How to Make Your Brand Unmissable This Gifting Season

The holiday season is not just a time for celebration but also the biggest shopping event of the year. Stores are stocked up, online platforms are buzzing, and competition is intense. Shoppers are overwhelmed with promotions, but most just do not resonate. 

In fact, about 66% of consumers say they encounter irrelevant ads daily, leading to ad fatigue. For brands, cutting through this clutter requires more than just flashy discounts at the last minute.

To truly succeed this gift-giving season, it is essential to plan ahead, personalize your messages, and create meaningful experiences. Pinterest is a fantastic platform for this, as it attracts early planners who are starting to think about their gift lists. 

If you want your brand to stay at the forefront this year, now is the time to share engaging, curated content that feels personal and trustworthy. This blog dives into ways to connect with gift buyers, earn their loyalty, and turn early inspiration into holiday sales.

The Gifting Journey Starts Earlier Than You Think

If you think people only start gift shopping in December, you might want to reconsider. Check this out:

• On Pinterest, someone searches for a gift every three seconds from October to December. By the time those holiday jingles start playing, many wishlists are already forming.

• More than half of Pinterest’s users say they create holiday wishlists they come back to later, which sets them up for more thoughtful purchases.

• Self-gifting starts to pick up in October, reaches its highest point in November, and then you see a spike in searches for “gift ideas for others” in December.

This all means that your brand has a key window to catch attention in those early months of the season. If you are not in sight when people are daydreaming, planning, and saving, you might just be overlooked when they are finally ready to shop.

So, the main takeaway is that you should not wait until the shopping rush. Kick off your festive campaign well before it gets hectic!

Personalization and Curation Are Everything

These days, shoppers really want gifts that feel special and thoughtful. A recent finding on Pinterest shows that 58% of their monthly users appreciate personalized recommendations during the holiday season. In fact, they’re 27% more likely to prefer that kind of content compared to those who don’t use the platform.

You can see this trend reflected in popular search terms like:

• gift baskets for him

• creative gifts

• teen Christmas wishlist

• stocking stuffer ideas 

• scrapbook ideas for bestie

These searches are quite specific and are tied to personal relationships, interests, and budgets. 

So, brands that offer curated inspiration - like holiday boards organized by recipient, interest, or budget - are really hitting the mark for what shoppers want. Just think about a retailer creating a “Gifts for Her Under £50” collection or a “Teen Tech Wishlist” board with carefully selected items. 

This type of curation not only highlights products but also feels like a personalized shopping assistant, helping people navigate the busy holiday season.

Saves Signal Intent

When you are on Pinterest, it is all about sparking ideas. Saving something is not just a casual move. It really shows you are interested in it. In fact, studies found that 62% of monthly Pinterest users are more likely to buy something they have saved, which makes that save button a strong indicator of future purchases. 

These savers are really thoughtful - they plan ahead and often gift generously. They do not just browse on a whim; instead, they compare and curate their favorite finds before coming back to make a purchase. That is why it is so important to create pins that are meant to be saved, rather than just quickly clicked on.

To make your pins more save-worthy, try to keep the visuals clean, festive, and easy to look at. Make sure the titles clearly state what the item is or who it is meant for, and organize your boards by theme, recipient, or occasion. Each pin saved can lead to a future buy, and for many, that purchase happens during the busy holiday season.

How to Stand Out: Your Festive Checklist

The good news is that Pinterest is a discovery-first platform. 90% of searches are unbranded, which means people are actively open to discovering new products and brands. And with 65% of users saying they are open to trying new brands for gifting, the door is wide open.

Here is how to ensure your brand is not just visible, but unmissable this season:

1. Lead with creativity and curation. Use Collections ads to showcase tailored gift ideas in one view. One example is “Stocking Stuffers Under £20” or “Luxury Gifts for Him.”

2. Earn trust with trends. Gifting Trend Badges help shoppers feel confident in their choices. In fact, they boost conversion rates by 2.4x, and two in three Pinners say they trust them more than standard pins.

3. Be first. Secure sponsored editorial placements to connect at the earliest stages of festive planning. Being visible when shoppers first start searching makes it easier to stay top of mind later.

4. Extend your impact. Use the Pinterest Trends tool to keep your content relevant throughout the season as shopper behaviour shifts.

5. Go full-funnel. Campaigns that use Premiere Spotlight and Pinterest Performance+ together generate a 63% year-over-year lift in ROAS compared to bottom-funnel tactics alone. Do not just wait for the conversion - be part of the discovery.

6. Secure your space early. Ad inventory becomes competitive quickly in Q4. Locking in placements before the rush ensures your brand gets seen while shoppers are still open to inspiration.

Final Takeaway

The gifting season is bustling, presenting a fantastic opportunity for your brand as people on Pinterest search for thoughtful gifts and inspiration. To stand out, create a strategy on time, so you use all the advantages the platform offers. With shoppers planning and buying earlier than ever, this is your moment to shine. In short, by combining personalized options with smart timing, you can boost sales and foster lasting loyalty this season!

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