The Covid-19 pandemic led to the digital transformation of many businesses. Our stay and work from home lifestyles throughout 2020 were a catalyst for increased spending in many retail and ecommerce categories last year, reflected by significant rises in search volumes on Google. As this lifestyle continues, this trend is expected to influence consumer and business spending leading into the EOFY period for 2021, presenting a great opportunity for a large variety of advertisers over the coming weeks.
What is the EOFY Marketing Opportunity?
The end of the financial year in Australia is a time that savvy business consumers make purchases to enjoy the benefit of an instant tax write-off. A Jan. 2021 survey by Google reveals that 90% of businesses are aware they can claim key categories in their tax returns and intend to do so. This includes items such as office supplies, tools and equipment, furniture, computers and motor vehicles.
From a personal consumer perspective, the EOFY period is a time when many research taxation service providers such as accountants in their local area and may even start looking at purchases they wish to make if they receive a refund this year. 70% of consumers made improvements to their homes in 2020 (Kantar/Google Shopper Pulse, Dec 2020), and 1 in 2 say they’re likely to this year – meaning your EOFY sales will attract customers from both business and direct consumer audiences.
What is Expected this EOFY?
Google reports that retail searches increased by 35% YoY during EOFY period in 2020, with generic (non-branded) terms retaining 73% of the volume. Retail searches are forecasted to remain close to these levels for the 2021 period. Consumers continue to demonstrate a strong willingness to purchase from online retailers which they have never used before, which opens up opportunities for new and smaller competitors in the market.
The majority of the retail sector experienced strong search growth during EOFY 2020, and many of these are forecast to perform as well or better in 2021. For detailed insights into how each retail sector is performing, check out this extensive report from Australia Post.
How Your Business Can Win this EOFY
The best thing your business can do is start early. 25% of EOFY searches occur during the month of May, and volume increases steadily, peaking just before the June 30 tax deadline. Online continues to play an increasingly important role in shopping, regardless of final purchase channel. In fact, 87% of purchase journeys in tax-claimable categories are shown to have online touchpoints, and one third of these journeys start with a search engine.
Value and price remain strong motivators of EOFY purchases, so incorporating keywords such as ‘Sale’, ‘Best’ or ‘Discount’ into your search campaigns is a proven tactic for success. Advertisers should consider segmenting campaigns in key verticals and increasing budgets for the EOFY period. As always, maintaining an 80% or above OptiScore is essential, and the structure and optimisation of your product data in Google’s Merchant Centre should be checked now, before demand increases.
Search marketing is ReachLocal’s specialty, with our unique conversion optimisation technology ensuring our client’s campaigns are driving real results and return on investment. We provide pay-per-click Search Engine Marketing and Google Shopping solutions backed by incredible service and detailed reporting metrics. If you’re looking to make the most of the EOFY sales opportunity for your business, contact us today.
Emma Reid
Great Article. It’s informative and innovative.