Forecasters predict a strong holiday season in 2007

Online marketers and e-tailers should begin preparing now for the holiday buying season. According to a recent Advertising.com forecast, the 2007 holiday buying season will be strong.

by Kristina Knight

“The holiday season no longer starts in Q4, with consumers beginning their shopping earlier and earlier,” said Lynda Clarizio, president of Advertising.com (via MarketingCharts). “To fully capitalize on this lengthy shopping season, advertisers should look to leverage marketing tactics for each stage of the consumer purchase cycle - such as online video to build awareness, search marketing to drive traffic, and behavioral retargeting and late-season incentives to close conversions.”

According to the report, 84% of consumers will use the Internet to make purchases this holiday season, and most will begin shopping in October. The October shopping will be browsing, for the most part, as users try to find the best online deals. Most purchases will begin in November. During the pre-shopping time of October, users will visit between two and five websites to comparison shop. Most of those looking for deals will utilize search engines, making paid search campaigns a good investment for the holiday season.

Whether pre-shopping or actually purchasing, online shopping hubs need to be prepared sooner than ever. Shopping deals such as free shipping, coupons and discounts should be advertised clearly on the website and shopping cart software should be tested for ease of use.