Q4 2022: The Golden Quarter.

Over the past few years we have seen life as we knew it completely flipped upside down. Countless restrictions, lockdowns and all the other things that came with the pandemic, I think we all can agree it was tough! When 2022 rolled around, we were all optimistic that this would be a better year, especially for the Out of Home industry, and we can definitely say so far that it has exceeded expectations.

We have now passed the half way mark of the year (we can’t believe it either!) and have now reached the time we should be looking to one of the busiest quarters of the year, also known as the Golden Quarter. Besides the usual yearly events such as Halloween, Black Friday and Christmas time, this year we have the added excitement of the World Cup, as well as many other exciting things to come! We have taken a deeper look into the much-anticipated Golden Quarter and discovered what to expect for 2022…

Key Events

We start with the spookiest time of the year, Halloween! With two thirds of Brits celebrating each year, the holiday is become bigger each year. A massive £607m was spent on Halloween products in 2021, and is set to rise to £777m by 2023! Parents and young Millennials are reported to be the most likely to spend, with products such as confectionary, decorations and fancy dress costumes being bought.

Not long after Halloween, we reach Bonfire Night. Admittedly not the biggest day in the calendar but still with around 20 million celebrating and £497m being spent, it is definitely a date that advertisers should take note of.

Black Friday is always a big event in the retail calendar but with recently reports describing popularity of the American-born sale event waning, is it something to shout about? From 2020 to 2021, retailers saw their sales grow by 15% on Black Friday. Also in 2021, a whopping £9.2bn was spent during the event in the UK, with average spend per person around £346! Gen Z are reported to be the biggest portion of the population that takes part, with 54% planning to spend. Millennials closely follow behind with 48% planning to purchase a Black Friday bargain!

When it comes to people grabbing their Black Friday bargains, the most popular products being snapped up are; clothes & accessories, electronics, health & beauty and toys & games.

As mentioned previously, it is not just Christmas to get excited about in the latter part of the year this year as we have the added bonus of the world cup! Regardless of how long England stay in the tournament, it is expected to boost UK spending by an additional £720m, as the British public get stuck in and follow match by match.

If England does make the publics dreams come true and do pass the group stages, it is estimated that the country will spend as much as £1.3bn! During the last world cup, as the public watched each match, many products saw a rise in sales, such as TV’s and food and drink. We have everything crossed that the boys will bring it home this time!

Chants of ‘Its Coming Home’ will soon be replaced by Jingle Bells and Silent Night as the World Cup ends and we go head first into Christmas! Arguably the biggest time of year in all sectors, but especially retail. Last year it was reported that the UK spent around £25.6bn on Christmas gifting! Although a figure of £17bn has been forecasted this year, likely being smaller due to the cost of living crisis, the British public are still going all out out for their Christmas celebrations.

Because of a more subdued Christmas period over the past few years, food and entertainment will be a top priority of those celebrating, with the average UK household spending over £3000 altogether on the holiday.

So who is gifting and what are they buying? Well, it seems that although the average British adult will fork out £548 annually on gifts, it is actually the men that are the more generous ones, spending slightly more on gifts! The categories which are expected to see the biggest rise in sales this year include; health & beauty on the back of a new wave of the self-care trend, and toys & games, something which is reported to have inflation having little impact on purchase, good news for Santa!

With the public starting their Christmas shopping earlier and earlier each year, coupled with 60% of people getting inspiration for Christmas gifts on things they see out of home, it is imperative that brands and retailers plan in advance for the biggest period of the year. Out of Home advertising reaches 98% of the UK population at least once a week, making it the perfect medium to raise the profile of your brand and put you front of mind as soon as the public part with their hard earned money for their Christmas gifts.

Sources: Statista, YouGov, beamfieldwork.co.uk, Finance Digest, The Guardian, Forbes, finder.co.uk, Centre for Retail, CABI.org, Clear Channel, Retail Week, GlobalData Insights, Bank of Englan, Ocean, Reuters.