The holiday season is upon us. Americans are expected to spend over $1.1 trillion between November– January, which is a 5% increase from 2017. How can brands tap into their share of this revenue? Audience insights will give marketers a competitive edge by helping brands better understand consumers’ nuanced behaviors – both intuitive and non-intuitive.

We looked at the top-indexing behaviors for ‘Black Friday Deal Shoppers’ and ‘Charitable Donors’ audiences to show the broad spectrum of audiences/consumers that are relevant around holiday season for targeting. Check out our findings below. If you’re interested in activating these insights or want to know how your audience compares to these holiday behaviors, contact us here.

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WHO ARE ‘BLACK FRIDAY DEAL SHOPPERS’?


They love themselves a deal!

Black Friday Deal Shoppers aren’t just sale fanatics around the holidays – their thrifty behavior is consistent year-round, indexing highly for Discount Big Box Shoppers, Sale Seekers, and Coupon Researchers.


They’re going through pretty significant milestones in their life now.
Did you know Proposal Season is coming up, when 37% of couples get engaged, and 15% of them get engaged in December alone? Our data shows that Black Friday Shoppers follow this trend by prominently ranking high as Engagement Ring Shoppers, Mortgage Researchers, and Moving Services Shoppers. They’re clearly ready for the next chapter in their lives.


They shop at retailers that maximize value across all purchases.
When shopping for new clothes, they visit stores where they can find deals that match their fashion style at an affordable price. These consumers index highly for visiting Kohl’s, JC Penney, Belk, Carhartt, and Lane Bryant.

These consumers also heavily visit big box retailers to load up on everything at once at places like Sam’s Club, Walmart, and Target.

As they prepare for the holidays and significant life events, they frequently visit jewelers like Fred Meyer Jewelers, Kay Jewelers, Helzberg Diamonds,and Zales.


They strongly prefer American car brands.

Black Friday Deal Shoppers also heavily favor visiting car dealerships of domestic manufacturers like Ford, Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, Chrysler, and Dodge.


They visit casual and quick-serve restaurant chains primarily based in the midwest and southeast.

Black Friday Deal Shoppers tend to visit mainstays like Cracker Barrel, Culver’s, Bob Evans, Waffle House, and Applebee’s, and regional QSR powerhouses like Hardee’s, Captain D’s, Bojangles, Long John Silver’s, Krystal, and Zaxby’s when they’re in the mood for a quick bite.


Where do ‘Black Friday Deal Shoppers’ live?
As visualized below through Dstillery’s geospatial tool Dscover Maps (DMaps), you can find large populations of Black Friday Deal Shoppers in the Midwest and along the East Coast.

DMaps-Black-Friday-Shoppers-Home

WHO ARE ‘CHARITABLE DONORS’?


They are focused on being healthy.

Charitable donors not only strive to make the world a better place, they also aim to improve their bodies through diet and exercise. They exhibit very strong signals for all kinds of healthy eating (and drinking!) audiences and are Healthy Eaters, Nutrition Conscious Eaters, Dieters, Coffee Chain Shoppers, Gluten-Free Recipe Researchers, and Wine Lovers.

They are also likely to be Environmental Activists, Yogis, Running Enthusiasts, and Recreational Sports Participants.

They strive to improve the world for others.
Charitable donors have something to fight for – their families. They tend to be older, with families at all stages including Parents of High School Students, Parents with Kids, and New & Expecting Parents.

They are highly educated and established individuals.
Charitable donors are business-focused and value higher education – at top-tier universities. They index highly for being Harvard University Fans, Yale University Fans, and Masters in Management Researchers.


They shop at higher-end stores.
Charitable donors like to buy apparel at fashionable retailers and department stores across all price ranges, but the desire to purchase ethically is a strong characteristic of this audience. These users index highly for visiting Patagonia stores, and being Thrift Store Shoppers and Eco-Conscious Consumers.

Their fashion-focus encompasses both fast fashion and luxury across a number of brands including Intermix, Madewell, Urban Outfitters, Burberry, and Theory. When they’re looking for a one-stop-shop, they visit Barney’s New York and Bloomingdales.


Their taste for nice things spans their accessories and cars too!

Their preference for accessories continues this trend – they visit Allen Edmonds for shoes and Tiffany and Co. and Montblanc for jewelry and bags.

Charitable donors enjoy getting around in style – and some strive to do so in an ethical manner, visiting dealerships like Tesla, MINI, Infiniti, and Porsche.


They eat out at restaurants that are a notch above standard fare.

When opting for a sit-down meal, charitable donors favor themed establishments such as Legal Sea Foods, Hillstone Restaurants, Cheesecake Factory, and Benihana.  When grabbing to-go, they veer away from the everyman’s burgers and towards restaurants like Shake Shack, Sweetgreen, and Roti.


Where do ‘Charitable Donors’ live?
When looking at the Charitable Donors audience in DMaps, there are populations scattered throughout the US, though some regions that have larger clusters are New England, Washington, DC, Colorado, and along the West Coast.

DMaps-Charitable-Donors-Home

Black Friday Deal Shoppers and Charitable Donors are both highly-valuable holiday consumers, but their interests and behaviors are divergent. Marketers can tap into insights about a variety of holiday audiences, including luxury retail shoppers, toy shoppers, and techies to learn more about these consumers and ultimately drive consumer purchases for their brands this season. Create a free demo account to learn more.

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