Meta’s not letting TikTok get all the glory. Fresh off TikTok’s successful #ShopSmall initiative, done in collaboration with American Express, Meta is now launching its own holiday marketing tools and guides to help small and mid-size businesses take full advantage of the holiday shopping season.
A wide range of initiatives is designed to help SMBs with their year-end sales push, including a new holiday marketing guide, interactive mini-sites with notes and pointers on how to use Meta’s promotional options, and a holiday gift guide that’s been dubbed the “Smalliday Showcase.”
Meta is also continuing #BuyBlack Friday, an annual support initiative designed to help Black-owned businesses maximize sales efforts throughout November and December.
The company’s holiday guide includes an interactive foresight report, where businesses can access insights from 2019, 2020, and 2021 holiday seasons across 33 key markets, along with information on how to turn holiday shoppers into repeat customers. For example, businesses can see what percentage of consumers in their regions have accessed online engagement experiences like live shopping or used augmented reality tools when deciding which purchases to make.
According to Meta’s most recent Global State of Small Business Report, 25% of small businesses expect over half of their sales to be made between October 1st and December 31st this year, highlighting the important role that holiday shopping has among SMBs struggling to achieve profitability.
The greatest challenge SMBs are facing at present is the economy, including inflation. According to Meta’s data, 19% of small businesses have remained closed since the pandemic. The highest closure rates are in North Africa and the Middle East, while the lowest closure rate is in North America. Additionally, nearly a quarter of SMBs (24%) report increasing prices by 20% or more in the past six months.
Those challenges paint a difficult yet realistic picture of what the holiday shopping season may have in store. Interestingly, Meta found that women and minority-led businesses are using digital tools more than other businesses — and they’re seeing real gains from their efforts. Seventy percent of “diverse-led SMBs” reported having made at least “some” portion of sales digitally in the past 30 days, compared to 61% of non-minority SMBs, and businesses led by women used digital tools at higher rates than small businesses led by men.
