The most wonderful time of the year for retail is nearly upon us. In 2018, holiday sales grew 5.1% to more than $850 billion – making it the best year for retail in six years. And Cyber Week played a massive role. According to Salesforce, the promotional period took 37% of the season’s revenue.
Can retailers keep the momentum going this year? We’ve compiled five timely stats to inform your Cyber Week email marketing strategy. Take a look.
Free shipping? Shout it from the rooftops.
In its analysis of last year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday email campaigns, Yes Marketing discovered that mentions of free shipping drove the most conversions. Messages that highlighted free shipping offers led to a 14.9% open rate and a 14.7% conversion rate.
“By eliminating shipping costs, retailers also curb consumers’ desire to leave the house and buy an item at a brick-and-mortar store,” wrote Kyle Henderick, Senior Director of Client Services at Yes Marketing, for MarketingLand.
No one likes paying for shipping. So, if your company offers it for free during Cyber Week, feature the deal front and center. By highlighting free shipping alongside your amazing sales, consumers will be more motivated to convert.
Make the mobile experience seamless.
Last year’s holiday season hit a new record. For the first time, more holiday shoppers browsed and made purchases on mobile devices than on desktops, per Salesforce. Some 49% of online orders were placed on a mobile device, while Adweek is reporting that 44% of online sales were conducted on a computer.
To save time completing online orders, shoppers tapped into digital payments. Salesforce reported that 28% of mobile buyers used wallets like Apple or Google Pay to complete purchases. “It’s really breaking down that friction between inspiration and purchase,” Rob Garf, VP of Industry Strategy and Insights at Salesforce, told Adweek.
What does that mean for you as an email marketer? Make the mobile experience as seamless as possible. Optimize your content. Whether it’s using a responsive template or tailoring messages to Android vs. iPhone users – cover all of your bases. Also, keep in mind that the mobile experience starts with email. Make sure to work with your digital teams to ensure the transition from email to website is smooth for the shopper.
Put a lot of your eggnog in the Black Friday basket.
You might think that Cyber Monday would bring in the bulk of online spending, but that’s not the case.
“Ecommerce marketers sent more campaigns around Black Friday than any other day of the year in 2018,” the Omnisend team wrote in a Retail Dive article. “Despite having a lower open and click-through rate, however, Black Friday counted nearly double the number of orders that Cyber Monday had in 2018.”
Online shoppers are pulling out their wallets for Black Friday – meaning they might not be as willing to spend once Cyber Monday comes around. The takeaway here is to make sure your Black Friday emails are on point and set to maximize sales.
Keep in-store shoppers on your nice list!
The majority of holiday shoppers prefer to do their holiday shopping in-store. When it comes down to the wire, they would rather go into physical locations to make sure they have their gifts in time.
And this behavior isn’t exclusive to any generation. In a Shopkick survey emailed to Retail Dive, 55% of Gen Z shoppers said they plan to do the majority of their 2019 holiday shopping at brick-and-mortar stores.
So, don’t forget about these consumers. Provide them with localized content and make it easy for them to go from online to offline.
According to Google, mobile searches for “where to buy” grew by 85% during the 2018 holiday season. And searches for “store hours” peaked on Christmas Eve – higher than any other day last year. Help shoppers find exactly what they are looking for by sharing that information directly within your emails.