BFCM customers buy on discount, not brand affinity, and rarely return. Brands must go overboard with post-purchase brand storytelling through multiple channels (email, ads, social) to reinforce the "why" and earn a second purchase from this transactional cohort.
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Brands often misinterpret repeat purchases driven by discounts or points as genuine loyalty. True loyalty is an emotional connection, not a transactional one. This "entrapment" model fails to build lasting customer relationships or brand affinity.
Move beyond generic discounts by framing offers around the customer's immediate, often unspoken, intent. For example, a "last minute hero finder" speaks directly to the urgency of holiday shopping, while a "donation impact calculator" targets the specific motivations of year-end charitable giving, making the offer more compelling.
For consumers under 35, cart abandonment is no longer just a sign of friction—it's a deliberate strategy to solicit a discount. Brands relying on standard ESPs miss most of these high-intent moments, while identity resolution can increase identification of these opportunities by up to 10x.
Advanced retailers are moving beyond treating retail media as an ad channel for short-term sales. They integrate it with loyalty programs to deliver personalized value, which strengthens long-term customer relationships and retention, making it a strategic lever for growth.
As return volumes rise, brands that make the process effortless and predictable will earn loyalty that can't be bought. This frictionless experience during a period of high customer anxiety builds a durable competitive moat. Every return also generates compounding data advantages for future forecasting and merchandising, further widening the gap.
Instead of running sterile, price-focused promotions, Ally first launches a creative, on-brand campaign to build cultural momentum. The performance-driving incentive is then introduced later, making the entire effort brand-accretive rather than brand-dilutive.
The era of linear, multi-step marketing funnels is over. Brands must now craft succinct, cohesive stories that are effective regardless of the order in which a consumer encounters them across channels (email, SMS, social). Each touchpoint must stand on its own while contributing to the whole narrative.
CLTV isn't just a metric; it's a strategic map. Understanding purchase frequencies and the entire customer lifecycle should be the foundation for creative choices, promotional timing, and messaging. Many brands neglect this, but it's the key to balancing acquisition with profitable retention.
While intended to drive sales, frequent discounting damages brand perception by training consumers to see the brand as low-value. This creates a "deselection barrier" where they won't consider it at full price, eroding long-term brand equity for short-term gains.
With 58% of consumers worried about finances, over 40% are constantly hunting for deals on websites they've never visited before. This sustained deal-seeking behavior creates a massive, ongoing opportunity for challenger brands to capture market share from established incumbents whose customers are now actively shopping around.