Email Marketing Holiday CalendarA Retailer's Guide to Holiday Email Success

Brett Billick

VP of Channel & Growth, RetailMeNot@brettbillick

Heike Young

Global Content Lead, Salesforce@youngheike

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Heike YoungGlobal Content Lead, Salesforce

Brett BillickVP of Channel & Growth, RetailMeNot

Agenda

• Understand why email will be critical in the 2015 holiday season

• Hear proven email marketing tips and strategies especially for retailers

• Get a monthly to-do list (October-January)

• Q&A

Great expectations for 2015 holiday season

Retailers projected to enjoy a strong holiday season

Ecommerce sales will grow by 13.9%

Retail sales overall are expected to rise 5.7%

Mcommerce sales will grow 32% in 2015, far more quickly than ecommerce as a whole

Source: eMarketer, Aug 2015

What consumers want from retailers

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

64%

54%

45%

Source: RetailMeNot Shoppers Trend Report, Feb 2015

42%

64% want retailers to offer more discounts in 2015 than they did in 2014

54% want more retailers to match competitors’ prices

45% want cash or gift card rewards for buying products or spending certain amounts

42% want in-store pick-up

Why email? It’s the bedrock of a marketing strategy

*Source: eMarketer, Lessons from Holiday Shopping 2014—What You Need to Know for 2015, March 2015

From Thanksgiving to Cyber

Monday in 2014, email drove

23%of retail sales*

RetailMeNot sends

2 Billionemails each year

42%of RetailMeNot’s

total email revenue

came during Nov-Dec

And consumers access email from home, at the office, on their smartphones, and while shopping in-store.

October

October: Calm before the storm

• 49% of marketers will launch a holiday campaign before Halloween*

• 40% of consumers will start holiday shopping before Halloween**

Common messaging themes:

*Source: Steelhouse, Holiday Marketing Guide 2014

**Source: National Retail Federation, Holiday Survival Kit 2013

Gift guide previews Create a wish list Most popular gifts

October example: Neiman Marcus email

• Sent early October to announce Christmas Book

• Animated gif of a gift unwrapping – leading to announcement

• Gif frames:

October to-do list

• Enhance mobile experience

• Begin building excitement for November

• Share early gift guides

• Create a landing page/email for self-gifters

• Brainstorm loyalty rewards (early access, discount codes, referral rewards)

Before and after:

Single-column layout

Larger images, text, and buttons

November

November: The biggest shopping day of the year… and then some

• Black Friday: a month-long event, not a single-day sprint

• Thanksgiving Day is “Gray Friday” as shopping creeps earlier

• In 2014, 1 in 5 shoppers planned to head to stores on Thanksgiving Day to capitalize on Black Friday deals.*

• Black Friday searches on RetailMeNot lift 11/19 and peak at 10 AM on Black Friday

• 83% of millennials shop for themselves over Thanksgiving weekend.**

*Source: Google Consumer Survey Nov. 2014

**Source: National Retail Federation survey 2013

November example: Zappos email

• Sent mid-November

• Alerts customers of important dates and increased emails

• Links to gift guide

“Starting on 11/26, you’ll get an email every day…

Here are important dates to remember:

Thanksgiving Day (stay home and shop in your stretchy pants)

Cyber Monday (check off your holiday list before the mad rush)

Dec. 23 (order by 1pm EST for guaranteed Christmas delivery)”

November to-do list

• Convey urgency and assistance

• Set up countdown timers in emails

• Only X products remaining, promote hot products

• Offer phone numbers, online chats, social media help

• Remain agile

• Have flexibility to pull products from emails

• A/B test

• Capitalize on trends, social proof

• Use varied messaging options: Thanksgiving Eve, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, Cyber Week

December

• Cyber Monday was #1 desktop spending day in 2014 — Cyber Tuesday was a close #2.

• Visits to RetailMeNot peak on Cyber Monday at 6 PM

• Other major December days:

• Green Monday (December 14)

• Free Shipping Day (December 18)

• Last Sleigh Day (December 21)

December: Coming in for a landing

December example: Sephora email

• Sent early December

• Uses buyer personas and a play on gift guides

• First-name “from: your name here” personalization

“To: Marvelous Mom, from Amanda

To: Friend Forever, from Amanda

To: Superb Sister, from Amanda”

December to-do list

• Keep an eye on the numbers for last-minute tweaks

• The closer Christmas gets, offer free shipping or e-gifts

• Send a unique “season’s greetings” message

• Christmas, Hannukah, New Year’s — a little bit of everything

• Don’t forget the day after Christmas

• End-of-year roundup

January

• Popular January email themes: New Year’s emails, reminders to redeem gift cards, accessories for gifts, trade in electronics, health, and storage/organization

• Other major January days:

• New Year’s Day (January 1)

• Unofficial Email Marketer’s Resting Day (January 8)

• MLK, Jr. Day (January 18)

January: Wrapping it all up

January example: Tiny Prints email

• Seasonal twist on a win-back campaign

• Targets inactives with a $20 gift in January

“The holidays weren’t the same without you…

$20 off anything – reconnect in 2015”

• Keep holiday subscribers long-term

• Loyalty program invites

• Relevant, personalized content

• Opt-up and opt-down options via preference center

• Consider updating your non-holiday email template

• Do a full-circle review on holiday results

• Update your holiday swipe file of favorite campaigns for next year

January to-do list

Are you feeling the holiday spirit?

Get started right away

• Prioritize the mobile experience — all the way through purchase

• Start gathering data (via preference centers, analytics) now for more targeted holiday emails

• Combine preparedness and willingness to pivot

• Rely on email as the bedrock, with cross-channel support

• Expand reach by leveraging partners

More resources

Salesforce Email Marketing Holiday Calendar

sforce.co/2015cal

RetailMeNot Resources

rmn.com/corp/resources/

The Marketing Cloudcast – a new marketing podcast from Salesforce

sforce.co/cloudcast

Q&A

Heike Young

Global Content Lead, Salesforce@youngheike

Brett Billick

VP of Channel & Growth, RetailMeNot@brettbillick

Thank you