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The magic of Christmas is in the imagination, not an algorithm.

Christmas is a nervous time for marketers. Like kids who fear they may have been more naughty that nice, they’re never sure what Santa will bring – or if he’ll visit at all. The rule – for those who want full stockings and fat sales charts – is to weave a web of unexpected magic, and to do it like no one else.

I saw this first-hand a couple of weeks ago when I popped into Le Bon Marché in Paris. With surprises at every turn, it was an exquisite shopping experience – an example of how imagination can create a far more exciting retail adventure than the predictability of algorithm-driven purchase prompts. Captivating displays and unexpected gift ideas, packaged for maximum desirability, teased from every shelf. I easily spent a couple of hours in festive heaven, buying gifts that I stumbled on by accident. Since I didn’t know they existed there’s no way I could have dropped them into the search box of my favourite online stores. The experience surprised me as surely as my discoveries will surprise my family.

What sounds like a sales pitch for Le Bon Marché is really a sales pitch for Christmas magic. Every brand has to generate its own adrenalin rush of festive excitement, whether it trades on the high street or online – or both. How do you spark the child within us all? How do you turn Christmas shopping from an annual chore into a glittering adventure?

With just two weeks to go, there’s not a lot you can do to spice up this year’s sales. But just imagine how wonderful Christmas 2019 would be if you could make it glitter like never before.

Great flavour and brilliant content - best cooked slow
Satisfying Sensory Seekers

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