From video gaming systems and flat-screen TVs to mobile phones and beyond, gifts in the consumer electronics space are huge hits during the holiday season. Sales numbers rise from year to year, and consumer electronics sell fast, too. (One example: Nintendo's Grand Theft Auto V topped $1 billion in US sales in its first three days on the market). Capitalizing on popular new entries in this space to capture the “early-adopter” crowd, as well as using remarketing for customers who do lots of research before making a purchasing decision, will be some of the keys to holiday marketing success in 2016.

Consumers indulge in beauty-related products in droves throughout the holiday season. Here's the real takeaway: they do so almost as much for themselves as for the people on their gift-giving list. For personal purchases, think about the high quality of service and ease of returns. Considering gifts? Around 93% of consumers report having purchased a beauty-related item as a gift. (Source: The Benchmarking Company). Whether you're a first-party or a third-party retailer of such beauty products, think about gift cards! In an industry with low margins, capitalize on this market by using flash sales, bundling gifts with incentives, and capturing first-party information through fun loyalty programs.

Targeting glamorous and aspirational buyers? Fashion items (including clothes, shoes, and accessories) and jewelry should use highly visual channels to capture attention and speak to the careful nuance to which your target demographic subscribes (think programmatic ad buying). Clothing is consistently the most often given gift during the holidays (48% of gift buyers indicated clothing on their gift list in 2015). Jewelry's market share is rising, too. Don't forget gift cards in this sector; the more personal the gifts are, the more likely the receivers will want to choose these for themselves. This makes a gift card a great option. Don't forget about making the return experience a positive one.

Home goods—that’s everything from furniture and appliances to books—any object used at home. Home goods cover holiday decorating, big-ticket products, such as furniture, and smaller items, including party gifts for hosts. Among major sectors, this is the one to ramp up early. Holiday planning should start by August, and September isn't too early to launch holiday-related buying incentives. It's all part of taking advantage of the post-summer home goods buying trend.

Regarding the travel sector, remember this mantra: Millennials matter. Big time. PriceWaterhouseCoopers (2016) reports that this demographic (75 million people, representing a $63-billion market in the US) spends more of its holiday budget on travel and entertainment—the "experience" gifts—than other demographics. That's because millennials own less stuff (they're the major drivers for the sharing economy, after all) and prefer unique and memorable experiences. Reaching them in this hyper-competitive sector requires a savvy market position and social media saturation.