How to Keep Your Customers Coming Back with Mobile Retargeting This Diwali

Diwali, one of India’s most celebrated festivals, marks a significant spike in consumer spending. For most brands, the festive season contributes to over 20% of annual sales. For brands focusing of mobile and app, this period is a prime opportunity to re-engage customers and drive sales.
Programmatic mobile retargeting is one of the most effective strategies to ensure that your brand remains in front of potential buyers and that they return to complete purchases.

Let’s explore how you can use programmatic retargeting to your advantage and retain customers during Diwali.

1. Implement a Full-Funnel Retargeting Strategy

During Diwali, customers are bombarded with offers from every corner of the digital space, making it essential to engage them at various stages of the buying journey. This is where a full-funnel approach to programmatic retargeting comes in handy. Target users who have shown intent by visiting specific pages or actions within the app, such as sign-ups, deposits, purchase. This stage benefits from ads that highlight personalized product recommendations, festive deals, or comparisons. It's also a good idea to focus on users who have added products to their cart but abandoned the purchase. Programmatic retargeting can deliver dynamic ads showing their cart items, accompanied by limited-time Diwali offers or discounts to nudge them toward conversion.

According to research, customers in India use approximately five touchpoints throughout the year for shopping, and that increases during the festive period, with 7 in 10 saying they use eight or more touchpoints. Hence, a data-driven full-funnel approach can help marketers yo make the right decisions in targeting these customers. With programmatic ads tailored to different stages of the funnel, you can re-engage customers at the most critical points in their purchase journey.

2. Use a Smart Creative Strategy for Personalized Ads

Personalization is a critical factor in increasing customer engagement. Programmatic platforms allow you to implement Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO), which delivers personalized ads based on user behavior, past purchases, and real-time interactions. This ensures that every customer sees the most relevant version of your ad.

For instance, a customer who previously viewed ethnic wear might receive an ad showing related products, while another user interested in electronics could be served an ad featuring festive discounts on gadgets. The automated nature of DCO ensures that each customer’s experience feels customized without needing manual intervention.

It’s important to collaborate with a DSP that can support your creative strategy. Having the right creative intelligence through your DSP ensures that your ads align with the app environment. Some other best practices to include are to keep your creative short and engaging, leverage different formats and seasonal elements, and test with audience segments to continue to optimize for best results.

3. Segment Audiences Based on Engagement and Intent

Audience segmentation is key to the success of any retargeting campaign. Different customers interact with your brand in varied ways, and understanding these differences will help you deliver relevant ads that encourage repeat visits.

Some crucial segments to target during Diwali include:

• High-Intent Shoppers: Those who have visited product pages or added items to their cart. These users are already far along in their buyer journey, so your retargeting efforts should focus on urgency—such as limited-time offers or countdown timers.
• Infrequent Shoppers: Target customers who only shop during festive seasons or haven’t purchased in the past few months. Re-engage them with exclusive Diwali offers to reignite their interest.
• Loyal Customers: Those who have purchased multiple times before should be rewarded with early access to festive sales or VIP discounts. These high-LTV (lifetime value) customers can be retargeted with premium offers or bundles to boost their engagement.

4. Optimize Retargeting Campaigns Using AI and Real-Time Data

The dynamic nature of the festive season requires continuous optimization of your retargeting campaigns. Programmatic platforms equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) help marketers adjust their campaigns in real-time based on performance metrics.

Here’s how AI-driven programmatic tools can improve your Diwali retargeting efforts:

• Bid Optimization: AI analyzes auction data and automatically adjusts bids to ensure you get the most efficient ad placements without overspending during peak festive traffic.
• Performance Monitoring: AI-driven analytics allow you to track real-time results, such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, and return on ad spend (ROAS). You can adjust creative elements or targeting parameters based on what’s performing best.
• Predictive Targeting: Machine learning can help predict which users are more likely to convert based on their behavior. It helps optimize your budget by focusing on the highest-value segments.

A privacy-first programmatic platform like mDSP also allows you to view, understand, and analyze unattributed data signals and churn prediction models to guide your re-engagement strategy.

Let's Build Your Festive Marketing Success

Diwali isn’t a single-day event—it’s part of a broader festive season that spans several weeks. Indian consumers shop in waves, with the pre-Diwali phase focusing on gifting, the Diwali week seeing a surge in last-minute purchases, and post-Diwali shopping centered on deals and returns.

An average app loses 77% of its daily active users within the first 3 days after install, making the combination of retargeting and user acquisition vital to maintain user engagement and maximize ad budgets. By adopting a full-funnel approach, personalizing with DCO, segmenting audiences, and utilizing AI-driven insights, you can create campaigns that resonate with festive shoppers. Tailoring your strategy to the unique phases of Diwali shopping will ensure your brand stays top of mind and leads to higher conversions during one of India’s biggest shopping seasons.