Westfield is ready to deliver another successful COVID-Safe Christmas this year when restrictions ease and customers can spend more time visiting its centres and engaging with the brands and experiences they love.
Despite talks of an ecommerce boom throughout the pandemic, Australians still overwhelmingly prefer shopping in-store.
According to a report by payment platform Adyen, Australians have the strongest desire to shop in-store, at 72%, compared to other markets such as the UK and the US. The report also found that 63% of Australians are also looking forward to shopping in-store for pleasure again, ahead of the global average of 55%.
Westfield’s own figures indicate that consumers will once again start to flow back to its retail centres after lockdowns as they did last year, which was Westfield’s biggest Christmas period on record.
“People are inherently social and the desire for real connections is stronger than ever,” says Chris Bolling, head of sales at Scentre Group Australia’s BrandSpace.
“What we have experienced following each lockdown is a rapid return to physical experiences, such as dining, entertainment, and retail. Customers want to return to our Westfield Living Centres and see us as an essential part of their lives.”
Restrictions across Australia are expected to ease significantly once the nation hits a 70% vaccination rate by November.
“Last year we experienced a strong Christmas period which continued throughout the first half of 2021, delivering stronger retail conditions compared to the same period in 2019,” says Bolling.
“This demonstrates how eager people are to be back in-centre and immerse themselves in real experiences, engage with brands and be able to touch, feel, smell and taste products and get instant purchase gratification.
“We’re getting ready to deliver a COVID-Safe Christmas, including key retail moments such as Westfield Week of Offers, across all our markets and in line with government and health advice.”
Across the 2020 Christmas period in November and December, Westfield's SmartScreen Network captured a 35% increase in audience across Westfield centres in Australian and New Zealand.1
Customers also spend more during the festive season. Westfield sees a 45% spend increase during November and December compared to the rest of the year, with centres capturing 25% more share of customers’ total retail spend during the period compared to an average month.2
One brand that successfully engaged the Westfield customer in-centre in 2020 included the global shopping app, Klarna. The company promoted its new in-app capability that allows customers to shop anywhere using Klarna in-store and to pay in four interest-free instalments.
The brand wanted to target millennials with a high propensity to shop; 70% female, aged between 25-45 and earning more than $75,000 a year.
Scentre Group’s BrandSpace team, which provides retailers and brands with marketing solutions, identified that 35% of female Westfield customers met this criteria.3
A targeted placement and engagement strategy was used to engage customers at scale across the Westfield ecosystem as part of the campaign. This included tactical SmartScreens in key fashion, tech, and beauty precincts, in addition to integrating within the Westfield Valet service.
The campaign surpassed all KPIs for Klarna and the brand dominated a national suite of Westfield assets over the Christmas retail period. The campaign achieved a unique reach of 1.2 million women aged 25-45 after four weeks.
BrandSpace's Christmas partnership with Klarna
According to a Scentre Group study, almost 49% of Westfield customers have started shopping by early November.4
“Customers choose Westfield at Christmas for all their shopping needs, but also for the festivity of decorations, Santa and Westfield Week of Offers,” Bolling says.
“For the brands who want to connect with customers via these platforms, they should be working with our teams now - there's only 8 weeks until Santa arrives!
“As for when it is a good time to connect with customers, our research shows that people are starting their shopping earlier each year - about half have started by early November.”
Inventory sells quickly during November and December, so if you want to be part of the biggest moment on the retail calendar attracting the largest audiences and most retail spend you need to act now. Contact your BrandSpace representative today or enquire here.
1. BrandSpace SmartScreen Network Audience Detection 2019 av Jan-Oct v Nov-Dec
2. Scentre Group Monthly Customer Trends | Stable Comparison of 2019 TTA & MTA (Nov- Dec)
3. Source: Roy Morgan single source Australia, Jan – Dec 2020
4. Scentre Group Westfield IQ – Christmas Behaviours Study 2020 sample 2778
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