How a Study on Gift Givers Can Help Brands Win the Holiday Season
To better understand how digital shoppers of outdoor products become aware of products, research and buy products, and become loyalists of particular brands and products, Netrush conducted a study of 500 U.S. consumers that have purchased products in that category on Amazon over a recent six-month period.
The results of the study come at a good time. Holiday gift giving is in full swing, which means there are a lot of learnings that brands may be able to adopt and apply over these next few critical weeks of the year.
The study offers a particularly good window into gift giving because roughly 40% of respondents said that they purchased a camping or outdoor product on Amazon as a gift in the six-month time frame.
Our five big takeaways from the survey can be found at the bottom of this post. But first, take a look at what the data said about outdoor gift givers and their shopping behaviors—and what we recommend brands do to leverage each piece of intelligence the report generated.
WHO’S the gift giver?
The gift givers in our survey skewed slightly more female (56%) compared to the total survey (50%), with slightly higher annual household income (over $85,000 compared to $80,000 for the total sample). We also saw that:
Gift givers’ age, ethnicity, and family makeup (e.g., children in the household) were in line with the broader survey
Gift givers were outdoor enthusiasts to the same degree as self-purchasers, engaging in camping or outdoor activities 16 times per year (or, 1.3 times per month) on average
The most common outdoor activities gift givers engaged in themselves were camping, fishing, water activities (e.g., swimming, paddleboarding, canoeing), picnicking and hiking—also in line with the broader group
Recommendations
Gift givers you are engaging with during the holiday season may be largely in line with your broader customer base. Therefore, messaging should be nuanced for the gift-giving shopping journey—but likely doesn’t need to be nuanced for a completely different audience.
It’s also likely that gift givers are outdoor enthusiasts themselves, creating an opportunity for engagement and further customer lifetime value beyond this holiday season. Leverage first- and zero-party data to understand the customers’ lifestyle and needs beyond the specific gift-giving purchase and stay in touch with them post-purchase.
how do gift givers shop?
Survey data suggests Amazon remains the most influential awareness platform for these shoppers, with 58% reporting that Amazon is where they become aware of new camping and outdoor products:
Source: Netrush Customer Study, October 2022, n=500 Amazon Camping & Outdoor Shoppers
However, gift givers rely more heavily on friends and family members as well (46%) compared to the broader sample (39%), and they rely slightly more heavily on social media influencers (27% vs. 25% for total sample).
Gift givers are also 5 points more likely than the broad sample to become aware of new products at physical stores—an omnichannel theme we see in the next data point (re: DTC), as well.
Recommendations
Capture gift givers’ attention by being present on and invested in channels such as Amazon, Google, and key B&M channels.
Social media influencers are an emerging awareness opportunity for brands, particularly for gift givers in this category. If this is a newer area for you, consider setting aside some test-and-learn social media budget during key gift giving periods and then applying learnings to the broader business throughout the year.
Personal recommendations from family and friends are brands’ second-most powerful awareness tool for camping and outdoors gift givers. Tap into this through referral programs and encouraging user-generated content and social media shares.
how important is a brand’s own website?
Very. 85% of gift givers reported visiting a brand’s own website—or direct-to-consumer (DTC)—at least sometimes when shopping for camping or outdoor products online, with 58% doing so most of the time or always. While DTC frequency is in line with the broader sample, we see gift givers leveraging DTC more heavily across nearly all DTC use cases:
Source: Netrush Customer Study, October 2022, n=500 Amazon Camping & Outdoor Shoppers
Most notably, gift giver DTC visitors are: 8 points more likely to use DTC to find out where to buy the product or which physical stores carry the product; 5 points more likely to use DTC to learn more about the brand; and 4 points more likely to look for discounts on the DTC site. Gift giver DTC visitors are also 3 points more likely to actually purchase the product via the DTC channel.
Recommendations
45% of gift givers use DTC to look for discounts, offering a significant opportunity to drive conversion, capture zero-party data, and re-market to the customer going forward with an email and/or phone-number capture that includes a DTC-specific discount.
WHAT drives brand loyalty?
When gift givers were asked what would make them feel rewarded for their loyalty to a particular camping or outdoor brand, free products/gifts (53%) and guaranteed warranties (46%) topped the list:
Source: Netrush Customer Study, October 2022, n=500 Amazon Camping & Outdoor Shoppers
The gift giver over-indexed on both of these loyalty rewards compared to the total sample, likely because they are value-add “bonus features” that can be passed along to the receiver.
The gift giver also over-indexed on their third favorite loyalty reward: free shipping via DTC (45%). This makes sense given gift givers are more likely than the total sample to actually purchase products via DTC.
Another statistic worth noting here: 42% of gift givers said they would share a positive review for their favorite camping or outdoor brand or product, which is 3 points higher than the overall survey sample.
Recommendations
It’s important to identify elements you can add to the value equation to cultivate loyalty among the gift giver, encouraging them to come back either for themselves or for additional gifts. These elements are likely also powerful conversion drivers.
Free DTC shipping is a key theme. Amazon set the standard for free and fast shipping, which then expanded to other major retail channels. Consumers are increasingly expanding the expectation to DTC brands as well. If driving DTC conversion is important to you for profitability reasons, for zero- and first-party data, or for any other benefit, free shipping will likely be a key lever in getting there. If DTC fulfillment is a challenge for you, Netrush’s logistics solutions can help.
THE 5 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS STUDY
#1 - Gift givers skew female slightly, and have slightly higher income compared to the overall survey sample. It’s likely that gift givers are outdoor enthusiasts themselves, creating an opportunity for engagement and further customer lifetime value beyond this holiday season.
#2 - Gift givers become aware of new camping and outdoor products most frequently on Amazon. In addition, they over-index to friends and family members, physical stores, and social media influencers.
#3 - Gift givers use direct-to-consumer (DTC) sites in a multitude of ways. They’re more likely than the broad sample to use DTC to find out where to buy the product, to learn more about the brand, to look for discounts, and to actually purchase the product. These trends provide opportunities to drive conversion, capture zero-party data, and re-market to the customer going forward.
#4 - Free products/gifts and guaranteed warranties are the top ways gift givers want to be rewarded for their loyalty to a camping or outdoor brand—value-add “bonus features” that can be passed along to the receiver. The biggest potential negative impacts to brand loyalty among gift givers are defective product, poor customer service, and long delivery times, with gift givers significantly over-indexing on the latter two.
#5 - Gift givers are more likely than the broad sample to leave a positive review for their favorite camping and outdoor products and brands. Brands can leverage this by using the "Request a Review" button via the Managed Orders page or by sending a seller-branded message requesting a review via Buyer-Seller Messaging. Gift givers are also more likely to sign up for a warranty or register a camping or outdoor product—an opportunity for meaningful post-purchase engagement and brand building.
conclusion
Understanding nuances of the gift giver’s shopping journey can help inform your strategies and tactics during key time periods like holidays. These nuances offer opportunities for greater awareness, brand building and loyalty, ultimately driving higher customer lifetime value in the gift giver through future purchases either for themselves or as additional gifts.
Netrush partners with leading Sports & Outdoors brands to help grow their businesses on Amazon and beyond. From full-service solutions to a custom set of services—including fulfillment and logistics, marketing, and content development—we have packages and pricing to meet your needs. Contact us to explore opportunities.
about CLAIRE MCBRIDEClaire leads Research, Insights and Education for Netrush. Her entire career has been centered in the consumer and retail space, spending the last five years helping brands grow and optimize their ecommerce businesses through written research, events, share group discussions and one-on-one consulting. Prior to joining Netrush, she led the ecommerce market research division at Cleveland Research Company. Connect with Claire.
