Holiday Retail Media Planning 2024: The Strategy You Need to Sleigh the Season

The clock is ticking and retail media marketers need to finalize their holiday plans soon — really soon! Early plan completion allows time for necessary reviews, iterations, and approvals, ensuring a smooth execution. With a great plan in place, teams can confidently prepare for the year’s busiest shopping season.

Effective holiday planning involves a meticulous process of brainstorming and fortune-telling, addressing numerous considerations. Marketers must anticipate consumer interests, determine key retailers to focus on, and assess competitor strategies. Key events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, along with shifting consumer behaviors, are critical factors to address. While a solid, well-crystallized plan is essential, successful marketers also leave room to react in real-time to insights gained during the season. This flexibility allows for quick adjustments, ensuring that campaigns can capitalize on emerging trends and maximize impact throughout the dynamic holiday period.

The holiday season’s heightened competition poses challenges and opportunities for retail media practitioners, who must also coordinate advertising efforts with the rest of the retail organization more than any other marketing group. Product prioritization becomes crucial, as does carefully considering consumer interest, inventory levels, and profit margins. Additionally, the rapidly evolving landscape offers avenues for innovation, such as leveraging new ad formats like display, video, and CTV to engage consumers at different stages of the buying journey​.

Your final holiday plans are due very soon. Here are a few last-minute retail media tips and trends to consider for a winning holiday strategy. 

Learn from recent history

Holiday planning always requires a bit of guesswork. Uncertainty about whether promotional strategies will be too reactive rather than strategic is one of the top concerns every holiday season — and for good reason. Consumer budgets fluctuate, tastes change, and every shopper has unique needs. But one of the best predictors of future success is past performance. Studying where your brand stood out on retail media platforms last year and which products were in the highest demand throughout the year is one of the best ways to ensure your holiday messaging connects with audiences. 

Even more recent data could come from July’s Amazon Prime Day(s). That heightened conversion activity may offer valuable insights that can guide your plan. You should also investigate your competitors’ winning strategies from last year’s holiday season and Prime Day as well. Make sure your brand is actively participating and visible within all the retail media networks where your customers — and those of your competitors — are most likely to research and buy products. 

Do you need a crystal ball? Of course you do! To enhance your decision-making and precise media forecasting, consider leveraging Skai Decision Pro’s media forecasting capabilities. This powerful tool helps anticipate market dynamics, allowing for informed planning and adjustments, ensuring your holiday campaigns are as effective as possible. 

Consider your bids & budgets

Setting an effective bidding strategy is vital to maximizing your holiday return on investment. Analyze last year’s performance data to identify which keywords delivered the best results. Skai’s recent Q2 2024 Quarterly Trends report showed that retail media CPCs rose by 11% year over year, so it’s crucial to focus on high-performing keywords while eliminating those that were less effective. Your strategic plan for bidding means prioritizing high-traffic keywords and exploring long-tail options that may have lower competition but can still attract relevant audiences.

In addition to choosing the right keywords, carefully allocating your budget for maximum results is essential to staying competitive in the market without overspending. But holding back a portion of your budget for unexpected opportunities or last-minute adjustments is also wise. This flexibility allows you to capitalize on market changes and emerging trends, ensuring your campaigns remain effective throughout the holiday season. Make sure you add a hold-back budget to your plan.

Finally, remember that bidding strategies should not be static. Monitor market conditions and your competitors’ actions from now until October As ad costs continue to rise, staying agile and responsive to data-driven insights will help you make informed decisions that maximize your campaign’s impact. While, yes, it’s important to have a plan in place to give your teams ample time to prepare, it’s also wise to recognize that information months out can get stale. 

Pick your battles

As retail media continues to grow, there is also increasing pressure for many marketers to try and be everywhere at once. But remember, not every retail media network aligns with every brand. Of course, Amazon Ads and Walmart Connect remain at the top of the list for most advertisers. Advertisers need to follow consumers, and as reported by Forbes, Amazon accounted for 28% of all retail growth in Q1 of 2024, while Walmart made for 10% of that growth. 

But Amazon and Walmart aren’t the only places you should consider this holiday season. The good news about the retail media boom is that there are now even more opportunities to connect with audiences, which can help you stand out as Amazon and Walmart become increasingly crowded. For example, Skai integrates with over 100 retail media networks, so there are many long-tail opportunities that your competitors will miss. 

Look for publishers that align with your products and brand values and for places your competitors may have overlooked. From Home Depot to Target and Walgreens, there’s never been a better holiday season to find the suitable retail media fit for your brand. 

Promote the right products

Consumer behavior tends to be very different during the holidays than at other times. For many, the research and planning stage can take months, especially as shoppers begin planning and shopping for the holidays much earlier than in recent years. But in 2024, eMarketer also predicts that customers will be more budget-conscious than in previous years, looking for discounts and smaller-ticket items. 

And remember, retail media marketers are — and should be — uniquely integrated into the broader retail organization more than any other advertising group. This integration means they must consider various retail realities that can significantly impact holiday planning. For example, inventory levels are critical; driving significant traffic to low-profit or potentially out-of-stock items can be detrimental. Retail media strategies must also align closely with overall business objectives, considering logistical considerations, supplier dynamics, and customer service capabilities. 

By aligning closely with the rest of the retail organization, marketers can craft campaigns that drive sales and enhance overall operational efficiency and profitability during the holiday season.

Take a full-funnel approach

A successful retail media strategy — for the holiday season or any other time of the year — requires a comprehensive full-funnel plan that leverages a multi-publisher, multi-ad format approach. 

Begin by planning for brand awareness at the top of the funnel, utilizing a variety of ad formats to reach a broad audience. Platforms like Amazon offer extensive online reach, making them ideal for display ads that introduce your brand to new customers. Meanwhile, Walmart and Target (via Roundel) provide opportunities to combine online ads with offline promotions, creating a cohesive brand presence across multiple touchpoints. This integration helps capture attention and build familiarity, setting the stage for deeper engagement.

In the consideration phase, tailor your strategies to specific retail media networks (RMNs). Specialty platforms like Ulta and Sephora are perfect for beauty products, while Home Depot’s RMN excels in reaching DIY enthusiasts. During this stage, it’s crucial to use a mix of video and display ads to showcase product benefits and unique selling points. Video ads, in particular, can be highly effective for demonstrating product use and creating an emotional connection with the audience, while display ads can reinforce key messages and drive traffic to product pages. Planning for these formats ensures that your brand remains top-of-mind as consumers evaluate their options.

Finally, ensure your plan includes conversion-focused strategies at the bottom of the funnel. Dynamic retargeting on platforms like Amazon can remind potential customers of items they’ve viewed, helping to convert interest into sales. Additionally, consider planning coordinated promotions that utilize both online and offline elements through RMNs like Walmart and Target. For instance, in-store displays and digital ads can work together to create a seamless shopping experience, encouraging purchases. By incorporating these tactics into your plan, you can effectively guide consumers through the purchase journey, maximizing reach and conversions during the critical holiday period.

Include testing and refining in real-time into your plan

When finalizing your holiday plan, including strategies for testing and refining campaigns in real-time is crucial. The fast-paced nature of the holiday season requires an adaptive approach, and your plan should outline the implementation of real-time monitoring systems. These systems will track ad performance across various channels, allowing for continuous optimization. With retail media CPCs increasing by 12% year-over-year, planning for real-time adjustments ensures that your budget remains focused on the most effective ads and channels.

Build A/B testing into your holiday plan as a critical component of real-time optimization. Plan to experiment with different ad creatives, copy, and targeting strategies to identify what resonates most with your audience. This should include testing various elements, such as product images, headlines, and calls to action, to determine the best combinations for maximizing engagement and conversions. By setting up these tests in advance, you can quickly implement successful strategies and refine your campaigns as new data comes in.

Finally, ensure that your plan includes provisions for pivoting based on the insights gathered. Making quick adjustments in response to real-time data is essential, especially as consumer preferences and competitor strategies shift rapidly during the holiday season. By planning for agility and responsiveness, you can capitalize on emerging trends and opportunities, keeping your campaigns relevant and impactful. This approach maximizes your holiday marketing efforts and provides valuable insights for future campaigns.

How Skai Can Help

As you refine your holiday retail media plans, Skai provides essential tools designed to optimize every aspect of your strategy. These tools help ensure your campaigns are well-prepared and capable of adapting to the dynamic holiday season.

Essential Skai Tools for Holiday Season Success

Campaign management hub. Plan your campaign strategy across platforms like Amazon, Walmart, and 100+ other RMNs. This hub centralizes your efforts, allowing for streamlined management and ensuring that your holiday ads are consistent and effectively targeted.

Skai Portfolios & Budget Navigator. Before finalizing your holiday plans, manage and optimize your budgets across multiple channels. This tool helps you allocate resources efficiently, ensuring that you are prepared to adjust spend based on performance and market conditions.

Skai Decision Pro. During the planning phase, use this tool for advanced media forecasting. It helps predict holiday demand and market trends, allowing you to allocate your budget effectively and prepare for key shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Advanced analytics & reporting. Once your holiday plan is live, use real-time analytics to track performance. This tool provides crucial insights into consumer behavior and campaign effectiveness, allowing you to make necessary data-driven adjustments.

Search term analysis. Optimize your search campaigns before launching your holiday plan by analyzing effective search terms. This ensures your ads target the right audience, especially those actively searching for holiday deals.

Incrementality measurement. As your holiday campaigns unfold, use this tool to evaluate incremental sales and measure the true impact of your efforts. This helps ensure your marketing strategies are contributing to overall growth.

Automation. The holiday season is chaotic, so plan to automate repetitive tasks like bid adjustments and budget reallocations. Automation increases efficiency and allows your team to focus on strategic decisions, ensuring your campaigns remain agile throughout the holiday season.

AI dayparting. Schedule ads during the planning stage using AI-driven insights to identify optimal times for ad placement. This ensures your campaigns reach consumers during peak holiday shopping hours, maximizing engagement.

Digital shelf intelligence. As part of your planning process, monitor and optimize your product listings with integrations from top retailers. This helps position your products competitively, ensuring visibility and appeal to holiday shoppers.

Omnichannel integration. During this period, plan to integrate your retail media with other channels, such as paid social and search. This creates a cohesive customer journey, essential for guiding consumers through the buying process from awareness to purchase.

By incorporating these Skai tools into your holiday planning, you can confidently address key considerations and prepare for a successful season. These capabilities ensure a comprehensive, well-rounded approach that maximizes your campaign’s effectiveness and drives significant results during the busiest shopping season of the year.

Get Skai into your plans now to be ready for the end of the year

Skai’s Retail Media solution empowers marketers to plan, execute, and measure digital campaigns that meet consumers when and where they shop. As part of our omnichannel platform, connect the walled gardens and manage campaigns on 100+ retailers, including Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Instacart, alongside major publishers across paid search, paid social, and apps. 

Client results include:

• 461% increase in Amazon Ads ROAS and 57% increase in page traffic for Bondi Sands
• 92% increase in share of voice on Amazon for a Fortune 500 CPG brand
• 72% increase in revenue for VTech
• 1,390% year-over-year sales growth for Kamado Joe

Sign up for a brief demo to see our cutting-edge retail media innovation firsthand.