Retailers are gearing up for the 2024 holiday season with exciting advent calendar promotions.
- M&S has discontinued its ’12 Days of Sparks’ program despite past successes.
- Morrisons introduces a ’12 Days of Christmas’ initiative, exclusive to loyalty members.
- Tesco launches ‘Christmas Countdown’ challenges for personalized rewards.
- Aldi and Lidl offer unique shopping experiences with their holiday-themed giveaways.
Retailers are setting the stage for the 2024 holiday season, offering a variety of advent calendar promotions designed to captivate and reward shoppers. M&S has decided to discontinue its well-regarded ’12 Days of Sparks’ promotion, a program that, in past years, saw shoppers opening over 6 million digital advent doors within just five days. This initiative, despite its rocky start in 2022 due to uninspiring gifts and app glitches, had become a success by 2023, promising customers a chance to win substantial prizes such as £10,000 gift cards. Nevertheless, the decision to forego the initiative this year marks a significant change for the retailer.
Morrisons is capturing holiday enthusiasm through its ’12 Days of Christmas’ program, available exclusively to selected members of its Morrisons More loyalty scheme. Running from December 1 to December 12, this limited-access event invites chosen shoppers to explore daily rewards, including product discounts, bonus points, or complimentary items. Participants must access the Morrison app within 24 hours daily to claim their rewards, reminiscent of traditional advent calendar excitement.
Tesco is taking a competitive stance with its ‘Christmas Countdown,’ a spending challenge designed to engage its Clubcard users in personalized reward systems. Shoppers are required to complete various spending thresholds across six themed challenges focused on seasonal products. Those navigating these challenges successfully will receive coupon rewards available for continued holiday shopping until early January, showcasing Tesco’s strategy to enhance customer engagement without directly reviving its ‘Win Your Christmas Shop’ giveaway.
Aldi’s ‘Big Advent Giveaway’ adds an extra thrill to holiday shopping by offering one lucky customer per day a free shopping experience worth up to £100 until December 24. This initiative heightens the festive spirit, providing a suspenseful and rewarding shopping atmosphere.
Meanwhile, Lidl introduces a playful twist with its digital advent calendar game for Lidl Plus members. Through the app, daily gift boxes reveal discount coupons for those opting to spend a minimum amount in-store, offering treats like free chocolate or significant product discounts, successfully combining entertainment with savings.
Cadbury’s reintroduction of its ‘Secret Santa postal service’ and Coca-Cola’s continuation of its red Santa trucks and associated festive prize draws further amplify the excitement, ensuring that advent offerings extend beyond sales incentives.
Shoppers can participate in these branded events through simple interactions like scanning QR codes for Coca-Cola’s prize draw or visiting pop-up stations for Cadbury’s chocolate gifts.
These inventive promotions illustrate retailers’ diverse approaches to enhancing holiday engagement and customer loyalty.
