What Holiday Shoppers Told Us About Your Product Experience 

The peak of the critical holiday shopping season has gradually expanded over the years, creating a longer period of sales opportunities but also complicating matters for brands that count on a big Q4 to carry their numbers. Holiday promotions, specials, deals and events now begin weeks before Black Friday and carry on for some time after, creating an extended time where the pressure is on to constantly compete and feature yourself in the best possible light. 

We surveyed 1,510 consumers who shopped during the weeklong period leading up to and through Cyber Monday to unwrap what they thought about the product experiences they encountered through a record-breaking peak season. Check out some highlights of the findings and get the complete results in Unwrapped 2024: Product Content Performance In Peak Holiday Periods. 

Content availability holds steady—with room to improve 

78% of peak holiday shoppers strongly or somewhat agreed that they were able to find the information they wanted about products they were considering this year. This figure is roughly flat with what Black Friday/Cyber Monday shoppers shared with us last year, indicating that brands and retailers have maintained a relatively high level of base content availability even as the holiday shopping climax widens and becomes more competitive.  

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: When shopping during this year’s Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Cyber Monday week sales event from November 25th – December 2nd…

I was always able to quickly and easily find the product information I needed to feel confident about the products I was interested in.

Tips and takeaways 

Still, more than 1 in 5 shoppers indicated they weren’t able to readily source the content they sought to feel confident about a purchase decision, showing plenty of room for improvement. A content provider with a strong syndication network that appropriately tailors content to each retailer can ensure your products are depicted appropriately everywhere they are sold. 

Love at first sight 

Basic images of products and packaging are looked for much more often during the peak holiday season than the rest of the year. In The State of Product Content 2024, Syndigo found that 39% of shoppers noted ‘basic images of product and packaging’ were likely to influence a purchase decision online. During the peak holiday season, that figure spiked to 49%. For comparison, shoppers reported slightly less interest in basic product data like weight, measurements, and ingredients during the holidays (45%) than the rest of the year (52%). 

Tips and takeaways 

During a fast-paced phase of digital commerce packed with time-sensitive deals, holiday shoppers may be more inclined to shop visually. For brands and retailers that count on a big peak holiday, that makes it particularly important to have the latest, most-up-to-date product images available with multiple angles and perspectives for easy review across devices.  

Ratings and reviews rule 

Ratings and reviews of products were among the top product information sought by gift shoppers, with 45% of surveyed respondents saying it was one of the first things they sought out. 60% of peak holiday shoppers overall said ratings and reviews influenced purchase decisions very much or a little. 

During or near the Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Cyber Monday week sales event from November 25th – December 2nd…How much, if at all, did product recommendations and reviews from other shoppers influence your decision to purchase or not purchase any product?

Tips and takeaways 

Positive ratings and reviews can make all the difference in driving a purchase on both digital and physical shelves. Scoring scales and review systems can vary significantly from site to site, and it’s important to monitor performance across all of them and respond quickly to shopper questions and concerns. Rating and Reviews reporting makes it possible to keep an eye on all your items, act on concerning trends, and improve scores over time.