How small businesses can use consumer insights to elevate the holiday experience

The festive season is a time of both joy and high consumer expectations. Small businesses that leverage consumer insights can tailor their offerings to create meaningful and memorable customer experiences. Here's how:

1. Personalise the Gifting Experience: Consumers often struggle with finding the perfect gift during the holidays. Small businesses can use insights from surveys and purchasing patterns to personalise recommendations.

For instance, Birdsnest, an Australian online boutique, excels in personalisation by analysing customer preferences to recommend products suited to their tastes. Their tailored gifting guides simplify decision-making for holiday shoppers, boosting sales and customer satisfaction.

Tip: Use data from customer interactions or post-purchase surveys to create tailored bundles or offer personalised holiday greetings with orders.

2. Address Common Holiday pain points: Holidays often bring challenges like shipping delays or stock shortages. Proactively addressing these issues with the help of customer feedback can set your business apart.

For example, Frank Green, a sustainable lifestyle brand, used customer insights to increase inventory for their best-selling products during the festive season. They also partnered with local stockists to offer quicker delivery options, meeting customer expectations for last-minute shopping.

Tip: Analyse past seasonal sales data and customer reviews to forecast demand and address potential pain points early.

3. Create Festive experiences that resonate: Engaging directly with customers can reveal what they value during the holidays. This can be as simple as festive packaging, exclusive holiday products, or sustainability-focused offerings.

A global example is Starbucks, whose festive red cups and limited-edition drinks have become a holiday staple. Closer to home, small businesses like The Daily Edited capitalise on the season with customisable festive packaging, making their products more gift-worthy.

Tip: Run social media polls or quick surveys to understand what holiday features matter most to your audience.

🎁 This Christmas and New Year, let customer insights guide your way. Reach out to Scale Research to help your business uncover what your customers truly want.