Shoppers are actively discovering, curating and purchasing the perfect gifts for this upcoming holiday season. So how do you make it to the top of the shopper's gift lists this season and hit your year-end targets? Meet the holiday shopper’s mindset with YouTube’s AI-powered solutions to connect with shoppers in the right moment, with the right message.

Reinforce confidence in purchase decisions

Online video shoppers are 3.9x more likely to start on YouTube than any other platform.^[1] One of the reasons why shoppers look to YouTube for inspiration is its diverse formats to fit each shopper’s specific preferences. The results speak for themselves, with over 150 billion views on YouTube Shorts, videos and live streams that contained tagged products last year.^[2]

To differentiate yourself from the competition this holiday season, long form is particularly helpful to tell your full brand story. According to a US survey conducted by Material, 73% of online video shoppers report that YouTube long form videos are important when comparing products/brands.^[3] Whether the long form video is an unboxing, product review or shopalong, YouTube helps shoppers find reliable, trustworthy information to buy a product with confidence. It’s why 85% of people who use YouTube in their shopping journey say they have purchased or plan to purchase a brand again^[4]

And more importantly, YouTube instills confidence in shoppers to make and keep their purchases. YouTube’s influence cuts down the average online video shopper’s journey by six days^[5] and 93% of respondents who shop on YouTube reported that they kept their purchases.^[6]

Enable seamless omnichannel experiences

Retailers with established omnichannel strategies report higher rates of revenue growth. ^[7] With 2 in 3 US consumers making decisions about what they’re going to buy before they get to the store,^[8] digital channels are critical to any successful omnichannel strategy. In particular, YouTube is an essential channel, ranked #1 among video services and social media platforms for shopping and browsing if respondents could only pick one service.^[9]

To get in front of shoppers while they’re browsing, join YouTube Shopping’s affiliate program. Creators can tag your brand’s products when they’re featured in videos and Shorts, allowing you to not only reach shoppers before they go in-store, but also drive online conversions with viewers able to seamlessly purchase products without even leaving the video.

Show up for the always-on shopper with an always-on strategy

As shoppers move through the 4 holiday mindsets, we’re seeing them purchase earlier in the season and continue shopping beyond the traditional “Cyber 5”. This past Labor Day, the collective search volume for upcoming events, like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas and New Year’s, experienced a notable 35% surge.^[10] And according to a Mastercard analysis conducted by BCG, in 2022, U.S. consumers spent as much in the three days post Cyber Monday as they spent on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.^[11] So it is essential to use AI-powered tools to find these moments throughout the season and capture opportunities as they arise.

To keep up with the always-on shopper, you should have an always-on strategy. AI-powered video action campaigns can help you engage shoppers while they’re browsing gift ideas across a custom mix of YouTube formats and screens. These campaigns are proven to boost conversions up to 20%,^[12] helping turn interest into purchase and multiply your peak days this holiday season.

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