These are some of the key findings in the latest study undertaken by Hawk using its Hawk Surveys tool and illustrated in the attached infographic. The survey was conducted between 2 and 21 November 2022 using Hawk survey technology to send automated digital questionnaires to 942 individuals in the UK.

Clothes and shoes are the number one choice, with 35% of people planning to buy these as gifts. Chocolate and food ranked third, followed by perfumes and cosmetics, with cultural products (goods and services that include the arts, heritage conservation, cultural industries and festivals) last on the list.  (‘Other items’ was the second most selected category.)

Just over a quarter (27%) of people will do their Christmas shopping both online and in-store, with a similar proportion opting for online only (31%) and in-store only (29%).

When it comes to decorating the festive table, most people (49%) have a price cap of £100, although 21% plan to spend more than £500.  Over a third (34%) will make these purchases in the supermarket, with local stores also popular; 30% of people say they will use this option.

Hawk Surveys enables brands to derive granular insight on the effectiveness of their advertising by incorporating bespoke research studies directly into campaigns.  In determining the effect of the campaign on brand metrics such as brand awareness, brand perception and purchase intent, advertisers gain additional knowledge to inform further activity and demonstrate ROI.

The survey tool enables advertisers to measure the impact of their activity across mobile, audio and digital out-of-home (DOOH); comparing the results determines the optimal weighting for each channel in cross-channel campaigns. In addition, it can also boost a brand’s understanding of its target customer; questionnaires determine how likely people are to buy a particular product or service and the responses are analysed to develop audience profiles.

Hawk Surveys also complements Hawk’s footfall tracking technology In-Store Impact, which measures incremental store visits in real-time, again across mobile, audio and DOOH. Brands and retailers can optimise marketing spend across multiple channels as a result.

Building the survey technology into the DSP makes it readily available at no extra cost for all Hawk customers, whether they use the self-serve option or Hawk’s managed service.  The integration also ensures results from the study feed directly into the platform and can be used for campaign optimisation.