• by Jess Nelson , December 12, 2016

Online shoppers are 68% more likely to open a retailer’s email during the holiday season than at any other time of year, according to a recent study from Adlucent.

The digital marketing and intelligence company polled 571 U.S. consumers across 43 states that planned to shop online this holiday season to analyze their opinions on digital marketing. The data reveals that American consumers are more willing to engage with advertising during the holidays.

In addition to 68% of consumers being more likely to open a retailer’s email during the holidays when compared to the rest of the year, 32% of online shoppers suggested that they would be more likely to click on a retail ad.

It’s no surprise, then, that marketers are spending more money this holiday season than in past years. 

Marketing platform AdRoll conducted an internal study of its more than 25,000 customers, across industries, discovering that advertisers spent 17.9% more on Black Friday and 13.8% more on Thanksgiving this year than they did in 2015.

Advertisers increased their Facebook ad spend by 10.7% year-over-year, while Web retargeting and Web prospecting products witnessed even more increased ad spending in 2016. Web retargeting increased 33% year-over-year on Black Friday and 25.4% on Thanksgiving, while Web prospecting tools witnessed a 32.3% surcharge year-over-year on Black Friday and 30.2% on Thanksgiving. 

Promotions are the type of advertisement that consumers were most likely to engage with, as 81% of American consumers polled by Adlucent asserted that a discount would make them more likely to interact with an ad. Free shipping ranked as the second-most favorable promotion with 72% of respondents citing free delivery as propelling them to make a purchase. Fewer than 30% of respondents selected either personalization, geotargeting, recommended purchases or streamlined click-and-buy buttons as factors that motivated them to shop.

Thirty percent of American consumers have interacted with a search engine ad during the holidays, according to Adlucent, with 26% saying that the ad led to a purchase, while 23% of respondents have engaged with a social media ad, with 13% saying the social ad led to a purchase. A fifth of respondents asserted they have engaged with a display or banner ad during the holiday season, with 11% testifying that they had completed a purchase as a result.