Holiday 2022 shopping predictions: Creativity is key if you're going to survive

It seems for the third consecutive year we're saying the same thing: This holiday shopping season will be unlike any we've seen before.

With the eCommerce boom regressing significantly in the shadow of an economic downturn, brands are having to be creative with how they attract people to their websites and brick-and-mortar locations.

Chloe Thomas, founder and host of the eCommerce MasterPlan and Keep Optimising podcasts says she's expecting many brands won't see March.

"I think there's going to be quite a lot of casualties this year," said Thomas. "Difficult economic times like these often (hurt) the brands that shouldn't have been there in the first place. Because bad decisions are being made ... and it kind of removes the the ability to hide behind the hedge. ... It'll be quite interesting to see who doesn't make it to March."

Through her podcasts Thomas constantly gets to speak with leaders across eCommerce, retail and marketing.

So what is she hearing in terms of trends and tactics that could prove helpful in surviving a tough holiday season?

"It seems that more brands are interested in segmenting the database and offering the right discount to the right person rather than just big blanket discounts, which I've always believed is a good move because I think you should be trying to get the right people to do the right thing," said Thomas.

Thomas also said she's hearing about more and more eCommerce brands in Europe using a software called Nibble. Nibble is an AI-powered chatbot that allows customers to negotiate pricing in realtime.

"It's proving to be really effective at clearing backlogs of stock at a better margin than you would have got if you put it in your email marketing with a X percentage point discount," she said.

But the biggest question this year, as it is almost every year, is when will brands kick off their sales?

"What I'm hearing is people trying to work out when they launch (sales) because they're kind of figuring they're going to have to do a lot of it," she said. "But they don't want to erode the brand, and they would quite like some full margin sales. So there's a lot of deliberation about when to start and how long to run it for."

Listen to the full interview with Thomas above.