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show Yesmail figures, garner-
ing their best open rates in
the days preceding and just
following December 25. Gen-
eral holiday emails, or those
that reference the holiday or
winter season without specific
mention of a holiday, have
become increasingly popular
among retailers and brands
yet elicit lukewarm reactions
from consumers. They tend
to generate open rates similar
to those of base communica-
tions but lower than specifi-
cally themed emails.
Overall, as marketers get
closer to the end of the year,
their email volumes tend to
increase significantly week-over-week.
Yesmail suggests avoiding such a late
season ramp up in favor of a more con-
sistent and level approach, since open
rates tend to decrease as the volume in-
creases and holiday marketing “burnout”
sets in among recipients.
Email open rates also provide
insight into the type of content that
will resonate with shoppers during the
holiday rush. And more than anything,
those shoppers are looking for ways
to deal with the time crunch and stress
typically associated with the season.
For instance, when Deloitte asked
holiday shoppers to name desirable
attributes for sales associates, 63 per-
cent of respondents said “help
me check out quickly.”
That overarching attitude
likely explains why emails
with vague subject lines such
as “Shop Online Specials” or
“10 Percent off Cyber Monday
Purchases” underperformed
while emails that focused on
a sense of urgency or a fast-
approaching deadline tended
to be higher performing,
shows Yesmail data.
“Marketers can spur action
by reminding users of an im-
pending deadline for a sale or
delivery guarantee,” say Yes-
mail researchers. “However,
they should avoid overuse or
subscribers may not view them
as genuine or worthwhile.”
Ultimately, whether it’s
a subject line, viral video
campaign or Instagram post, marketers
would be wise to focus on providing
shoppers with “holiday help,” rather
than incessantly pounding them about
discounts and savings. (It’s doubtful
most specialty businesses are inter-
ested in chasing discount hunters,
anyway.) Help can come in the form of
holiday guides and how-to articles, gift
suggestions, deadline reminders and
checklists. In other words, a message
built around “gift ideas for grandma,”
is much more compelling than “20%
discounts storewide through Monday.”
A video campaign, for instance, could
highlight a shopper’s journey through a
store and all the gift ideas she discov-
ered (with help from a staff member,
of course), or a product video
can demonstrate the fun a
gift recipient can have playing
with their new gizmo out of
the box.
Surveys also suggest that
shoppers are looking to save
time during the holidays almost
as much as they are looking
to save money. That’s largely
why the ability to check in-store
availability of a product online
is widely desired by holiday
shoppers, although it remains
a somewhat unmet demand.
Emails or posts about the re-
stocking of popular items carry
a similar appeal.
Likewise, special extended
hours for VIP customers, such as an
hour before opening or after closing,
can be seen as a way to alleviate the
holiday time-crunch, as can shopping
appointments with expert staff mem-
bers, who can be armed beforehand
with customer profiles or gift recipient
lists. Ultimately, anything that can be
done just to get people to walk into
the store will likely prove beneficial for
the retailer. Among consumers who at-
tended an in-store holiday event, such
as a fundraiser or movie screening,
nearly 60 percent also make a pur-
chase. And overall, holiday shoppers
reported to making 43 percent of their
purchase decisions during the shop-
ping experience, according to
Prosper Insight figures.
And whatever you do, don’t
forget procrastinators when
devising inventory and pro-
motional strategies. Certainly,
ever year a good percentage
of shoppers wait until the pro-
verbial last minute. As much
as 40 percent of 2015 holiday
season sales took place in the
last 10 days before Christmas,
according to analysts at Retail
TouchPoints. With Christmas
Eve falling on a Saturday this
year, that percentage could
be even bigger in 2016, as we
expect Christmas weekend to
be crazy-busy this year.
So, have your holiday gift
suggestions ready. Here’s a few
we came across to help spark
some yuletide brainstorming.
Social Media Platform to which US Social
M dia Users Are Most Likely to Turn for
Holiday Shopping Ideas/Inspiration
Source: GO/Digital
rand - All Finishers
Shoe Brand - All Finishers
Shoe Brand - Sub 24 Hour Finish
rand - Sub 24 Hour Finish
Issues that Hindered Holiday 2015 Sales
Source: National Retail Federation
Poor Inventory Control
Promotional Issues
Poor Planning
Not Enough Advertising
Merchandising Mistakes
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Fut
% of respondents
37.9%
31.6%
4.1%
4.3%
0.7%
0.5%
0.2%
18.8%
2015
2016
Snapchat
Periscope
Other
hoe Brand Survey
Others
Oka
Altra
Brooks
Pearl Izumi
Nike
Salomon
Brooks
Hoka
26%
17%
9.4%
26.4%
6.1%
7.6%
7.6%
34.5%
19.6%
11
11
67
72
47
26 21
21
17
73
38
32
18
17
15%
10%
5%
0%
Percent
% of r
Source
US
an
Source
% of respondents
Product Cat
Prefer to Pu
Food
Health & beau
Shoes
Mobile phone
Jewelry
Clothing
Computers
Games
Social Media Platform to which US Social
Media Users Are Most Likely to Turn for
Holiday Shopping Ideas/Inspiration
Source: GO/Digital
Issues that Hindered Holiday 2015 Sales
Source: National Retail Federation
Poor Inventory Control
Promotio al Issues
Poor Planning
Not Enough Advertising
Merchandising Mistakes
0% 5% 10% 15 20% 25%
Fut
% of respondents
37.9%
31.6%
4.1%
4.3%
0.7%
0.5%
0.2%
18.8%
Snapchat
Periscope
Other
15%
10%
5%
0%
Percen
% of
Sourc
US
an
Sourc
% of respondents
Product Ca
Prefer to Pu
Food
Inside
Outdoor
|
Fall
2016
34