Capture Holiday Shoppers with Location-Based Targeting: Maximizing Year-End Budgets

As the year winds down, marketers are often faced with the challenge of making the most of their remaining ad budgets. For those operating under a use-it-or-lose-it model, it’s even more crucial to maximize their remaining dollars, in order to prove its value and unlock budget for the following year.

Instead of simply spending to spend, why not invest strategically to amplify campaigns already in flight? Location-based targeting offers a powerful solution, particularly for reaching last-minute holiday shoppers. With this approach, you can ensure that your messages reach the right people at the right time using offline signals that can significantly boost your end-of-year sales. Here’s how to leverage location-based targeting for maximum impact.

Understanding Location-Based Targeting

Location-based targeting uses geographical data to help marketers deliver relevant advertisements to potential customers based on their current location, or based on past behaviors, such as their visitation history. This approach is highly effective for reaching consumers who are physically near your store or at competitive locations, exhibiting a propensity to buy.

Benefits of Location-Based Targeting for Last-Minute Shoppers

Strategies for Effective Location-Based Targeting

To maximize the potential of location-based targeting to promote last-minute holiday purchases, you’ll want to think about two things: 1) what audience groups will be most engaged with your offer, and 2) how can you reach this audience at the optimal time and place. Foursquare offers solutions to both of these challenges within our Audience and Proximity products. As your remaining ad budgets await a home, now is the perfect time to leverage targeting solutions that enable a range of location-based strategies, including:

• Geofencing/ Proximity Marketing: Create virtual boundaries around key locations, such as your stores, shopping malls, or competitor locations. When potential customers enter these areas, they can receive targeted ads in real-time with special holiday offers or incentives to visit your store and make a purchase.
• Event Targeting: Use geo-targeted ads to reach attendees with relevant offers while they’re at local holiday events or gatherings where people are likely to be in a shopping mindset.
• Competitive Conquesting: Consider where else your customers might shop during the holiday season and target them with personalized promotions to steal market share. Tailoring your ads to shoppers’ past behaviors can increase relevance and appeal.
• Retargeting lapsed customers: Win back customers by targeting shoppers who used to frequent your stores, but haven’t been seen at your locations recently, with unique offers and holiday discounts. 

The opportunity to leverage highly customized audience segments, can drastically increase your chances of reaching the right audience with offers they want to engage with. For example, consumers are expected to increase spending by 16% YoY on holiday experiences. You could tap into this growing trend by creating a custom audience of Holiday Experience Seekers, through Foursquare’s self-service Audience Designer. This audience could include individuals who frequently attended holiday-themed festivals, boutiques, and events in previous years, indicating they may do so again this year. You can further refine your audience based on criteria like the time of day they attend these events or whether they prefer weekdays over weekends, ensuring a highly targeted audience that is more likely to engage with your ads.

For additional recommendations on location-based targeting strategies, check out our 2024 Holiday Season Location Strategy Guide. 

Creating Compelling Last-Minute Holiday Ads

While consumers are looking for last-minute presents and holiday themed supplies, brands need to make it simple for shoppers to find your offer. Consider implementing these four key themes when creating last-minute holiday ads to capture your audience’s attention and encourage action.  

1. Urgency and Scarcity: Use language that emphasizes the limited time left to shop and the limited quantity of items available. Phrases like “Last Chance,” “Hurry,” and “Limited Stock” can drive immediate action. 
2. Special Offers and Discounts: Highlight exclusive deals for last-minute shoppers. Flash sales, buy-one-get-one offers, and special discounts can be strong motivators.
3. Convenience: Promote features like easy returns, extended store hours, and quick gift-wrapping services to attract shoppers who are in a hurry. Highlighting in-store shopping as a compelling option for those who missed the delivery cut-off.
4. Localized Imagery and Language: Use visuals and messages that resonate with each market and their holiday traditions to make your ads feel more personal and relevant. This hyper-personalization is made possible through custom location-based audience segments, which provide insights into consumer preferences and the buyer’s journey.

Use Your Remaining Media Budget, Fast

Turnkey targeting solutions make it easy to spend your remaining advertising dollars efficiently before the end of the year. In fact, Foursquare offers 1500+ pre-built Ready-to-Use Audiences designed by location experts and available off-the-shelf within your preferred DSPs, including The Trade Desk, LiveRamp, and Google DV360. With just a few clicks, you can select and reach luxury fashion shoppers, new home owners, holiday entertainers, and more. So whether you’re promoting new products, competitive conquesting, or driving customer foot traffic to your stores, location-based targeting can help you boost the ROI of your holiday campaigns. 

Measuring Success

To ensure your location-based targeting efforts are effective, track key performance metrics such as foot traffic lift, conversion rates, and sales lift with Foursquare Attribution. With advanced measurement tools, you’re able to monitor the performance of your ads and optimize your strategies (including your budget) in real time.

The Takeaway

Location-based targeting is a powerful tool for reaching last-minute holiday shoppers and making the most of your remaining ad budget. By delivering timely, relevant, personalized ads, you can drive foot traffic, increase sales, and end the year on a high note. As consumers scramble to complete their holiday shopping, your strategic use of location-based targeting can make your store the go-to destination for their last-minute needs.

Authored by: Summer Slough