Customers often have one hand on their shopping carts and the other on their smartphones as they browse the internet listening to their favorite song or podcast. Shopping is an omnichannel, multi-sensory experience—and audio plays a key part.
Take a moment to reflect on sound as part of your holiday experience: Hearing festive music as you walk the aisles in-store, tuning into your favorite podcasts for tips throughout the season and singing along to your favorite playlist at home as you make your shopping and wishlists. In fact, SXM Media’s 2021 Holiday study found that 53% of audio streamers listen to holiday music on the way to stores for gift shopping.
Audio isn’t just a nice-to-have this holiday season. It actually drives purchases. The same study found that over half of Pandora listeners learn about potential holiday gifts for loved ones while listening to music on streaming audio. And nearly half learn about holiday gifts while listening to podcasts.
There are some major trends intensifying this holiday season: mobile commerce (mcommerce), omnichannel shopping and podcasts. Marketers and media buyers who want to win big this year will incorporate audio as a key part of their media mix with unique activations that play into these major trends.
Mcommerce and audio prepare for major innovations
It’s no secret: Mobile shopping reigns supreme. Retail mcommerce sales increased over 15% from 2020 to 2021, with $359 billion in purchases. And those numbers are expected to double over the next three years.
There have been major technological innovations that make the mobile shopping experience easier and more accessible for consumers as well—and shoppable media is a hot ticket item. Pair this with the idea that 30% of listeners are listening to audio on their mobile phones, and the writing is on the wall: Shoppable audio is here to stay.
There are some pieces in play that brands can utilize, such as deep linking to shorten the path to purchase, advanced targeting segments to reach the right audience and Dynamic Audio to personalize ads for an optimized listener experience.
Audio complements the hybrid shopping experience
While it’s clear that mcommerce is gaining traction, it’s not the only shopping behavior consumers are engaging in. People are excited to be in stores again, but they have also gotten comfortable with the range of virtual purchasing habits they’ve developed and relied on over the past few years, with 66% of consumers shopping both online and in-store to get the job done.
Consumers now have the flexibility to discover, purchase, review and return items in various ways. And to keep up, brands should be present at multiple touchpoints to drive engagement and influence throughout their shopping journey.
Audio offers the perfect opportunity to connect with consumers throughout the entire funnel, reaching them wherever they are shopping. Creative innovations such as dynamic and sequential audio also allow advertisers to keep the story fresh and continue to drive purchases the more a consumer listens.
Podcasts have joined audio’s influence
We already know how effective podcast ads are. According to a study from Edison Research and Ad Result, 65% of listeners act after hearing a podcast ad. And with the explosive rise of podcast listening, consumers are continuing to turn to podcasts throughout their holiday experience—from gift inspiration and shopping motivation to even entertainment during gift wrapping.
For advertisers, this means podcasts are an amazing opportunity to engage a leaned-in audience and add incremental reach to holiday campaigns. Podcasts are now available to purchase programmatically and at-scale, with progressive targeting capabilities (such as contextual targeting) that allow you to reach listeners in the shopping or holiday mindsets.
And keep in mind, podcast hosts have transformed into influencers in their own right—having built deep, trusting connections with listeners. By partnering with the hosts and content they love, you become part of the inner circle and recommended products. Think: parenting podcasts with tips and advice on making it through the season, food podcasts with recipe ideas and so much more. The opportunities are endless.
Add audio to cart this holiday season
A lot has changed over the past few years, and consumers are only getting more demanding. They’re everywhere, listening to everything and you have to be right there with them every step of the way. And audio does just that.
