The seasons are changing and the weather is getting cooler, so you know what that means: Santa Clause is comin’ to town – and to your inbox!
The holiday season is one of the busiest times for ecommerce brands. In fact, a 2020 Facebook survey reported a whopping 47% increase in ecommerce sales beginning in November and going through the end of the year.
So, what exactly does this mean for ecommerce brands? Opportunities! Opportunities to reach both new and existing customers in creative ways as well as increase conversions. Below, we put together a list of five opportunities to do just that. By the time you’re done reading this, we’re sure you’ll be ready to conquer this holiday season.
1. Encourage customers to "buy now"
Convenience is key! Consumers are busy, especially during the holiday season, so encouraging them to make their purchase right then and there is a simple, convenient, and exciting way to increase conversions. Try adding “buy now” buttons to your emails to entice Black Friday, Cyber Monday, (or even those last-minute) shoppers to make those on-the-spot purchases.
2. Promotions and discounts
Give shoppers some insight into the promotions you’re running during the holiday season. Things like shipping information including final delivery dates, gift wrapping options, gift card services, and customer service contact information. Additionally, if your company is offering a compelling discount, entice shoppers with the word “save” in the headline. As a matter of fact, according to Psychology Today, a promotion that says “Get $ Off” emphasizes achieving a gain, while “Save $” emphasizes avoiding a loss – and customers definitely recognize the difference.
3. Interactivity
Create an interactive experience for shoppers by implementing AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages). This dynamic email format enables shoppers to place a promoted item directly into the website shopping cart from inside the email, and then jump to the website for final payment. AMP also allows for embedded images that rotate to show different views of the product, as well as embedded video to keep shoppers interested – all while simultaneously reducing the number of steps to purchase.
4. Align messaging
Omni-channel marketing, a method where businesses promote their products and services across all channels, devices, and platforms using unified messaging, is all of the hype these days. So, when it comes to email marketing, it’s vital to ensure that whatever holiday promotion is running is reflected on all marketing channels – at the same time, with the same offer. For example, if a promotion runs on email, but is not reflected on social media, new shoppers may miss the opportunity to purchase. This increases the probability that a brand will lose access to a new shopper, further emphasizing the importance of aligned marketing messaging.
5. Segment email lists
Segmenting your email lists is critical to the success of holiday email marketing. While it may be a big task with many factors to consider, it’s certainly worthwhile as it allows you to break your list into various “children” lists in order to showcase relevant products to each. Furthermore, customer segmentation allows for the opportunity to cross-sell and upsell products, create lead campaigns, and even use those lists to help with social media marketing.
Holiday segments to consider:
- VIP customers
- High total transaction customers
- High average order value customers
- Subscribers who haven’t made a purchase
- Customers who haven’t bought recently – 30, 90, and 180 days
The holiday season is here and it’s time to kick your email marketing strategy into high gear. Here at Americaneagle.com, we want to help ensure your digital strategy is ready to go. Our team of digital marketing experts can create a robust strategy that not only matches your business needs, but takes it to the next level. Contact us today to get started.
