98% of brands tap online, 45% adopt omnichannel strategies: Report

India’s festive season presents a unique opportunity for brands to engage with consumers through well-timed, targeted marketing. According to The State of Festive Marketing Report 2024, India celebrates over 1,000 festivals, offering ample opportunities for meaningful interaction between brands and users. The festive period is characterised by heightened consumer activity, flash sales, and intense competition. To help brands navigate this crowded marketplace, the report draws on insights from over 250 industry insiders and consumers to outline the most effective strategies, timelines, and tools for engaging users.

Festive shopping behaviour

The report reveals that the majority of users interacting with festive marketing campaigns are millennials, with 77.6% falling within the 25-34 age group. These users are active shoppers, and 43.1% of them engage both online and offline during the festive season. The elements that make a campaign most attractive are prices, new product launches, and the overall user experience. When it comes to discovering festive offers, social media ads, email, WhatsApp, and mobile push notifications are the most effective channels for reaching users.

Industry participation and prefestive strategies

Brands from industries such as E-commerce, Edtech, and BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance) are the most active participants in festive marketing. A staggering 98% of brands engage users online, while 45% use both online and offline methods to reach their audience. Preparation is key, with most brands starting to plan their campaigns 3-6 months in advance. However, the report notes that 54% of brands only launch their pre-festive campaigns within 30 days of the main event. Major brands like Airtel and Pepperfry begin planning well in advance to ensure their logistics, inventory, and partnerships are in place ahead of time.

The pre-festive period is all about building anticipation. Teaser campaigns (adopted by 65.02%of brands), early-bird offers, and countdown sales are effective ways to engage customers before the main event. Pepperfry, for example, uses teaser campaigns on social media and push notifications to generate excitement. Brands also offer sale cheatsheets to help users plan their purchases, creating a sense of urgency and FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).

During the festive period, campaigns focus on real-time management to respond to changing user behaviours. E-commerce and D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) brands such as Superkicks and Pepperfry balance discounts with margin management, offering flash sales that last 24-48 hours to drive impulse purchases. These brands also rely heavily on personalised notifications to encourage conversions. The report highlights that timing is critical, with multi-product platforms benefiting from longer sale durations, while niche platforms tend to favour shorter, more focused sales to increase urgency.

The BFSI sector, on the other hand, focuses on offering financial products such as holiday loans, cashback offers on credit and debit card usage, and special festive insurance packages. Edtech brands tailor their campaigns around discounted courses, free trials, and referral programs to attract students and professionals looking to upskill during festive downtime.

Post-festive engagement and retention

Engagement doesn’t end when the festive season wraps up. The post-festive phase is crucial for maintaining customer loyalty and driving repeat purchases. Most brands continue engaging with users for up to two weeks after the campaign, using tactics such as personalised 'thank you' messages, feedback requests, and offering extended deals to users who left items in their carts without completing the purchase.

Brands like Pepperfry and StayVista employ strategies such as loyalty programs and targeted offers to retain high-value customers. Pepperfry uses AI-powered segmentation to provide tiered discounts and push relevant product recommendations based on users’ browsing and purchase history. Post-festive campaigns also include cross-selling and up-selling efforts, with Superkicks using customer behaviour data to refine their promotions for better engagement.

Channel preferences and real-time data adjustments

The report reveals that WhatsApp is the most popular channel for festive marketing, used by 82% of brands, followed by Email at 78.7% and SMS at 62.2%. App push notifications and web push notifications are also widely used to deliver time-sensitive offers. The use of real-time data is another critical component, allowing brands to optimise their campaigns on the fly. E-commerce platforms monitor inventory levels, adjust advertising spend, and tweak messaging based on customer interactions. BFSI brands use transaction data to predict customer needs and push relevant offers in a timely manner.

Importance of personalisation and automation

Personalisation is at the heart of successful festive marketing campaigns. Whether through automated notifications, loyalty programs, or segmented offers, brands that personalise their interactions with customers are more likely to see higher engagement and conversion rates. Pepperfry, for example, engages dormant customers with exclusive discount codes, while loyal customers are offered early access to sales and additional perks. The use of automation tools also helps brands deliver consistent, hyper-personalised experiences across multiple channels, ensuring that no opportunity for engagement is missed.

While festive seasons present significant opportunities, brands often encounter challenges in maintaining customer engagement post-festivities. Common issues include customer drop-off, increased competition, and the rising cost of sustained promotions. However, these hurdles can be mitigated with the right strategies. One key recommendation is for brands to space out their sales throughout the year, leaving substantial gaps between promotions. Overloading consumers with back-to-back flash sales can lead to promotion fatigue, reducing the urgency and effectiveness of future campaigns.

The full report can be accesed here.