{"id":5387,"date":"2019-01-09T13:56:54","date_gmt":"2019-01-09T13:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/?p=5387"},"modified":"2020-10-21T10:45:59","modified_gmt":"2020-10-21T10:45:59","slug":"social-media-engagement-over-holidays-how-retailers-fare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/social-media-engagement-over-holidays-how-retailers-fare","title":{"rendered":"Social media engagement over the holidays: how did retailers fare?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Christmas 2019 was widely expected to be tough for UK retailers, with sales in November down, and heavy discounting being used to boost sales in the run-up to the holiday season. But there is some hope as retailers start this week to report their Christmas figures. Reports say that sales from M&S\u00a0<\/span>suffered a fall in sales over the Christmas period, and Next reported higher-than-expected sales, <\/span>boosting shares by 6%<\/span><\/a>. <\/span> Christmas 2019 was widely expected to be tough for UK retailers, with sales in November down, and heavy discounting being used to boost sales in the run-up to the holiday season. But there is some hope as retailers start this week to report their Christmas figures. Reports say that sales from M&S\u00a0suffered a fall in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":5390,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,13,16],"tags":[],"series":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/holiday-retailers-e1620753360531.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Genuine-Humans.jpg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"amazon":{"key":"amazon","url":"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/3abc34c3-ff60-4a78-b347-6119461b7ed1\/GENUINE-HUMANS","label":"Amazon","class":"amazon","icon":"amazon.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/genuine-humans\/id1561811296","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVzb2NpYWxlbGVtZW50LmFnZW5jeS9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Q?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwiQz-mM7dzvAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/7jkfw0qeUlwrauhfy2pCGU","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/feed\/podcast","embedCode":"
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\nThe Centre for Retail Research predicted that UK consumers would spend <\/span>\u00a31bn on Christmas Day 2018<\/span><\/a>, and 1 in 4 adults were expected to do some internet shopping on the big day.<\/span>
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\nBut the holidays are also a time of mass returns and delivery queries. They are a time for technical questions about new gadgets and demand for extra support as people open their presents and can\u2019t work them (hello, <\/span>Alexa<\/span><\/a>). <\/span>
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\nSo much time, effort and money go into creating the perfect Christmas campaigns. Maintaining an excellent customer experience over the holiday, when staffing is stretched and customers are stressed, is tough, but critical to deliver on the campaign promise of those pre-Christmas ads. <\/span>
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\nNext was one of the top retailers for engagement over Christmas according to research by <\/span>Greenlight<\/span><\/a> (the top five were Primark, Converse, Superdrug, Next and Boots). We looked at what the best retailers do right, and what brands can learn from them for the next holiday season. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n
\nThe holidays are a great chance for brands to show a more human side. Social media teams may have to deal with emotive posts or time-sensitive issues. They will have to draw on their full range of customer communications skills to deal with those issues and to make fast decisions, as well as keeping up the festive spirit, sharing in customers\u2019 excitement and maintaining their usual high standards of engagement. This is a time when you need your best people on your social media feeds, not just your skeleton team. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Social media engagement over the holidays: how did retailers fare?<\/a><\/blockquote>