With the first day of Spring soon to be upon us – the official date is the 20th of March – it’s goodbye winter and hello new season. Spring is a time for fresh starts, synonymous with clearing out the cupboards and hitting the reset button on our lives (and our wardrobes!).
It’s an important moment in the retail calendar as customers plan ahead towards the summer, with Mother’s Day, Wedding Season and summer holidays all providing key opportunities for spending. But what are the best ways to make sure you’re tapping into Spring’s retail potential, from the first day onwards….
For some people Spring isn’t just about dusting off the metaphorical cobwebs, it’s about getting rid of the real ones too. And along with tidying and cleaning up our homes – Spring is said to be the most common time for people to do a yearly deep clean – research has shown that Spring is also a key time for people to refresh their home décor.
If you’re looking to make headway with those wanting to update their homes, the best place to start is on Instagram, which has become the platform of choice for interior designers and bloggers alike. Little wonder really when 72% of people say they are influenced to make purchases from the photo-sharing platform. And, if you want to add authority to your campaigns, the best thing to do is it to look to partner with an influencer with clout in the space; think @design_at_nineteen for cool contemporary content or @_the.west.nets_ for chic family home vibes.
Get pinning
When it comes to marketing strategy Pinterest can often get left at the bottom of the pile in favour of the more popular Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. However, when it comes to Spring, it’s the perfect tool for marketing to those planning their seasonal overall. Why? Because Pinterest is actively known as a ‘productivity tool,’ with 83% of women, in particular, using it to plan big or small life moments. And with many of the images on the site being clickable, it’s a great way for brands to drive traffic back to their own homepages.
What’s more, Pinterest is a great place to utilise paid advertising, where paid-for pins blend far more organically with generic content than on other social media platforms. If you’re looking to incorporate Pinterest into your Spring plans a lead could be taken from an innovative campaign run by Macy’s for Perfect Summer Fashion. In the summer of 2019 the American company placed scannable ‘pin codes,’ in summer hotspots, once scanned these would lead the customer back to a Pinterest board which highlighted the perfect outfit for their location; an idea that could be emulated for Spring as people look to update their wardrobe.
Keep an eye on sustainability
By now we know that sustainability is big business and thinking about our impact on the planet is a key concern for consumers right now. Research from Deloitte shows that 80% of millennials globally, for example, expect that brands should ‘behave ethically,’ and take steps to diminish their global impact and those aged 25-35 are expected to spend $150billion on sustainable goods by 2021.
This means when it comes to Spring marketing and e-commerce opportunities messaging will be key. It’s out with ‘sell, sell, sell,’ and in with tempered marketing which touches either on a. what you’re doing when it comes to sustainability, or b. what you could be doing. The fashion brand Reformation i is a great example of how to tap into this savvy audience, with knowing copy and a transparent approach to marketing, they even created the ‘RefScale,’ which tells the customer exactly what impact their products are having on the environment.
Seasonal touch points
From Mother’s Day on the 22nd of March to Easter Sunday on the 12th of April, outside of the realms of Christmas and Valentine’s Day then Spring presents a key time to push gifting products. Especially when, according to research by MuchNeeded.com, 60% of people in the UK will purchase something for their Mother, with an average spend of £58. Plus, a survey by GlobalData revealed that the overall spend topped £1.6billion last year.
Of course, there are the traditionalists who will be gifting cards and flowers, but above and beyond that fashion, alcohol and non-traditional ideas such as spa days are all on the up. These days also present the perfect time to boost engagement among your consumers with competitions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram which focus around sharing emotive memories related to their mothers.
Work with the weather…
Traditionally Spring is the time when we start to see the deathly cold of winter start to lift in favour of longer, brighter days. For fashion brands, in particular, this is a key time to focus on the wardrobe refresh and, with both the wedding season and potential summer holidays coming up, it’s a key time to push seasonal products.
According to research by American Express on average guests will spend £68 on a new outfit for every wedding they attend, while a survey by clothing retailed SilkFred revealed that on average people will spend between £51.42 and £66.29 on new clothes every time they go on holiday, buying up to six items each. These moments are not only great for spending, but they’re also a brilliant time to collage some UGC, whether it’s calling out for people to share their wedding outfits or asking them to tag your brand in their holiday snaps, but this content can also then be used across your social media channels as well as marketing communications, allowing your customers to really feel like they are part of your brand.
…But always have a contingency plan
We don’t need to tell you that the British weather can be – at best – unpredictable, so when you’re working out your Spring strategy it’s always good to have a back-up plan up your sleeve for when the mercury doesn’t play ball.
This could mean planning communications around unexpected rainy days, thinking about people who might be staying at home, or – especially when it comes to fashion – talking about those everyday items which aren’t going to be pushed to the back of the wardrobe when the weather isn’t up to scratch. We’re talking jeans, layers, shoes and anything else you can wear come rain, or (fingers crossed!) shine.
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Olivia Foster is a freelance writer and content producer specialising in fashion, entertainment and women’s lifestyle. She has written for Grazia, Marie Claire, and Stylist.
