OOH Insights: How OOH can become the centre point of connecting audiences this Christmas

Maximizing Christmas Engagement and Connection

Christmas is a key time for media, not least Out of Home. It’s the perfect platform to influence consumers on their journeys as they prepare for a busy time of the year and an opportunity to reach target audiences en masse. Our Locomizer mobility data has tracked audiences across the year and has demonstrated that audiences are stronger than ever. Christmas will bring an extension of these audiences.

Consumer sentiment has changed significantly since the start of the pandemic. We’ve seen so many emerging trends through our Insights pieces with Christmas being no exception. These trends give us the learnings to plan and buy Out of Home most efficiently and effectively, by demonstrating where key target audiences are, what their mindset is at certain stages of the consumer journey and how to reach these audiences through OOH.

Based on a national sample of 250 respondents, we sought to find out where and how consumers will be shopping this year, how strong their spending power will be and, what will be different from 2020.

Back to the High Streets

Returning to the physical shopping experience is going to be key in the run-up to Christmas this year and a trend we’ve seen since non-essential retail reopened. Our research shows a 13% decline in those planning to do their Christmas shopping online.

  • 22% of respondents plan on shopping in-store
  • 33% plan on doing a mix of online and in-store

Of those who plan on visiting a brick-and-mortar store

  • 1/2 of respondents will hit the shopping centres
  • 39% of respondents will shop evenly between shopping centres and high streets

Spending Power Is Key

Spending power is one of the key trends emerging from this piece as over 1/3 of respondents agreed that they will be spending more this Christmas. A 13% increase versus 2020. This varies across categories – groceries and buying gifts.

  • 58% of respondents plan on using money they have saved during lockdown
  • 1/4 of respondents agreed that they would be spending more on groceries and luxury food items
  • 19% of respondents agree that they would be spending more on premium brands

OOH provides the perfect opportunity to influence those long shopping lists as well as reach consumers in close proximity to retail stores.

2020 vs 2021: Where’s the difference

Finally, for our last section, we focused on the experience of Christmas and how respondents plan on spending their Christmas this year. Not surprisingly, the re-occurring theme is family & friends.

  • 38% of respondents plan on spending Christmas with members of their household
  • 32% of respondents will be celebrating by visiting friends and family in Ireland
  • 14% of respondents plan on travelling abroad to visit family members
  • 14% of respondents have large family and friend gatherings in mind

There’s no denying the trends emerging have been consistent. Over the last two years, people have gone through so much and this year they look forward to Christmas and being surrounded by friends and family again.

OOH is a powerful medium in reaching audiences on the move. Through continuous investment by our media partners and the growth in DOOH, it will continue to strengthen. By developing the right campaign approach, great creative and harnessing customer insights you can help bring your brand to life. We here at Talon Ireland look forward to Christmas and beyond to see what OOH has in store!