Visual China.
Text |Value Planet, Author |Zhu Ming, edTang Fei.In recent days, the festive atmosphere of Christmas has become more and more intense.
And this atmosphere has gradually "spread" from the purchase of Christmas trees and Christmas flowers to more fields, such as Luckin Coffee and Cudi Coffee have launched Christmas-limited drinks and merchandise, and Lay's has launched a special version of potato chips aimed at party scenes.
As an important festival in the West, the influence of Christmas has also spread to China from across the ocean, and has gradually caused a consumption boom. This festival full of joy and romance is not only an exchange of culture and customs, but also an important sales node for merchants throughout the year.
Consumers, whether it is for the needs of the festival or the atmosphere infection, most of them will increase their consumption spending.
In the past few years, due to the booming consumption of the global Christmas season, Merriam-Webster Dictionary has added a new word - "Christmas spread".
The term is used to describe the excitement of retailers launching a number of marketing strategies and themed merchandise in the run-up to Christmas in order to extend the winter shopping cycle, increase sales and seize the market.
Many consumers have also been affected by the Christmas pandemic, with 88% of consumers saying they will celebrate Christmas in 2023, according to the 2023 U.S. Christmas Shopping Insights. 48% of Gen Zers say they will spend more on shopping this year than they did in 2022. In terms of the popularity value of Christmas gifts, clothes and shoes are at the top of the list, and gift cards and electronics are in first place.
Second, the third place.
Source: "2023 American Christmas Shopping Insights".
With the advancement of globalization, domestic consumers are becoming more and more aware of Christmas. Many brands and merchants are also trying to tap the market increment through "Christmas spread".
Recently, food and beverage brands such as Luckin Coffee and Algebra, supermarket brands such as Sam's and Hema and Disney have all launched Christmas season activities in an effort to boost consumption during the holiday season.
Luckin Coffee, which has been handy in cross-border marketing, will not let go of any festival where it can "do things". Recently, Luckin announced that it has collaborated with "Tom and Jerry" again to launch a new co-branded product "Christmas Sweetheart Latte". There is no co-branded paper cup this time, but the cup sleeve is printed with elements such as Christmas tree, cat and mouse. The "Christmas Sweetheart Latte" will be accompanied by 3 other drinks and 3 desserts.
Source: Luckin Coffee's official mini program.
Luckin's rival Cudi is not idle, and online information shows that Cudi has launched Christmas consumption activities in many cities, including "Toffee Raw Coconut Latte, Toffee Raw Cheese Latte, Toffee Raw Cheese Rock Tea 9."9 early adopters", "If you purchase 2 or more drinks or 1 drink + food in a single order, you can choose to receive a free 'Spy Playing Genuine Authorized Sticker'" and you can pay to purchase "'Spy Playing Genuine Authorized Mouse Pad' and 'Spy Playing Genuine Authorized Canvas Bag'" and so on.
Coffee brand Algebra has also launched a new Christmas Warm Winter limited collection, including four products: Alpine Cedar Cocoa, Alpine Cedar Tea Latte, Apple Cinnamon Scone and Raw Chocolate Mousse Cake. In addition, the algebraist also invited the artist to customize the oil painting "Warm Memories of Winter" with the theme of the Christmas snow season, and integrated the elements of the painting into the design of paper bags and cup sleeves.
In addition to food and beverage brands, there are also physical supermarkets and theme parks to welcome the arrival of Christmas. Sam's Club offers a wide range of Christmas ornaments, from Christmas trees, Christmas lights, to Christmas ornaments and ornaments, all in one place. Hema x Club has launched a special version of Lay's Potato Chips in advance, which comes in a Christmas tree-shaped gift box with 7 flavors and a full 14 packs, which can basically meet the needs of a family.
Christmas-themed products in the Hema x member store. Source: Internet.
The Christmas season at Shanghai Disneyland began on November 23 and is scheduled to continue until New Year's Day. This year's Christmas-themed decorations stretch from the main entrance to the Garden of Wonder with a glittering Christmas wreath of flowers. The Disney Character Meeting Point on Mickey Street will also be decorated with a Christmas-themed backdrop for a more immersive photo experience.
Also in Shanghai, in addition to large parks such as Disney, Christmas markets in various areas of Shanghai are also very popular. According to the data, there are different types of Christmas markets held near more than 10 Shanghai landmarks such as Hongqiao City, Jing An Kerry Centre, BFC Bund Financial Center, Tung Le Fang, Moho Mall, etc., and the longest duration can last from December 2 to January 2.
In this era of serious distraction, many brands and merchants are trying to grab the attention of consumers in the Christmas season, and then add a fire to the "rush performance" at the end of the year.
Why is there a spending boom during the Christmas season?It can be analyzed from two levels: the consumer psychology of the C-end and the merchant actions of the B-side.
In Western countries, Christmas is the most important festival of the year, and its importance is as important as the Chinese celebrate the "Spring Festival". So around Christmas, they also have to make appropriate purchases to prepare for the holidays. For Chinese consumers, Christmas is more like a "foreign festival" mixed with a variety of emotional needs, it is both a social festival and a ritual festival.
First of all, many people celebrate Christmas to meet social needs. Gift-giving is one of the most popular social activities at Christmas, which adds a reason to go out and socialize. It can be a date between a single man and a woman, or a party between friends. What you buy and what you give is secondary, and the emotional connection is the key. Of course, this emotional connection invisibly drives consumption.
Secondly, many people celebrate Christmas for a sense of ritual. Nowadays, more and more young people celebrate the festival, not necessarily because they like the connotation of the festival, but because they like the sense of ritual in the festival. According to a survey released by the Social Survey Center of China Youth Daily and the Joint Questionnaire Network, 909% of the young people surveyed would take the initiative to create a sense of ritual in their daily lives, 635% of the young people surveyed believe that a sense of ritual is an important way to express emotions.
Many people are willing to pay for a sense of ritual, and a platform consumer psychology study by Nielsenki, a market monitoring and data analysis company, found that 53% of people agree that consumption "requires a sense of ritual", and 82% of consumers pay attention to "emotional value" among consumers' reasons for purchasing.
There are also some people who have neither social needs nor ritual needs, and are more herd tendencies. While many consumers now consider themselves to be rational, they tend to become irrational in groups. A simple example is popular models such as sauce latte and Zibo barbecue, because they are so popular that almost everyone is discussing it, so consumers will inevitably pay to try it, and this kind of herd consumption has become the norm. In the book "The Rabble", it is stated that when an individual is an isolated individual, he has his own distinct personality characteristics, but when he is integrated into the group, all his personality will be submerged, and he will appear emotional and irrational.
As a result, under the overwhelming marketing and publicity of merchants and the rendering of the surrounding people's festivals, many people also spent Christmas, perhaps simply watching a movie or eating a hot pot, but they also contributed to consumption.
Behind the surging spread of Christmas, the consumption psychology of C-end consumers is the foundation, and the actions of B-end merchants are the driving force.
Although all kinds of businesses have different actions, they all grasp the same core -Scenario consumption
The so-called consumption scenario is to integrate a product or service into a specific scene to make it have emotional value. An excellent consumption scenario can enhance consumer engagement and experience, and drive other consumption in the scene to stimulate consumption vitality.
For example, Luckin's "Christmas Sweetheart Latte" not only closely follows the hot spots of Christmas, but also builds a scene of "memory killing". "Cat and Mouse" is a childhood memory for many young consumers, and some consumers will display the "Christmas Sweetheart Latte" on social platforms after buying it, thus satisfying their social needs. There are also some people who are fans of cats and mice, and they not only get pleasure in memories but also meet their personalized needs by DIY stickers on coffee cups, and the "double buff" blessing stimulates consumers' desire to buy.
Disney is also a master of "scene consumption", with the same scene construction and clothing accessories as in the animation, making consumers feel like they have stepped into that fairy tale world. To welcome Christmas, Shanghai Disneyland has been decorated with Christmas elements, including craft workshops, entertainment, food, accommodation, and more, creating a huge scene that blends fairy tales and Christmas.
Therefore, the scene is the killer feature for businesses to seize the Christmas consumption season.
A philosopher once said, "Everything is changing, and the only constant is change itself."
The "Christmas spread" will not last forever, and some brands should also be wary of the "Christmas fatigue" after the "Christmas spread" while seizing the consumption season in China.
One data shows that there are fewer online mentions of Christmas so far this year than in any year since 2020, and nearly 2 million fewer mentions in November this year compared to the peak in 2021.
Not only are they reluctant to mention Christmas, but consumers in some countries are even more reluctant to spend on Christmas. According to a survey for this year's Christmas, 77% of online sentiment classifications about "Christmas spread" abroad this year are negative.
The immediate reason behind this is that some consumers don't want to be interrupted by Christmas theme songs, food, and movies for a long time, and they are already tired of it, i.e., "Christmas fatigue".
The more fundamental reason is that they are disgusted with the strong commercialization of Christmas and the aggressive marketing of merchants.
In order to solve these problems, on the one hand, it is necessary to reduce the commercialization atmosphere in the festival, and on the other hand, it is necessary to inject more emotions into the product or marketing to bring value other than material.
For example, Cadbury, a British confectionery company, has launched the "Secret Santa Claus Mailing Service" campaign for many years. This campaign helps consumers mail free chocolates to their loved ones or friends, making them feel loved and blessed. In this campaign, Cadbury not only did not make consumers spend more, but gave them more discounts. This activity also allowed Cadbury to gain more consumer favor, and its performance continued to grow. Last year alone, Cadbury's annual revenue increased by 2£6.1 billion.
No matter what festival it is, emotion is the best way for businesses to impress consumers**. In turn, the differentiation of consumers' perception of the merchant can also boost the growth of the merchant.
According to the core principle of "Positioning Theory", "The First Law", a brand can win better long-term development by separating itself from competition in the minds of customers and becoming the first in a certain field, so as to lead the business operation.
Christmas fatigue is a new challenge and an opportunity. This phenomenon reminds us that we need to pay more attention to the emotional needs of consumers. In this special holiday season, brands should not only pursue sales growth, but also focus on consumers' emotional experience to win the hearts and minds of consumers.
References
1] "2023 U.S. Christmas Shopping Insights," Weltro.