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Many marketers invest significant time and money to attract new customers for the winter holidays. But after all that work, what happens to those customers in the new year? By analyzing purchase data from our bank partners, Cardlytics found that now is a critical time to reconnect with customers to build loyalty for the new year.

Most newly acquired holiday customers lapse in Q1 but shop the competition

Across top retailers, over 77% of customers acquired during the holidays didn’t return to the same retailer in the first quarter of the new year. However, on average, 40% of these same lapsed customers spent with the retailer’s competitors in Q1. Retailers looking to hold onto their gains in market share should re-engage these customers this quarter.

New holiday customers drive more value if they come back quickly

When customers acquired during the holiday spent again in Q1, they also drove greater value during the rest of year. These Q1 return customers spent 4.6 times more between Q2-Q4, on average, with that same retailer compared to those who waited until Q2 or later to make their next purchase. The customers who came back in Q1 were also 2.1 times more likely to make a repeat purchase during the rest of the year.

Retain new Holiday customers to grow sales in Q1 & beyond

These next few months present a key opportunity to bring back those hard-won holiday customers and set a strong foundation for this next year. At Cardlytics, we leverage purchase insights to ensure marketers’ ads reach relevant audiences—including customers who made their first purchase during the holidays—and drive measurable sales. Let’s work together now to make the most of your post-holiday sales momentum for a more abundant 2020.

A few weeks ago, we looked at which shopping channels command the most holiday spend. Equally important is knowing when this spend will occur. Here are three must-know trends about holiday seasonality —specifically, when each channel sees the most activity in spend.1. Brick & Mortar’s online properties saw the biggest Black Friday / Cyber Monday boostOrange may be the new Black Friday, but this customary retail event was the most important seasonal sales driver for traditional retailers’ online properties. Customers are still paying attention to stores well-known for their Black Friday doorbusters, but they are more and more likely to forego early mornings and crowded stores to snag a good deal from the comfort of their homes.2. Online-only retailers cracked Cyber Monday​ Last year, purely eCommerce retailers like Amazon also saw a bump in Black Friday/Cyber Monday spend. This was a significant change from the year prior when online-only retailers saw comparatively flat spend that week. The mid-season spend momentum carried well into the season until finally peaking the week before Christmas—when shipping guarantees start to become too close for comfort.

3. In-store spend shifting to later in the season​Still commanding the largest share of customers’ budgets, in-store spend saw far more gradual and stable increases across the season. While physical locations saw modest activity around Black Friday, their biggest time to shine was in the eleventh-hour. In the final weeks of December, customers flocked to physical stores to secure final gifts in hand without the uncertainty of shipping snafus.Actionable Tips:There’s still plenty of time to capture holiday sales this season—especially those last-minute spikes seen by Brick & Mortar and Online-Only channels. Brick & Mortar retailers can appeal to eleventh-hour shoppers by highlighting extended store hours, inventory assurance tools, and gift guides. Online-Only and Brick&Mortar.coms can win more sales by offering last-minute express shipping guarantees.Want more Holiday insights? Check out our other holiday spend trends, and check back weekly for new holiday insights.

Each year, CES showcases the latest breakthroughs in technology and sets the stage for future innovation. Cardlytics looks forward to kicking off 2020 alongside our partners and friends at this iconic event. If you or your leadership plan to be in Las Vegas next month, please join us as we discuss how to solve critical challenges in today’s evolving marketing landscape.

Here’s where you can find us:From Clicks to Bricks: Online Gets PhysicalWhile traditional retail continued to face many challenges, 2019 was the year that many digitally native, high-growth stores crossed over to open physical branches. On Wednesday, our President of Advertising, Ross McNab, will join executives from Facebook, Saatva, and Coresight Research to discuss the reasons behind this trend and how marketers can build their own winning omnichannel strategies.When: Wednesday 1/8 at 12:15 p.m. PSTWhere: Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) North Hall, N253Brand Innovators Mega-TrendsAs part of Brand Innovators’ Mega-Trends event, I am looking forward to moderating a Women in Marketing Leadership Forum with leaders from Uber, Sutter Health, Intuit, and Crane USA.Stay tuned for more details in the comingdays.When: Wednesday 1/8 at 11:35 a.m. PSTWhere: The Four Seasons, Las VegasTerrace Suite at the CosmopolitanCardlytics’ executives will be hosting meetings at our private terrace suite—just steps away from CES Tech South. We look forward to sharing a sneak peek of our 2020 roadmap and discussing how we can support your goals.When: Monday 1/6 – Thursday 1/9Where: The Cosmopolitan, Las VegasThe Green Room LoungeRecharge with the Cardlytics team on Tuesday 1/7 at The Green Room Lounge. This invite-only traveling lounge will host a series of exclusive content, networking opportunities, dinners, and happy hours at the Cosmo Hotel’s Blue Ribbon restaurant.When: Tuesday 1/7 from 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. PSTWhere: Blue Ribbon Restaurant at The Cosmopolitan, Las VegasIf you are planning to attend CES and would like to meet with one of our executives, drop us an email us at events@cardlytics.com. Best wishes for the new year, and we hope to see you in Vegas.

With Black Friday weekend over, customers are hustling to wrap up their shopping. Retailers who emphasize convenience and make finding the perfect gift easy will be well-positioned for a merry season. This brings us to the next trend in our Holiday 2019 series:Multiline retailers dominate both online and in-storeLast year, Multiline retailers like Target, Walmart, and Amazon not only accounted for 60% of all online spend, but they also made up 45% of all spend at physical stores. This indicates that consumers prefer to check all the items off their shopping lists at one location—regardless of whether they’re doing so in person or at the click of a button. Specialized retailers who sell one category of goods must give customers a reason to make that extra trip.

Which categories are winning specialty share?​While Multiline took the lion’s share of holiday spend, several categories drove customers to make more specialized trips. Runners-up for biggest share of online spend include Apparel (15%), Home & Garden (9%), and Electronics (5%). Several categories of specialized stores are faring a bit better at their physical stores. Apparel (19%), Home & Garden (17%), and Beauty & Health (8%) picked up the largest share after Multiline. Actionable Tips:To protect their share, both Multiline and specialized retailers should consider offering sales on exclusive brands or products and highlighting them in any promotional materials.Remember to emphasize the unique convenience factors of all your shopping channels. For instance, verifiable quality and knowledgeable staff for physical retailers, shoppable gift guides for online retailers, and easy in-store pickup to foster valuable omnichannel shopping behavior.Want more Holiday insights? Check out our other holiday spend trends, and check back weekly for new holiday insights.

Ross McNab joined Cardlytics on October 1 from MediaMath. I sat down with him to learn more about why he chose Cardlytics, what he’s been up to during his first few months, and what plans he has in store for 2020.Welcome to Cardlytics! Tell us a bit more about what brought you here.ROSS: Thanks! Happy to be here. When I made the decision to leave MediaMath, I outlined a list of criteria that I felt was important for my next opportunity. The first category was Does the Company Matter, and the good news was that for Cardlytics, the answer quickly became “yes!” as I got to know the people and understand the value proposition. The second category was Are They in a Growth Market, and again, the answer to that was “yes, absolutely.” There is more money flowing into media and digital than ever before. The third category was Business State. I wanted to join a company that was winning, and Cardlytics is absolutely winning with immense opportunity. The fourth category was Leadership Group. It was quickly apparent that the leadership team here is extremely high caliber. The final category was Role in Organization, and Cardlytics scored high in this area as well. Cardlytics was hands down the best experience that I had when interviewing, and that also helped set it apart from the other companies I was talking to at the time.What did you do before you joined Cardlytics?ROSS: After I moved to Sydney from my hometown of Perth, Australia, I started working for an AdTech company called MediaMind. I ran the APAC team in Hong Kong for a year, and then was moved to New York. Eventually, I moved back to Sydney and started my own business (Kinected) which acted as an AdTech launch vehicle for multiple AdTech technologies into the APAC marketplace. I came back to New York in 2014 and sold that business to a company called MediaMath, which is where I’ve been for the past five years.You started on October 1. How have the first few months been?ROSS: Truthfully, I feel like I’ve been going to school. It’s been quite a learning experience! When I joined MediaMath, I had a long-standing relationship with them, so I knew the business very well and I knew many of the decision-makers there. Since I did have my own company at one point, I’ve worked in almost every role – I’ve done operations, I’ve done account management, I’ve done analytics, I’ve done sales, and I’ve done HR. I’ve even overseen the kitchen ordering. Needless to say, it’s been a long time since I’ve taken on a new role at a completely new company, and it has been a big learning experience. I’m getting to learn a lot about the Atlanta scene, too, which has been quite an experience.You’ve been in Atlanta quite a bit lately. Are you planning to stay in New York?ROSS: Yes, I will be based in New York. New York is important to the business because it’s the center of the advertising universe. It’s appropriate that a company of our stature and potential has an executive presence there, and we already have a great team in the city. It’s a team that we will certainly want to invest in and rally around. In fact, we’re already outgrowing our office and are looking to move into a larger space. That has all happened over the course of two months. However, I know that early on my physical presence in the Atlanta office will be very important so that I can build credibility with the team. So, I’ll be in Atlanta a lot, too.What have you learned about Cardlytics since you started?ROSS: The main learning is that yes, we matter. And put simply, our clients are better off because we exist, and that is really cool. That is not normal. Most businesses address a certain part of the market and they add some value, and they do it maybe 5 to 10 percent differently than everyone else. But we really matter, and we make a positive impact on our clients. And the best part is that we can prove it with our data.The other neat part about our platform is that it’s incredibly defensible. It is almost impossible to replicate the unique relationships that we have created with our financial institutions. We need to be continuously proud of that.I’ve also learned that there’s still phenomenal opportunity, and I don’t think a single person who works for Cardlytics would disagree. There are opportunities to expand, explore new revenue streams, target new customer segments, and to introduce automation in the business. To put it in a one-liner, I don’t think we came this far to come this far. There is still a long road filled with opportunity ahead.What’s on deck as we begin 2020?ROSS: If these first few months have been a learning experience, the next few months will be me embracing our motto and Getting Shit Done. I’ll be shifting my focus to what we need to do as a business to capitalize on our many opportunities for growth and the amazing foundation that has been built over the last 10 years.I see this time period as a great opportunity to realign, step back, and decide who we can do great work for. What are the types of clients that we could do our best work for? What do they look like today? How do we find more like that? How do we encourage and repeat the great things that are going on?We need to put the client at the center. Just like any business that has grown up over 10 years, we have evolved, and we have certain ways that we do things because that’s how we’ve had to do them. Right now, we have an interesting opportunity to step back and make sure we are putting the client in the center.I’ll also be focusing on the organization of my team. What’s the right team structure? What are the right roles for those teams? What are the right definitions of those roles? How do we help the people who are already very successful in their roles keep growing? How do we augment those roles with new talent coming in? What things need to change in order to replicate the success we’ve had? We need to decide who we exist to do great work for by looking at who we already do great work for. There is a lot I will be thinking about as we enter the new year, and I’m excited for the positive change and the success that lies ahead.________________________________________________________________________________________Ross McNab joined Cardlytics as President, North America Advertising from MediaMath, an independent programmatic company for marketers. While there, he tripled the company’s revenue from leading marketers by forging strategic improvements to commercial strategy as their North America Managing Director. In his role at Cardlytics, McNab has joined the executive leadership team, and will lead the North America advertising team to drive continued revenue growth for thecompany.A native of Australia, McNab co-founded Kinected in Sydney, Australia in 2012, which would eventually be acquired by MediaMath. Prior to its purchase, Kinected operated ad technologies in Australia, New Zealand, and the wider APAC region. As Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer, McNab oversaw sales, client service, finance, and HR. Prior to Kinected, McNab was the Director of Global Business Development at MediaMind, where he incubated a managed-service demand-side platform offered in North America, EMEA, and APAC.

Retail continues to evolve with the introduction of new disruptors and innovative sales experiences. In analyzing the top holiday spend trends, Cardlytics saw that customers are quickly embracing two major shopping trends that are driving growth across categories: eCommerce and direct-to-consumer brands.eCommerce retailers spread good cheer​Retailers no longer require a physical presence to gain customer awareness. In the past year, eCommerce brands saw an increase of 12% in overall holiday spend. These companies were generally established as online-only, with the vast majority of their sales still taking place online—for example, Wayfair, Casper, Warby Parker, Etsy, and Stitchfix.eCommerce brands saw significant growth across several categories—often outperforming their non-eCommerce counterparts. Growth categories include Pets (+51%), Multiline (+14%), Beauty & Health (+12%), Branded Apparel (+9%), Sporting Goods (+6%), and Home & Garden (+5%).

Peace, joy, and brand loveIn addition to adopting eCommerce-only retailers, customers are increasingly willing to purchase directly from the brands they know and trust. Rather than look for a preferred brand at a multiline retailer, customers can browse a full product line-up and purchase directly within a brand’s own environment—for example at Nike.com or Nike-branded stores. These branded properties saw year-over-year growth in categories where their multi-brand counterparts saw a decline. Examples include branded Sporting Goods (+8%), Shoes (+7%), and Apparel (+4%). 

Actionable Tips:Channel the eCommerce trend: Strengthen your online and mobile properties with price matching, shoppable gift guides, and free shipping to attract more digital customers.Build strong brand connections: Well-recognized brands are driving holiday shoppers to make specialized purchases. Consider emphasizing deals on branded goods in your holiday marketing materials—whether your store sells one brand or one hundred—to make the most of this spend trend.Find out where your customers are shopping when they’re not shopping with you: Are key competitors in your category offering a selection or price that you’re not? Beyond your category, are there potential tie-ins or partnerships that might align with your best customer’s shopping habits? Using powerful purchase history, Cardlytics helps answer these questions and more, putting insights into action to ultimately drive sales and grow market share.Want more Holiday insights? Check out our complete list of 2019 holiday spend trends.

Let’s face it: while much has been said this year about the Retailpocalypse – or the numerous stores and malls shuttering around the country—in-store is still bringing in substantial sales. This brings us to Cardlytics’ third holiday spend trend for marketers:Online channels continue to grow share, but in-store sales still dominate holiday spend​Purely eCommerce retailers like Amazon may make up the fastest growing channel, but they’re far from being the largest channel in terms of share. Last year, the vast majority of all holiday spend—over 78%—still happened in physical stores.

While convenient, Online Only retailers grew by 1.3 share points at the expense of in-store spend, traditional Brick & Mortars were able to offset some of their share loss by driving customers to their online and mobile properties. These Brick&Mortar.coms saw a 0.2 increase in share points year-over-year and made up 8.4% of overall holiday spend.Actionable Tips:

1. Brick & Mortar retailers: be sure to emphasize the unique convenience factors of in-store shopping in your holiday marketing. For instance, knowledgeable staff, verifiable quality, easy gift returns, and the ability to shop 11^th hour deals after shipping deadlines have passed.
2. Online Only retailers: Strengthen your online and mobile channels with price matching, shoppable gift guides, and free shipping to attract more digital customers.
3. Brick&Mortar.coms: Promote in-store pickup options to help customers flow more easily between your online and in-store channels. This flexibility will help foster valuable omnichannel shopping behavior (more on that next week).

Want more Holiday insights? Check out Cardlytics’ other holiday spend trends and stay tuned for next week’s post. We’ll be detailing the massive upside of driving omnichannel shopping behavior during the holidays.

Today’s consumers value convenience and flip easily between online and in-store shopping. This omnichannel behavior presents a valuable opportunity for retailers—and brings us to our fourth holiday spend trend:Holiday shoppers spend more at retailers when they shop both online and in-store                   At Cardlytics, we’ve found that the industry buzz around omni is more than just hype. Omni customers who shop both in-store and online at the same retailer spend twice as much during the holidays as those customers who also made multiple trips but stuck to just one channel.

While the majority of holiday shoppers inevitably shop both online and in-store, they rarely do so at the same retailer. In fact, only 10.3% of customers at top retailers are omni customers with that brand during the holidays. This means there is incredible headroom for marketers to boost their sales by encouraging omni behavior.Actionable Tips:To unlock the value of omni customers, it’s critical that marketers resist the temptation to push shoppers from one channel to the other. Instead, they can build campaigns that empower customers to easily purchase with their brand—regardless of the channel.Cardlytics allows customers to earn valuable cash-back offers however they choose to shop. Using powerful purchase history, we help marketers identify and reach customers who are heavy omni shoppers, with them and with competitors, to ultimately drive sales and grow market share.Want more Holiday insights? Check out our other holiday spend trends, and stay tuned for next week’s post on the top three things yule need to know about seasonality.

It’s been a month of new releases in the entertainment market with four iconic global entertainment brands launching their own answers to the rise of streaming services in popular culture. Apple, Disney, and ‘Britbox’ - the joint venture between two British television channels, the BBC and ITV - have all launched to the public in a matter of weeks. It’s clear that traditional entertainment brands are all vying to claim their slice of the pie in the online streaming market. This should come as no surprise…Cardlytics data shows that UK consumer spend on streaming services – such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and NOW TV – rose by 28 percent in the last year alone[1]. It’s a trend that is set to continue. Month-on-month spend growth last year remained consistent, between 20 to 35 percent, indicating the meteoric rise of streaming services shows no signs of slowing.Despite the average annual cost of a streaming subscription staying at an affordable £10, just 16 percent of the average price of an annual paid TV subscription, spend on streaming services now equates to 10 percent of total spend on paid TV subscriptions offered by the likes of Sky, BT, and Virgin. The numbers are stark and show the significant appetite for streaming services among consumers.Yet, there’s a clear age divide in the use of different entertainment services with 20-39-year-olds accounting for 30 percent of overall streaming spend. This reveals it is the younger generations who are responsible for driving the growth in streaming. By comparison, older generations remain loyal to traditional paid TV, responsible for the majority (66 percent) of spend in this area. The big ‘switch’While Sky, Virgin, and BT continue to take the lion’s share of consumer spending in the entertainment market by value, the number of consumers switching to new TV streaming services is on the rise and eating into their market share.Our data finds that consumer switching from paid TV to streaming services grew by 40 percent in the last year. Again, it's young people driving the trend, with over half (60 percent) of 20-39-year-olds having switched from a paid TV subscription to a streaming service in the last year alone. That said, traditional paid TV brands needn’t be too concerned. While switching was on the rise, spend on paid TV subscriptions did not experience a dip between 2018 and 2019, suggesting that traditional brands are themselves winning new, higher spending customers. Clever partnerships, like Sky’s tie-up with Netflix to offer the service as part of its ‘Ultimate on Demand’ subscription package, show paid TV providers are working hard to stay relevant and respond to the growing demand for streaming services. The cost of content Netflix is the most popular streaming subscription in the UK, with 11 million subscribers, but it is becoming increasingly expensive, with its most popular package now priced at £8.99 a month. The rising cost of streaming services is no coincidence, as content plays an increasingly important role in enticing customers. More players entering the streaming market have created an arms race for content, with each provider investing heavily to produce the next hit series, film, or documentary which will keep consumers coming back for more. In April 2019, the final series of Game of Thrones aired on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW TV, with the finale drawing an average of 3.2 million viewers in the UK^[2], leading to a 28 percent spike in spend on streaming services that month versus the same month the year before. For leading brands like Netflix and Amazon, using insights like these to better target their audiences is a way of ensuring they defend their prominent positions from encroaching competition. Likewise, analysing spend data to identify which and why audiences still watch paid TV will help paid TV providers to personalise their offers further and maintain their market share. As the entertainment wars intensify, it’ll be those who can use data most effectively to understand their consumers who will come out on top.

[1] Data was obtained in the year up to September 2019, and compared with the corresponding period in the prior year. For 2018, data was tracked from September 2017 to September 2018

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/may/21/game-of-thrones-uk-tv-ratings-viewers-2am-finale