The 2023 holiday season is underway and many consumers have already begun their annual holiday shopping. The National Retail Federation has predicted that holiday shoppers are expected to spend more this year compared to last, but they’re also looking to add more value to their purchases.
With many consumers feeling the effects of increased inflation, they’re going to be more cautious about their spending and prioritize deals, discounts, and more valuable shopping experiences this holiday season. In fact, nearly 40% of surveyed consumers said they are even cutting back in other areas to cover the cost of holiday items, such as trimming back what they buy for themselves or including fewer people on the gift-giving list.
To cater towards consumer needs this year, enabling a charitable giving strategy can give your brand the opportunity to create more meaningful and valuable shopping experiences. During adverse economic conditions, leveraging a social impact strategy can help consumers feel more confident in their purchases, knowing that it’s helping to make a positive impact.
With countless ways to give back this holiday season, we’ve compiled a list of our top recommendations in this toolkit to help your business enable a giving strategy for GivingTuesday and the 2023 holiday season. With our recommendations, you’ll be able to differentiate yourself in a highly competitive market, create more meaningful and engaging customer experiences, and make an impact for causes that you and your customers care about.
What to Know About GivingTuesday
Following Black Friday and Cyber Monday—two days notoriously known for heightened consumerism—GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement that is unleashing the power of generosity. Since its founding in 2012, GivingTuesday has grown into a year-round global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people, businesses, and organizations to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.
In 2023, GivingTuesday will be celebrated on Tuesday November 28th. As consumers look to stretch their dollars this holiday season, GivingTuesday provides a unique opportunity for businesses to align their brand with meaningful causes, amplify their social impact, and build customer loyalty based on shared values.
Here’s a look back at GivingTuesday 2022:
- Giving in the United States totaled $3.1 billion on GivingTuesday 2022, representing a 15% increase compared to 2021, and a 25% increase since 2020.
- 37 million adults in the U.S. participated in GivingTuesday in some way, a 6% increase from 2021.
- ShoppingGives found there was a 145% increase in the number of merchants who mentioned donating a percentage of purchases on their homepage compared to 2021.
- ShoppingGives found there was a 333% increase in the number of merchants who included messaging of offers for either customer round-up or add-on donations on their website homepage compared to 2021.
Guides for Enabling a Social Impact Strategy for the 2023 Holiday Season
Holiday Guide for Giving and Brand Growth
To make enabling a charitable giving strategy for the holiday season as easy as possible, this 5 step-by-step guide will give you in-depth recommendations for identifying a strategy that will best fit your brand’s needs. You’ll also get access to case study results from top brands that are driving business growth through social impact.
Get the Guide
Holiday Marketing Activation Checklist
If you’re not sure where to start with a holiday giving strategy, this checklist will help you identify actionable tactics you can implement to give back to organizations that are important to your business. You’ll also get marketing recommendations for how to promote your holiday giving strategy.
Get the Checklist
Who to Give Back to During the 2023 Holiday Season
Heifer International - Take Hunger off the Menu Campaign
Join Heifer International and ShoppingGives in an effort to end hunger worldwide. With the support of companies (in food and beverage and beyond), Heifer aims to move 2.5 million people toward food security by 2025 and 10 million people toward food security by 2030. Learn more about Heifer International and how you can get involved in the Take Hunger off the Menu campaign this holiday season with this media kit.
TEACH
TEACH (Together Educating All Children in Hospitals) is an international volunteer-run nonprofit organization that brings exciting, hands-on, educational programming to children in hospitals. Their mission is to create an outlet for children of all ages to passionately engage with the sciences through the medium of fun, interactive experiments. Learn more about TEACH and how you can get involved in supporting their organization with this media kit.
GivingTuesday Campaign Examples
Coach - Increased their giving percentage 5x
For GivingTuesday 2022, Coach donated 5% on all purchases that their Coach Insider members made on GivingTuesday towards the cause of their customer’s choice. By enabling donations on purchases for rewards members, customers may feel more motivated to sign up for a brand’s rewards program knowing that their purchase will have the power to make a positive impact.
Additionally, by giving their rewards members the opportunity to support a cause of their choice with their purchase, Coach was able to give back to 25 unique nonprofit organizations on GivingTuesday.
Steve Madden - Added a store donation percentage on top of their customer add-on donation campaign
Steve Madden donated 5% on all purchases to the cause of their customer’s choice for GivingTuesday 2022. For their evergreen giving strategy, Steve Madden has Customer Add-On Donations available on their website for customers to add a donation amount of their choice to every purchase.
By switching their donation activation and pledging to donate 5% on purchases for GivingTuesday, Steve Madden was able to increase their charitable impact while showcasing their commitment to worthy causes. Through this activation, Steve Madden saw over 8,600 new unique customers who placed an order with a donation on GivingTuesday.
ALOHA - Added a flat donation amount per purchase of a product bundle
ALOHA increased their giving and donated $5 on every bundle that was purchased from their website on GivingTuesday 2022 towards KUPU. Committed to taking care of the community and environment that sustains them, ALOHA has an evergreen partnership with KUPU and supports their organization year-round. By increasing their donation amount for GivingTuesday, ALOHA customers had an additional incentive to make a higher purchase in order to create a donation for a cause they feel aligned with.
Michael Kors - Donated 100% on a specific product
Michael Kors has partnered with the United Nations World Food Programme since 2013 and created the Watch Hunger Stop campaign to further their mission of providing school meals to children throughout the developing world. For GivingTuesday 2022, Michael Kors donated 100% of the profits of their Watch Hunger Stop LOVE Tote Bag.
Haus Labs - Increased their giving percentage 2x
Haus Labs donates $1 on every purchase towards the Born This Way Foundation in support of mental health. For GivingTuesday 2022, Haus Labs doubled their evergreen donation amount and donated $2 on every purchase towards the Born This Way Foundation—an organization and cause that Haus Labs holds near and dear to them.
Get Started on Your 2023 GivingTuesday Plans
Embracing the spirit of giving and enabling a GivingTuesday strategy will not only help foster goodwill, but will positively resonate with consumers who are looking to maximize value this holiday season. As a result, your brand can connect with these purpose-driven consumers on a deeper level, building stronger relationships and fostering loyalty.
To get started on your holiday giving strategy, we recommend leveraging any of the resources and recommendations above. If you’d like to connect with our team of experts, you can reach out to us at support@shoppinggives.com and we’ll help ensure your brand is GivingTuesday ready.
For deeper insights on how social impact influences consumer behavior and to uncover holiday giving trends from 2022, check out the 2023 State of Social Impact Report.