3 Ways to Leverage YouTube at Every Stage in the Holiday Shopping Journey

YouTube plays a pivotal role in holiday shopping, emerging as a dynamic and influential platform that significantly impacts consumer behavior and purchasing decisions. The platform transforms holiday shopping from a transactional experience into an immersive journey, where individuals find inspiration, make well-informed decisions, and feel a sense of camaraderie, elevating its importance as a catalyst for successful holiday commerce.

Did you know?

• 90% of people say they discover new products on YouTube
• Over 50% of people say online video has helped them decide which product or brand to buy
• 70% of people say they bought a brand as a result of seeing it on YouTube
• 81% of consumers say content from influencers drives interest in an item or service

Build Brand Awareness Early to Capture Shoppers in Inspiration Mode

When researching the right gift, YouTube serves as the primary navigation point, as 90% of consumers say they discover new products on YouTube. However, with so many brands vying for attention, executing your holiday strategy early is important to capture consumer attention and build brand awareness among shoppers. 

Research shows that 29% of Americans are finished with their holiday shopping by the end of October and it is important to get in front of consumers ahead of their holiday shopping.

One great way to get ahead is to tap into seasonal trending searches when consumers are in inspiration mode by using key search trends such as “Gift guide” or “Wishlist.” Gift guides serve as a form of inspiration to YouTube viewers who need help finding gifts for others, or for themselves, during the holiday season. Store-specific guides can show shopper top products they could purchase, while demographic-specific guides provide tailored recommendations for a specific persona, such as “Mom.” Brands can then direct shoppers viewing gift guide content to a shopping browse page or another direct line of conversion.

Build Shopper Confidence to Drive Consumers Down the Funnel

While highlighting peak shopping deals and promotions in your holiday creative can be a great way to drive immediate action closer to the holidays, successful brands should begin to drive consumer confidence and sell shoppers on the value of their products to move them towards conversion. 

Google recommends testing online ratings and reviews in your holiday creative to help build consumer confidence in large purchases. Additionally, “Shop with me” videos have grown on YouTube year-over-year, solidifying the need to partner with creators to drive your brand’s and product’s authenticity. This type of content is typically vlog-style and personal to creators. Viewers see what creators buy and their thoughts and opinions, making shopping fun to watch. While “Shop with me” content is popular all year, viewers particularly enjoy watching during the holidays. Brands are encouraged to consider adding “Shop with me” videos to their holiday YouTube strategy in the fall to maximize their audiences as soon as holiday shopping begins.

Prompt Immediate Conversions with Video Action Campaigns

Consumers shopping in November and December gravitate towards major sale events, making these months the ideal time to execute Video Action Campaigns. 

Video Action Campaigns enable advertisers to run campaigns across different inventory types and ad formats seamlessly and benefit from increased reach, additional conversions, and decreased ramp-up time. These campaigns leverage smart bidding across YouTube in-stream, in-feed, and Shorts ad formats and run across YouTube’s home feed, watch page, watch next feed, and GVP inventory.

Want to learn more about how YouTube plays a role in the holiday shopping journey? Download our proprietary insights study “Holiday Shopping Behavior on YouTube” for more information!