According to Forbes, 50% of businesses say that big data and analytics have fundamentally changed practices and strategies in their marketing departments. And with the growth in analytics technology, end-user privacy has become one of the most demanding aspects of every business. Browsers and other platforms are making changes to core technologies such as the collection and use of tracking cookies. Meanwhile, end-users themselves are demanding more transparency and control over how their data gets used.

At the same time, the amount of data generated from countless touch points and platforms continues to increase exponentially. Therefore, businesses these days are investing more and more in managing and understanding website analytics. To attempt to navigate all of these without a modern measurement solution, you are leaving essential insights on the table that will impact your bottom line.

Against this backdrop comes the introduction of Google Analytics 4, your new cross-platform analytics solution, as Google will begin sunsetting Universal Analytics — the previous generation of Analytics — in 2023.

This blog post will provide you and your team with an analysis of Google Analytics 4 (GA4) vs. Universal Analytics (UA). We will also highlight the major differences between the two to help you to determine when is the right time to make the switch before Universal Analytics properties stop processing information.

What is Google Analytics 4?

Google Analytics 4 is a new version of Google Analytics that helps you and your team with your data analysis. GA4 is designed with visitor privacy at its core. It will help your business meet the ever-evolving customer needs and user expectations, with more comprehensive and granular controls for data collection and usage. Perhaps most importantly, GA4 will also no longer store IP addresses. These solutions and controls are especially necessary for today’s data privacy landscape, where users are increasingly expecting more privacy protections and control over their data. Now that you have a bit of background, let’s dive a bit deeper into the differences between the GA4 and UA.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) vs Universal Analytics (UA)

GA4 is the new update on the block and is primed to officially dethrone UA on July 1, 2023; which means UA will stop processing site visitor activity on that day. Preparing your team and your business for the switch is critical. Let’s compare the two before UA’s final send-off so you know what to expect and have sufficient time to prepare.

• User IDs: enables better activity reporting. When a user visits your company’s site — no matter how many browsers or devices they use — they’re recorded as a single person. This allows your developers to track your unique site visitor counts more accurately. Additionally, you can access Cross Device reports that will give you more in-depth information about user behavior.
• Tracking codes: these are meant to help your team collect data on-site visitors. For instance, UA introduced Google Analytics Software Development Kits (SDKs) to track activity on mobile, and Analytics.js to measure how visitors are interacting with your site. 
• Offline data: ​​lets you track data from outside sources like call centers. As a result, users can better understand customer behavior via offline data.
• Custom metrics and enhanced eCommerce: customization options are available so you can gain specialized data that fits the goals of your business and learn more about your campaign’s progress. 
• Organic Search Sources: Account owners can configure how organic searches get reported. Google Analytics will separate search traffic, labeled organic search traffic, from ads.
• Session and Campaign Timeouts: This configuration considers how people can visit sites and then leave them open on their devices in favor of doing other things. This can skew your data reports or analytics on session length. So, you can adjust UA’s settings to end sessions after set periods.
• Eliminating Referral Sources: In contrast to organic search traffic, you can find traffic from other sources, which you can label referrals. UA can log the domain name your user was on before getting to your site. So, you can take out domains from the referral source report.
• Ignoring Search Terms. You can see what keywords Google users use to find your website in your analytics reports. Unfortunately, you can’t see every logged query, but you can see some of them. But, you can ignore some search terms so they won’t be counted as search traffic.

Some challenges with Universal Analytics

Now that you have a good understanding of how Universal Analytics works, it is now important to understand some of the challenges the tool presents:

• Data processing latency is 24-48 hours in UA and generally results in any reports you or your team run only being refreshed once a day.
• UA does not support Cross-Device Reporting, you currently have to integrate a third-party software for this purpose which could be an extremely complex task.
• Every user interaction can be sent to UA as an individual hit, but the number of hits is limited for each session and there is zero assurance that the excess hits will be processed. Here’s a screenshot from Google documentation showing how GA4 will improve upon this challenge which we will also discuss in more detail in the next section:

Now that we’ve looked at Universal Analytics features and functionality and some of the challenges it presents, let’s switch gears to Google Analytics 4. Below we explore just a few of the new features that come packed in Google Analytics 4 that are designed to better support your business.

• Predictive analysis: you will now be able to track both websites and apps. Tracking app data was not a function of UA. GA4 uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to get more insights across more touch-points along your customer’s journey. Therefore, you can gain the data needed for predicting your audience’s next move.
• Reports and automated table customization: Much like UA, GA4 has plenty of data tables. The difference? GA4’s tables are much more customizable in terms of dimensions and metrics and reports on landing page traffic. 
• Anomaly detection: This feature deals with machine learning and AI, as well.You can adjust the anomaly detector’s sensitivity and time periods, allowing  Google to monitor your site and notify you when it detects anomalies or anything that was supposed to happen but didn’t. In a nutshell, GA4 can tell if a particular metric has something to do with your statistics or if something needs to be fixed on your website, saving you the time it would take to discover and investigate the anomalies yourself
• Segment creation: you can now create audience segments with GA4. The incredible thing about this feature when comparing GA4 vs UA is that you can make segments without needing to save them with the new comparisons tool.
• Events tracking: you can track most events in GA4 such as the basic, automatically tracked, and enhanced measurement events. If you can’t find desired events, you have the option to create new ones. Another perk of GA4 vs UA is that GA4 allows you to create 300 events for a property versus 22 in UA. 
• Configuration tracking: you will now be able to mark events as ‘Conversions’ more easily. For example, in UA, you could track 20 permanent conversions, but with GA4, you can track as many as 30 conversions. Another new perk? Your team can delete them whenever you want.
• Privacy consent mode: GA4 will now automatically anonymize IP addresses.

GA4 operates across platforms, does not rely exclusively on cookies, and uses an event-based data model to deliver user-centric measurement.

Bringing it all together

Although Universal Analytics offers a variety of privacy controls, Google Analytics 4 is designed with privacy at its core to provide a better experience for your website users. It helps businesses like yours meet evolving needs and user expectations, with more comprehensive and granular controls for data collection and usage. Most importantly, GA4 will also no longer store IP addresses. 

By bringing in these new functions, Google Analytics is continuing to improve the platform and provide solutions for you and your customers at every step of their user journey. These solutions and controls are especially necessary for today’s international data privacy landscape, where users are increasingly expecting more privacy protections and control over their data.

This may seem like a lot because it is. What’s your biggest concern about these updates and the health of your website?  Drop us a line with your concerns and questions. We live this stuff and would enjoy the discussion.

If you’re cursing yourself for not planning something sooner, don’t give up just yet—there’s still plenty of time to pull off an unforgettable seasonal retail experience by hosting a pop-up store. For those retailers who might be skeptical about opening a holiday pop-up store as they see it as an unnecessary cost, some see it as an opportunity to increase their bottom line with limited resources. 

According to the National Retail Federation, the holiday season can account for as much as 30 percent of a retailer’s annual sales. While some consumers may roll their eyes at the holiday season-themed products lining retailers’ shelves as early as late August, the practice of setting up shop early is a great practice to put into place. 

We believe that low-budget, short-term, quick-install pop-ups are set to surge in the coming months. To help you plan, in this blog we will take a look at the pop-up shop, from cost to marketing strategies. Plus, we’ll share examples of brands leading the charge in trending pop-up experiences in a post-pandemic world.

What is a holiday pop-up shop?

Holiday pop-ups provide an ideal opportunity for digitally native brands or companies considering a new location. They can look like a regular store, however, many brands use them to create a unique, engaging physical shopping experience. They can also appear just about anywhere – at a holiday or farmers market, in a local shopping mall, within another retail business’ brick and mortar location, or even as a mobile setting, like a food truck. And they don’t necessarily have to sell traditional products either. A pop-up can sell food, drinks, services, even hospitality like Taco Bell has done in previous years. They’re typically put up as a way to test out a new idea or location, or generate buzz for a business with customers in real-time during the busy holiday shopping months. 

Hosting a holiday pop-up shop is also a great way to penetrate a new market or neighborhood where your target market lives or hangs out while keeping your costs down. Plus, you get the chance to introduce your brand to more people, which, in turn, builds brand awareness that extends well beyond the holidays. In fact, research from Business Insider shows that pop-up shops have historically helped retailers improve market visibility by 51% and increase sales by almost 50%. 

There are a lot of great pop-up examples. Here are a few notable companies that have found success hosting a pop-up shop. ​​Taylor Morgan, a California-based jewelry brand, hosted a pop-up at a local West Elm store to help its products reach new potential customers.

eBay has utilized a pop-up model to bring certain products to consumers in a retail setting during the holiday shopping season.

Birchbox, the popular beauty subscription box, offered a special line of gifts for men, via a holiday pop-up shop in New York.

American Girl only has a few store locations around the country. So to bring its products to even more customers, it sets up temporary mall locations periodically, especially around the holidays to increase sales and reach a wider audience.

Reasons to open or not to open a holiday pop-up shop:

Opening up a holiday pop-up shop is your opportunity to get your products in front of more consumers who are actively buying. Even when you close your temporary location, past customers will remember your brand and as long as they have a good experience are more than likely to visit your permanent store or website. Some other reasons why hosting a pop-up this holiday might be the right move for you include: 

Test a new stream of revenue: Perhaps you want to expand but are hesitant to commit to leasing a new storefront. Your pop-up can be the tactic used to gauge the demand for your products in a particular location. Depending on sales volume, once you close up shop you can begin to determine if opening a permanent store is a sound investment or if you need to revisit the drawing board. 

Test a new product: If you are considering launching a new product line, approach your pop-up as a chance to collect real-time feedback and other valuable insights into how your product and your marketing efforts perform with customers in the wild. A pop-up store is also particularly helpful if you want to test out the waters in a new market or gauge reactions to a product before investing more resources.

Boost sales and gain an uptick in customer traffic: Perhaps the most enticing reason to consider a holiday pop-up shop is to increase sales. The temporary get-it-before-it’s-gone state of pop-ups naturally creates a sense of urgency amongst shoppers. To create this sense of urgency, let your customers know when your pop-up begins and ends as well as letting them know there is limited inventory and once you’re out, you close up shop. Not only will consumers feel compelled to buy before your shop is gone forever, but they’re also more likely to have a deadline of their own urging them to buy now. 

Liquidate inventory: Most retailers do not want to begin the new year with a surplus of seasonal items or outdated inventory as the deadstock can add to your operating expenses and crowd storage rooms. Use your holiday pop-up shop as a chance to sell your products at a discounted price, such as out-of-season items or older models.

Test new marketing promotional strategies: ‘Tis the season for sales. The holidays are an excellent time to take new promotional strategies out for a spin and see how they drive. For instance, try discounting a product for a limited time, offer a flash sale for users who post about your brand on social media, or bundle your merchandise together to evoke a perceived higher value at a lower cost. Many omnichannel retailers also offer an exclusive discount that shoppers can use online, which creates an incentive for them to engage with your brand after your pop-up store closes.

The work doesn’t stop once you close the doors on your holiday pop-up. Not only is it important to analyze your sales performance on the overall success of your pop-up, it is also important to get feedback from your customers to help you plan better moving forward.

Where to start:

If you want to capitalize on the surge in demand the holiday shopping brings, now’s the time to start. Here are some useful tips to get you up and running. 

Find the right location: In order to host a holiday pop-up, you need a space. Without physical space, you can’t do much. Start by familiarizing yourself with the spaces available to you, such as a kiosk at the mall, a local farmer’s market, a mobile truck, or working on a partnership with another local business that has a brick and mortar so you can act on a pop-up opportunity as soon as it comes available. Also, don’t forget about unconventional spaces — like an empty room of an old factory building — and be open to the potential of an otherwise hidden gem just waiting to be filled with your brand fans. Once a space becomes available whether doing it on your own or partnering with another business – book it because every other decision you need to make about your pop-up will be informed by the space from the location to the size, capacity, and even the price.

Decide how you want to market your pop-up: Once you decide on your location, it’s time to start thinking about how you want to market to existing and prospective customers. Some ideas to help get you started are: spreading the word on social media, teaming up with other local brands by collaborating on discounts and promotions to cross-pollinate each other’s audiences, partnering with local news outlets, put up a catchy sidewalk sign, ask brand loyalists or local influencers to get involved to help build trust with your brand and send a newsletter or SMS to customers you have emails and phone numbers for. 

Focus on a small inventory to sell and how to lay it out/design: The PopUp Republic found that 61% of shoppers visit pop-up shops in the mall for seasonal items during the holidays. Even if you don’t sell common items like wreaths, cookies, or other themed goods, you can still join in on the seasonal rush of sales and implement a limited selection of holiday-themed items customers will want to buy. Consider bundling the products that best represent your brand into baskets or packages making it easy for shoppers to imagine themselves giving them as a gift. For instance, if you sell nostalgia gifts and you notice your puzzles are flying off the shelves and your stuffed animals are still sitting there, pair them together as a set at a lower price. Through these bundles, you can sell every day, as well as out-of-season items, that might not sell as well individually.

Another thing to consider when deciding what inventory to sell at your pop-up shop is the cost associated with the products. If you’re eager to reach the most customers and spread awareness about your brand—and clear out your seasonal inventory—choose products to sell at affordable price points that spark impulse buying. For instance, if you are selling wreaths, you want to tap into the urgency that the holiday shopping season brings and convert browsers into buyers by giving them a reason to pick your wreath over one they can buy from a big-box retailer like Michael’s or Hobby Lobby. One avenue to consider is to incorporate a buy-one-get-one (BOGO) promotion where you throw in a lower-priced item as a gift with a purchase to make a higher-priced product a little more attractive.

Set a budget and stick with it: If you have a business that is already operational, this might be the easiest task yet to get started. Planning your budget for a holiday pop-up shop is no different than any financial decisions you make for the sake of your company. Some things you need to consider include:

• Cost of renting a space, utilities, furniture, lighting, and product displays
• Merchandising, such as tablecloths and signage
• Cost of inventory
• Marketing and promotions
• Checkout, including point of sales and credit card fees
• Insurance, depending on the size of your pop-up shop and how long it’s running

Set the experience: According to Bazaarvoice, Inc., 42% of consumers choose to shop at stores that have festive environments so take this as your opportunity to get shoppers into the holiday spirit by creating a fun-filled experience at your holiday pop-up. Fun decorating ideas for your store might include:

• Setting up holiday-related decorations: Choose a corner of your pop-up to display a Christmas or Kwanzaa cherry tree, presents, kinara, or menorah. You can even put your own products under the tree to show customers how they will look as gifts! 
• Hanging lights and snowflakes: No matter where your store is located, create a winter wonderland that immerses customers in the holiday season.
• Covering the ground and shelves in fake snow: If you only want to add a light touch to your store, white stuffing and glitter can help set the mood.
• Make sure you aren’t just representing Christmas, but all holidays with your decorations.

Once your decorations are in place, choose a festive playlist to inspire shoppers. Research shows that music can affect shopping behaviors, specifically how long guests stay at your store and how much they spend. If you want to make more sales, don’t play your music too loud and choose stores that have a slower tempo. Chanel is a great example of someone who has set a customer experience and then some. Every year from December 12-15, they create a stylish, festive winter wonderland within New York City’s Standard Hotel, dubbing its pop-up shop, “Chanel No.5 in the Snow.” Open to the public, anyone who visits the pop-up shop can enjoy ice skating, hot cocoa, delicious food, and the chance to fully immerse themselves in a beautiful setting fit for their latest social media post.

Remember, this is a temporary store. So, to alleviate the headache of having to find storage space once you close up your holiday pop-up shop, rent any furniture and displays you might need instead of buying them outright. Also, be cognizant of space and keep things simple. For instance, if you do not have much room to work with you don’t want to overcrowd the space with large displays or tons of products which might just overwhelm your customers or only allow a few in the store at a set time. Try to use items that can serve two purposes, such as bookshelves that are aesthetically pleasing and can hold small items for sale. 

For more tips on setting the experience for your holiday pop-up shop check out this visual merchandising guide to encourage your customers to interact with your products and maximize sales.

Bringing it all together

Interested in testing out a retail presence for your business, or are you interested in additional revenue streams? Connect with one of our experts today to discuss your needs further!