Chris Bolling.
It’s a well-known truism that as you age, the years move faster, and especially the arrival of Christmas and the holiday season. Scentre Group BrandSpace, the in-house media and advertising division of Scentre Group, which owns and operates 42 Westfield destinations across Australia and New Zealand, are yet again creating magic for both customers and businesses this season.
As the third place in customers’ lives, and the heartbeat of their communities, Westfield destinations have been making Christmas and the holiday season special for over 60 years. Our teams focus on understanding and delivering optimal experiences for customers, a strategy that supports our business partners success. With almost half of our retailers now activating with unique customer experiences1, we’ve seen significant growth in key categories like dining, health, and beauty, FMCG, technology, food and more2.
Moving into the busiest time of the year for our Westfield destinations, here are four key insights for businesses seeking to connect with our engaged customers across the season.
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Black Friday is where the magic begins
Black Friday has emerged as the accelerant for seasonal gifting. We know that by mid-November, 78% of customers have commenced their Christmas shopping3 and 40% of brands and retailers have started their black Friday campaigns early to influence those behaviours4. We also know that physical retail remains the preference, with 60% of 2023 Black Friday spend taking place in physical stores.5. While Christmas is about treating and gifting others, 51% of customers also purchase something for themselves3.
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Seasonal behaviours are met with physical experiences.
During the festive season of 2023, 94% of our customers chose to shop in a physical store3, and 92% engaged in Christmas festivities3, either actively or peripherally. The joy of visiting Santa, exploring the vibrancy of Westfield destinations, or just ensuring you have purchased the perfect gift is a tradition that has passed through generations.
The strength of the season in 2023 was reflected in the level of engagement we witnessed from new business partners seeking to optimise their success across our Westfield destinations.
We know that not all retail environments are created equal. Westfield destinations are incredibly productive all year round, delivering 5.7 times more retail sales and 4.3 times more customer visits on average compared to other physical retail environments6.
By providing value to our customers and offering a range of innovative, impactful solutions – including custom activations, campaigns, Retail Pop Ups and Kiosks – BrandSpace creates unparalleled opportunities for connection and growth.
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Dollars can work harder over the season
BrandSpace understands your best and most valuable customer.
We know that it's important for brands to be able to engage with real customers, with real intent, which is why we have channelled 60+ years of insight into a powerful customer segmentation tool. This tool groups customers based on their behavioural patterns and brand preferences, allowing brands to understand and target customers more accurately against known and well understood retail journeys.
With increasing demands for accountability and effectiveness on every marketing dollar and commercial conversation, our commitment to providing measurement solutions beyond traditional advertising metrics drives real growth for businesses. Our reporting suite has been enhanced this season to offer greater insights into the media, brand and sales measures that matter most.
Businesses can more accurately convert their marketing strategies into meaningful and insight driven plans. Armed with this, and the productivity of our destinations, businesses are perfectly placed to capture the serendipity of the season.
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Planning starts now, to make it yours.
With inventory limited and the season rapidly approaching, now is the time to secure your place at Westfield with BrandSpace to capture the holiday magic.
From impactful 3D large format to immersive retail connections and unique customer experiences, BrandSpace is here to help businesses and brands stand out this season.
Sources:
1. Scentre Group Business Partner Sales, for the 12 months to Dec 2023, compared to the previous corresponding period in 2022
2, Westfield Customer Research Christmas Diary Study 2023 Australia n= 2,544, 2022
n=2,572 weekly sample min n=100
3. Black Friday: Australian shoppers tipped to spend more than $6bn in four-day sales period, The Guardian, 2023: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/24/black-friday-australia-spending-sales-deals-economy - deck here
4. Commbank iQ Black Friday Spend Insights, based on week ending Sunday 26th November 2023
5. Location iQ Shopping Centre Data, September 2022, Among Australian centres that are operational and have media *Competitors centres include all types: City Centres, Sub Regional, Regional, Super Regional, Large Format Retail, Local Centre, Market, Neighbourhood, Outlet Centre, Themed
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