How Can Retailers More Effectively Use E-Mail to Drive Holiday Sales?
E-mailing shoppers during the fourth quarter holiday season may not be the sexiest way to boost sales, but according to a presentation by Jim Davidson of Bronto Software at last week's Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition (IRCE), it can be very productive.
The season starts early, with 28 percent of retailers e-mailing by October 1, and some activity beginning in September, according to Bronto. And there are lots of moving parts, with 80 percent of consumers using multiple devices simultaneously and 85 percent shopping on one device and finishing on another. Retailers need to make use of multiple devices easier, as consumers are using "workarounds" such as saving bookmarks or shopping carts (45 percent) or sending themselves reminder e-mails (45 percent).
Mr. Davidson says there are major differences among the specific holidays. For example, while Black Friday really lasts the whole month of November, the peak for e-mail sends and online shopping traffic is now around 10 a.m. on Black Friday. Bronto cautions retailers about sending multiple messages on a single day for fear of them being labeled as spam and sees some types of promotions increasing: door busters, online only offers and gift guides.
Cyber Monday is a more condensed event, lasting one to four days at most, and is a stronger one-day concept. Ten percent of retailers send three messages or more on this day. Eight-eight percent of CM activity comes after 9 a.m., presumably because shopping is done from work. CM promotions that are on the rise include mystery coupons/discounts, gift guides, and cyber week specials. Door busters are declining.
David Workman of Delta Apparel, owners of Salt Life, a beach and fishing oriented line of apparel and decals, offered three takeaways for holiday e-mailing:
- Plan ahead: Holiday campaigns should be prepared at least a quarter in advance.
- Be relevant: It's not all about the promotion, but the relevancy.
- Keep it simple: Shoppers are bombarded, so keep your design simple and to the point.
Specifically, Salt Life simplified its Black Friday promotions, decreased the discount but extended the length, and made sure their promo codes were in real text so they can be copied and pasted by shoppers. For Cyber Monday, they moved their e-mails later (to 3 p.m vs. 9 a.m.), reduced the promotion from two days to one day, and increased the sense of urgency by shortening the promotion. They also increased the number of gift guides they e-mailed in 2012 to six from three in 2011, and added new categories such as Last Chance, Junior, and Dog (yes, a gift guide for dogs). The e-mails offered no discount at all. These actions helped Salt Life increase their sales over the promotional dates by double to even triple digits.