a lot more this year. I’m always in the apps and companies approaches feel much more organic on that platform. Plus I love the easy of finding the one item the post was promoting and simple checkout.

I do enjoy the direct mail brochures. It takes me back to just a few years ago with Black Friday where you had to get the newspaper and the ads and find what everyone is having and what times things start. You would make your list and then get out in the elements to get the right purchases.

As much as it has become a lot more easy to get online and make your purchase and not fight long lines or the cold weather, I do enjoy flipping the pages and looking at items I might want. Costco is one of the brochures that i get and it’s so nice to look at all the possible sales for the holidays.

I also have a separate email address to sign up for different newsletters and promotions, so I like to look at sales and also the different email layouts that catch my eye during the holidays. I found that i liked more layouts where the whole email flowed together rather than each section being it’s own box style and breaking it up.

We also used more In App Pop Ups and App Pushes to promote our Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, in fact we did an app only offer and it performed really well leading up to Black Friday.

Social media would’ve been my answer for the longest time because it’s where I tended to see the strongest (eeriest?) personalization, which led to me discovering products I never would’ve found on my own otherwise. Now that I don’t have social media, it’s a combination of word-of-mouth recommendations, search engines, and email.

With that said, SMS actually seems to be most effective for us this holiday season! 

Gift guides for sure from companies. I’m not sure I can accurately gauge emails/sms since I’m signed up for many just for the research side of things so I’m kind of over saturated. Social media ads tend to push up the quirkier gifts that you don’t see advertised a million times by the bigger companies. It’s usually hard to find that unique thing for a person that means something. 

Email is always first and I love to sign up for new businesses via email and intentionally abandon my cart to get a free shipping coupon. lululemon actually stopped this cycle for me this year by offering a free shipping coupon as part of my check out experience. I do also love receiving catalogs in the mail. I most like the Sundance catalog that always get’s me to buy something from them each holiday season.

Animated gifs: in holiday emails, nice catchy animated gifs can grab attention and show that the marketers really worked hard to make the email stand out. Love well crafted animated gifs!!

I always keep an eye on my inbox, especially for emails that include discount codes—they always catch my attention. And while I hesitate to admit it, I often find myself drawn to social media ads. Surprisingly, I’ve come across some genuinely great products through them!