It wouldn’t be the happiest time of the year without some great holiday email marketing — am I right?
So it has begun. The holiday season has officially kicked off and so have all the holiday marketing emails. It’s that time of year when your email inbox fills up with holiday-themed subject lines and Black Friday sized deals from now until the end of the year.
Retailers really ramp up their marketing efforts toward the end of the year, but for good reason. In 2018, retail sales during the holiday season, running from November 1 through December 31, brought in over $700 billion and over $120 billion in eCommerce sales.
The holidays bring in a big portion of sales for retailers. When you consider that retail sales are over $700 billion in just two months, it’s no wonder marketing emails start filling your inbox as early as Halloween. The even better news for retailers? Holiday shopping isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon. Image courtesy of Listrak.
Retail holiday sales have increased nearly every year and aren’t expected to slow down this year. It’s projected that in 2019, holiday sales will increase between 3.8% and 4.2%. That means that total sales could likely be upwards of $730 billion.
While eCommerce has become a big part of the holiday season, there are still a few days that stand out as the top eCommerce sellers. Black Friday is typically known as the biggest shopping day of the year, which is still true. But with the option to purchase online and stay out of the crowds, many consumers are choosing to opt-out of standing in the crazy lines. Image courtesy of Listrak.
So why do we see so many emails flowing into our inboxes during this time of year? Well, retailers want to get the word out about new sales, products, and gift guides to help land a sale. And with the increase in mobile and eCommerce usage during the holidays, making a purchase is just a click away from an email.
Here’s a sneak peek at what we have in store for you throughout the rest of this article — we won’t even make you wait until Christmas.
- More about email marketing during the holiday season
- The benefits of holiday gift guides and lots of examples
- Other holiday marketing emails and how they stand out
Email Marketing During the Holiday Season
Email marketing is one of the best ways for retailers to reach their customers. As mobile adoption continues to grow, it’s getting even easier to reach customers wherever they are and at any time.
Today, over 65% of emails are opened on mobile devices. That means that someone at the grocery store, waiting in the school pickup line, or laying on the couch could be opening your emails. The great thing about email promotions? All of these people are just a click away from making a purchase on your site.
Email marketing is a great option for retailers during the holiday season. Not only can you get the word out about your upcoming sales and promotions, but you can get really creative with the imagery and design of your emails. This email from Esty brings back the nostalgia of decorating the tree with your family and helps you shop throwback decor. Image courtesy of Etsy marketing.
Online and mobile shopping is a great option for busy holiday shoppers. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the different types of holiday emails that retailers are using this year to help customers find the perfect gifts and boost sales in the process.
The Holiday Gift Guide
We all have a list of people we are looking to buy for during the holidays. It should come as no surprise that some people are easy to buy for, while others seem to already have everything they’d ever want.
That’s where the holiday gift guide comes into play. Gift guides can help shoppers come up with some different ideas on what items they can purchase for everyone on their shopping list. Let’s take a look at a few different gift guides that caught our eye.
Gift guides don’t just have to point out his and her gifts. This is a great example of how to add a little flair and fun to the traditional gift guide option. It also will help customers relate and think of the mother-to-be in their life that would love a matching pair of shoes with the new baby. Image courtesy of Keds marketing.
This gift guide stood out because it isn’t your typical his and her gift guide. They took a different approach by calling out dog moms, Kate Spade lovers, mothers-to-be, and so much more. A different way to approach the holiday gift guide, but a smart one at that.
Promoting products in a different way will help shoppers think of things in a totally different way. We all know a dog lover, but would we have thought that Keds would be the perfect gift for them? Probably not, but they positioned it perfectly.
Gift guides can take many forms. This example is more along the lines of a traditional gift guide, but still does a great job at promoting products for a number of different people that may be on a consumer’s shopping list. Image of Pier1 marketing.
Pier1 took a somewhat more traditional approach at the holiday gift guide — but they did a great job. Now, you’ll notice they still capitalized on the animal lover in your life (there’s a good chance that’s their list segmentation at work) but they also went into the traditional his and her gifts.
One thing that stood out was that they also included a section for secret Santa gifts. This was a neat way to pull in shoppers because we all love to get in on the office secret Santa, so why not check out what they have to offer.
Gift guides don’t always have to be in the email itself. The example is interactive and appeals to customers with strong words in the content to entice people to click on the full gift guide. Image courtesy of Loft marketing.
Often, the email just needs to reel the customer in, from there you can take them to a more extensive landing page to share the important information. That’s exactly what Loft did in this email.
They used strong content in the first section of the email (that was interactive and changed as the shopper read it) to appeal to their specific shopping behaviors. From there, they linked to a landing page that offers a true gift-giving experience.
Notice that the design carries over from the email and the gift guide covers a variety of different options. From lower-priced gifts, warm & fuzzy gifts, and Loft favorites shoppers are bound to find something. This is a great experience and lets the shopper really dig in and shop through a variety of products to wow the women on their list.
Traditional Holiday Email
While the holiday gift guide is a popular email marketing tactic, it’s not the only holiday option out there. Many companies opt to simply add a little cheer to their normal marketing emails while others simply use a touch of holiday content to promote their products as great holiday options.
Here are a few different examples we’ve seen that span from full-blown Christmas promotion to more subtle product-focused promotions.
One way to go when sending holiday marketing emails is to go into full-blown sales and holiday promotion mode. This example promotes their Black Friday sales and then goes right into the holiday decore that will be on sale. Image courtesy of Michaels marketing.
Michaels takes the full-on holiday approach. The design of their email is very Christmas focused and goes right into their sales on garland and Christmas trees. They do a great job of sharing sales and promotions for those who are looking for a good deal.
Groupon does a great deal of getting right to the point, but still adding a little holiday promotion to their email. A catchy subject line and good deals are all you need to lure customers in to make a purchase. Image courtesy of Groupon marketing.
A simple holiday banner and subject line might be enough to entice your customers. While this example lets you know these are “holiday steals”, it gets to the point rather quickly and lets you know what products they are promoting and what the deals are.
Email Marketing to Improve Your Holiday Sales
Throughout this article we’ve looked at a few different options for your holiday marketing emails. Whether you take the route of the more traditional emails or go big on a gift guide, you will be positively impacting your holiday sales.
Customers are ready to buy this time of year, and as mobile and eCommerce continue to grow in popularity, so will the use of email marketing. People don’t want to fight the crowds of Black Friday shopping anymore. Meet them where they want to be — whether that’s a mobile device or desktop, email delivers.
