Responsys 2011 Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season

SWYN, FTAF and Community Links: November 2010 1

Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season 2011

Trends, tactics and a content roadmap to maximize your email marketing revenue.

By Chad White

July 2011

Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season 2011 2

Executive Summary

Email marketing is becoming increasingly vital to holiday success. Last year, the top online retailers boosted their year-over-year email volume 21% in November and December, with spikes coinciding with several record-breaking ecommerce days, including Cyber Monday and Thanksgiving Day.

Because of email’s ability to engage customers with relevant messaging at the right time, our retail client data shows that open rates and clickthrough rates hold steady during the holidays, despite the added volume, and that click-to-conversion rates increase significantly. There are positive signs that the 2011 holiday season will be another banner year for email marketing.

“Our retail client data shows that 2011 open rates are up 23% over last year and click-to-open rates are up 11%,” says Ed Henrich, Senior Vice President of Professional Services at Responsys. “This is a good sign that the 2011 holiday season could be very strong.”

However, challenges and opportunities have arisen that will require marketers to adjust their holiday email strategies. The emergence of “Black November,” the continued growth in mobile email readership, and increasing cross-channel sophistication will all have a major effect on campaigns this holiday season, when email volume is on track to reach new all-time highs.

To help retailers and other B2C companies navigate these changes, we have produced this roadmap to the holiday season. Based on the holiday email activity of the more than 100 top U.S. online retailers tracked by the Retail Email Blog and on the insights of Responsys’ Strategic Services group, this guide includes benchmarks and advice regarding the timing of holiday campaigns, how much to increase email volume, which days to send on, how to stand out in the inbox, and which messaging tactics to use throughout the holiday season.

We also cover the following points:

• Retailers are trying to attract shoppers earlier in the holiday season by promoting “Black Friday” deals and pricing as early as Nov. 1, a trend we refer to as “Black November.” As a result, last year the number of references to Black Friday between Nov. 1 and Black Friday increased 68% from 2009.

• Cyber Monday is living up to its hype as the “the biggest online shopping day of the year,” with online sales breaking the $1 billion mark for the first time that day last year. Email marketing is a prime contributor to that success, with 77% of major online retailers sending at least one promotional email to their subscribers on Cyber

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Monday, up from 71% in 2009. It was the fourth consecutive year that Cyber Monday was the most popular day of the year to send retail emails.

• Black Friday check-in campaigns and last-minute gifts delivered via Facebook were both nascent trends last year that we expect to grow this year.

• This guide also identifies and provides examples of the “22 Phases of Holiday Messaging,” a variety of tactics that retailers have at their disposal at various points during the holiday season. Those tactics include “12 Days of Christmas” campaigns, season’s greetings, and urging gift card redemptions.


Contents

Review Past Holiday Campaigns 5

Start Holiday Campaigns Early 7

Increase Holiday Email Frequencies 7

Target Key Shopping Days 10

Stand Out Among Inbox Clutter 11

Use Pre-Holiday Messaging 15

The 22 Phases of Holiday Messaging 20

1. “Christmas in July” Campaigns 20 2. Other Early Holiday Messaging 21 3. Core Holiday Messaging 23 4. Black November 24 5. Debuting Holiday Headers 26 6. Introducing Gift Services Footers 27 7. Thanksgiving Day 28 8. Black Friday 30 9. Cyber Monday 33 10. “12 Days of Christmas” Campaigns 35 11. Special Order Deadlines 37 12. Free Shipping Day 38 13. End of Standard Shipping 39 14. End of Express Shipping 40 15. Shop at Your Local Store 41 16. Buy Online, Pick Up in Store 42 17. E-Gifts Cards & E-Gifts 43 18. Season’s Greetings 45 19. Christmas Day 46 20. After-Christmas & End-of-Year Sales 47 21. Gift Card Redemption Messaging 48

22. Follow-Ups & Upsell Opportunities 49

Conclusion 50

About the Author 51

About Responsys 51


Laying the groundwork for successful holiday email marketing campaigns begins during the summer. This guide will walk you through reviewing your 2010 holiday campaigns, early holiday messaging like “Christmas in July” campaigns, and the pre-holiday messaging that will make your holiday campaigns more effective—as well as taking you all the way through Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the after-Christmas period.

Based on the holiday email activity of more than 100 top U.S. online retailers tracked by the Retail Email Blog and on the insights of Responsys’ Strategic Services group, this guide also addresses the new challenges and opportunities that will require marketers to adjust their holiday email strategies, like the emergence of “Black November,” the continued growth in mobile email readership, and the need for more cross-channel sophistication.

We hope the benchmarks, advice and examples in this guide help you to maximize your holiday performance of your email marketing program.

Happy Holiday Sales,

Chad White Research Director Responsys

Review Past Holiday Campaigns

In preparing for the upcoming holiday email season, first thoroughly examine what happened with your 2010 holiday email campaigns. Ask yourself these questions:

• Where did we run into time crunches in our production process? Are there production changes that would make things run more smoothly? How can our ESP or agency help?

• Which of our email campaigns generated the highest conversions? Try to determine the cause of the outperformance.

o Were there any specific offers (percent discount, dollar discount, free shipping, tiered offers, etc.) associated with those?

o What were the subject lines?

o On what days were they sent?

o At what time or time of day (morning, afternoon, night) were they sent?

• Which campaigns generated the lowest conversions? Try to determine the cause of the underperformance.

• Which segmentation and dynamic content tactics were the most successful?



• Which campaigns were forwarded and shared the most? What about those campaigns made them so viral?

• Which campaigns generated the highest unsubscribe rates? The highest spam complaints? Why was that?

• Did we change our cadence or the number of emails we sent per week? If so, did it impact our complaint rates or the raw number of complaints we generated per 7-day period? Did we encounter deliverability filtering or blocking as a result?

• Did we change our audience size or scope (i.e., mailing more inactives)? If so, did that impact our deliverability rates or success in reaching the inbox?

• Did we have to send any apology emails? What did we apologize about? Have steps been taken to fix the problems?

• How well were our email campaigns coordinated with our social and mobile campaigns? Were we able to quickly incorporate learnings from our social and mobile channels into our email messaging? How can we improve our cross-channel integration?

• Were we able to capitalize on the increase in traffic to our website, social media pages and other touchpoints to grow our email subscriber base? How can we improve email capture rates?

• What tests have we conducted this year? What did we learn? How can we apply those learnings to our holiday campaigns?

“Reviewing last year’s holiday email performance is a great way to prepare for the upcoming season,” says Heather Blank, Vice President of Strategic Services at Responsys. “It will re-immerse you in the holiday mindset, provide the opportunity to plan ahead based on previous successes, and help you strategize to avoid any errors made in the previous year. Be sure to start your review early so you have plenty of time to incorporate more cross-channel strategies into your plan.”

In addition to reviewing your own past holiday emails, look at what your competitors and peers did. This report will get you well on your way, but you should also explore email industry blogs, the trade press and research firms for more insights and inspiration.

Start Holiday Campaigns Early

While some people still think of Black Friday as the start of the holiday season, it starts much earlier than that in the email marketing world. In fact, if you wait until the day after


Thanksgiving to begin your holiday messaging, then you’ve given up a head-start of more than a month to your competitors.

On average, retailers began their 2010 holiday campaigns 69 days before Christmas—on Oct. 17. That’s two days earlier than during the 2009 holiday season and 11 days earlier than during the 2007 holiday season, when the average start date was Oct. 28. Although the economy was improving a bit going into the holiday season last year, retailers were clearly still nervous and wanted to start their holiday messaging a little earlier.

It’s important to note that Oct. 17 was just the average start date in 2010. Some retailers begin their battle for holiday hearts and minds as early as June—as was the case last year when Hallmark began their holiday email messaging on June 29. While holiday messaging remains low until October, some of this early messaging may boost the effectiveness of later messages.

Increase Holiday Email Frequencies

With consumers in a buying mood and actively looking for ideas, the vast majority of retailers ratchet up their send volume during the holiday season. Last year, 89% of top online retailers increased the number of promotional emails they sent in November and December compared to earlier months. That’s up from the 83% that increased their send volume during the 2009 holiday season.


The ramp up in email volume during the holiday is substantial. In fact, during 2010, retailers increased their send volumes an average of 47% during November and December compared to the preceding January-October period, according to the Retail Email Blog’s Retail Email Index, which is a measure of the promotional email volume generated by 100 of the top online retailers. Between January and October, retailers sent 11.8 emails per month on average; but during the November and December holiday period, they sent an average of 17.3 each month.

While email volume increased 16% during 2010 vs. 2009, during November and December it averaged a 21% year-over-year increase. Plus, the biggest monthly year-over-year gain came in November, when volume increased nearly 24%. The “Black November” trend, which saw retailers promoting Black Friday deals and pricing weeks earlier than usual, was responsible for the big volume gains in November last year.

“Despite large increases in volume, most of my retail clients see open rates and CTRs remaining flat, or down only nominally,” says Mary Kathleen Sullivan, Sr. Strategy Consultant at Responsys. “What I consistently see are large increases in click-to-conversion rates, sometimes as much as two times.”

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Bigger Opportunities for Lighter Mailers

Retailers that send email less frequently prior to the holiday season are consistently able to increase their send volume proportionally more than their higher-volume peers when the holiday season arrives. For instance, retailers that were sending one or fewer emails per month during the January-October time period increased their email frequency by 95% on average during November and December. In comparison, retailers that sent more than three emails a week early in the year only increased their holiday volume by 42% on average. This may indicate that some high-volume senders are emphasizing the January-October time period at the expense of the more valuable holiday period.


A Word of Caution about Dramatic Frequency Increases

While we believe that sending more email during the holidays when more consumers are in market to make purchases is a winning strategy, it is wise to compare the incremental sales gains from those extra emails up against the potential downsides, such as:

• The cost of replacing subscribers lost to higher list churn.

• The sales lost because of increased spam complaints or low engagement caused deliverability problems.

• The opportunity cost of lost sales due to higher ignore rates as subscribers tune you out because you are oversending.

• Trading significant lifetime value in exchange for a much smaller short-term boost in sales.

There’s sometimes a tendency for marketers to do a good job of measuring the positives and do a poor job of measuring the negatives because of a lack of time or visibility. While you might gladly trade some future sales in exchange for more short-term sales, it’s important to be aware of what that exchange rate looks like.

Also, sometimes increases in frequency can actually result in fewer touches if deliverability suffers. “The challenge is: If everyone else is dramatically increasing frequency, do you miss out on face time during this very important time of year by holding back?” says Heather Goff, Senior Deliverability Consultant at Responsys. “But it’s important to realize that increasing frequency can actually lead to less face time if it triggers junk foldering or blocking. I recommend spending some time digging into your metrics from last year to make the right judgment for your program this year. The key is being honest about how relevant each additional message is.”

Goff also warns that adding long dormant subscribers back to your mailing file during the holiday season is a dangerous gamble. While it may generate some incremental sales, the tactic will severely lower the engagement of your file, likely getting your emails blocked or junked.

Target Key Shopping Days

Considering the escalation in volume during November and December, it’s no surprise that every one of the top 10 most popular retail email days of 2010 came in the weeks before Christmas—including Cyber Monday, which took the No. 1 spot for the fourth straight year.

Here’s the full listing of the top 10 days during 2010 when the most retailers sent at least one promotional email :


Most Popular Retail Email Days of 2010

Rank % of Retailers

Sending Email

Date

(Day of the Week)

Proximity to

Major Holiday

1 77% Nov. 29 (Mon.) Cyber Monday

2 69% Dec. 10 (Fri.)

3 69% Nov. 26 (Fri.) Black Friday

4 67% Dec. 3 (Fri.)

5 67% Dec. 6 (Mon.)

6 64% Dec. 8 (Wed.)

7 63% Dec. 17 (Fri.)

8 63% Dec. 13 (Mon.) Green Monday

9 62% Dec. 21 (Tues.) End of free Christmas

shipping for many retailers

10 62% Nov. 22 (Mon.) Monday before Thanksgiving

While the days listed above are likely popular because they achieve better results, there’s the counterpoint that these are also the days when your emails have the most competition in the inbox. If that logic appeals to you, then try sending on the days just before or after these days. For instance, to avoid the highly popular Cyber Mondays, some retailers have opted to send their emails on the Sunday preceding them, which we refer to as Cyber Sundays.

Also, if your brand doesn’t traditionally send out highly promotional content, then you might want to avoid these high volume days since they typically feature deep discounts.

“We have a client who chose to avoid some of the busiest days during the holidays to minimize competing with the flood of discounts during this timeframe,” says David Hibbs, Strategic Consultant at Responsys. “As a result of shifting their campaigns off of these popular days, they have seen no negative impact to revenue and have seen their average order values increase almost 30% for the holiday timeframe.”

Stand Out Among Inbox Clutter

With the increase in volume pouring into subscribers’ inboxes, it’s critical to stand out with not only relevant content, big deals, and helpful advice, but also with compelling subject lines and eye-catching messaging that’s mobile-friendly and easy to share.

For more on email volume trends during 2010, download “Retail Email Year-End Trends for 2010” from the Responsys Downloads page.

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“Standing out in the holiday inbox is more than just applying email creative best practices,” says Wacarra Yeomans, Creative Director at Responsys. “It’s important that your holiday messaging is on-brand and continues to provide an excellent holiday shopping experience for your subscribers. Subtlety and warmth can sometimes be the way to stand out in the inbox and delight the subscriber.”

Craft Better Subject Lines

Subject lines become even more important during the holiday season as consumers receive more email in their inboxes. Consider these tips during the holidays:

• Don’t forget the basics of good subject lines. Subject lines should address who the email is from, what’s in it for the subscriber, and how can the subscriber take action—all in 50 characters or less ideally.

• Repeat or tweak successful subject lines from your campaigns last year.

• Pay attention to site searches on your website and the organic searches that bring you traffic from major search engines. Consider using words from the most popular searches in your subject lines and check in with your search marketing team on a weekly or even daily basis to determine trends.

• Mine the subject lines of your competitors and peers for ideas for words and phrasings. The Subjectivity Scanner at the end of the Retail Email Blog’s AM Inbox posts is a source of noteworthy subject lines to dissect.

• If you’re offering free shipping, tout it more often in subject lines, as it’s likely to boost conversion rates. Consider exploring alternative phrasings for “free shipping,” such as “complimentary shipping,” “$0 shipping” “delivery for free,” “shipping is on us,” etc. We highly recommend free shipping as a promotional tactic because it doesn’t cheapen your brand like product and order discounts do.

• Most of all, be sure to regularly, if not always, A/B test your subject lines. Some tests to consider include:

o Inclusion/exclusion and order of key elements like (1) seasonal element, (2) urgency, (3) product name or product category, (4) percentage or dollar discount and (5) price.

o Straightforward vs. intriguing/mysterious subject lines.

o Change of phraseology (statement, command, question, etc.).

For more on email design trends and to get inspired, download “Email Design Look Book 2011” from the Responsys Downloads page.

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o Inclusion of your brand name. The beginning and end of the subject line are popular positions. Long brand names may do more harm than good by increasing the character count of your subject line too much.

o Short subject lines of 30 characters or less vs. longer subject lines of 70 or more characters. Also look at subject line length in terms of number of words.

o Focusing exclusively on the primary message or also mentioning a secondary message or two.

o Personalize the subject line with the subscriber’s name, favorite team, or other important information.

“The surest way to increase the success of subject lines is through testing, but be sure you correctly define what success means for these tests,” says Mary Kathleen Sullivan, Sr. Strategy Consultant at Responsys. “In the competitive holiday retail space, the open is only a small part of the picture. We need our subscribers to open the email, find content that fulfills the promise of the subject line and click through, and then continue the experience through to conversion. So success for a subject line should be defined as driving the highest revenue per email.”

Mobile- & Touch-Friendly Designs

With smartphones now outselling PCs and the majority of smartphone users checking their email on their device, making email designs mobile-friendly is increasingly critical. According to Return Path research, 16% of emails were read on a mobile device as of March. Growing at 81% year-over-year, mobile email readership should easily exceed 20% on average by the time the 2011 holiday season starts in earnest. On top of that, the fast-selling iPad and proliferation of competing tablets are also boosting the need for easy touch-based navigation of emails.

The current state of email design is very unfriendly toward mobile and touch-based devices, even among the biggest brands. As more of your subscribers migrate to mobile and tablet plaforms, we recommend:

• Including preheader text and “View on mobile” links.

• Using single-column designs.

• Reducing the width of email templates to 640 pixels or less.

• Avoiding font sizes under 10pt.

• Using 10 to 15 pixels of padding around calls-to-action.

For more on creating mobile-friendly email designs, download “Email Design & Coding Recommendations” from the Responsys Downloads page.

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Leverage Social Sharing

If you haven’t adopted share-with-your-network (SWYN) functionality yet, now is the perfect time to implement it. SWYN, which allows subscribers to share the content of an email with their friends and family on various social networks like Facebook and Twitter, increases the reach of your email messages—and if there’s ever a time that you want to maximize your reach it’s during the holidays.

“Just a click turns an email into a recommendation,” says Rocky Thomas, Art Director at Responsys. “Better yet, it only takes seven shares to reach 1,000 eager-to-listen friends. How do you achieve those clicks? We’ve found that share links tied to specific content outperform those that share the entire email. And don't forget, brand engagement is also a win. Not every social message should sell.”

While adding SWYN to the header, social media bar or the footer of your email is the standard, look for opportunities to pull a “Share with your friends” call-to-action up into the body of your message to spur viral sharing.

For more on social sharing, download “SWYN, FTAF & Community Links” from the Responsys Downloads page.

Retailers began promoting holiday mobile apps as early as October last year. In this Oct. 19 email, Neiman Marcus began promoting their gifts app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. The subject line was “Santa goes techie! Presenting the NM GIFTS APP .”



Use Pre-Holiday Messaging

The holiday season is of vital importance to nearly every retailer. While planning out your holiday messaging strategy, also take the time to engage in messaging during the July-October period that will make your holiday messaging more targeted, support other channels during the Christmas season, and improve the effectiveness of your website.

You can complement your early holiday messaging and get yourself into shape for a healthy holiday season by using some of the following tactics:

‘Update Your Preferences’ Requests

Having current preference data from your subscribers can help you significantly increase the chances that your emails will be relevant during the holiday season. Either ask subscribers directly to update their preferences or make the link to your preference center more prominent by moving it above the fold.

In addition to asking subscribers to update their email preferences, the pre-holiday season—particularly October—is a good time to get customers to update their preferences in other channels. Asking subscribers whether they’d like to receive a holiday catalog is a popular

In this May 1, 2011 email, Macy’s places the share call-to-action in the same content block as the “Friends & Family” promotion. This positioning is much more prominent and compelling than the usual placement in the header or footer.


request among retailers. With print and postage costs continuing to rise, we expect more retailers to use their email channel as an inexpensive way to help ensure that catalogs go to the people that will be the most likely to respond to it.

Don’t have a preference center? Consider launching one in the coming months or put it on your to-do list for 2012.

“Some of our clients also aggregate website behavior by category and separately track email click behavior by category, so they have three sources of preference data: self-reported, website browse and email click,” says Ed Henrich, Senior Vice President of Professional Services at Responsys. “They then have a ranking system for melding these to determine subscribers’ preferences, giving more weight to observed behavior, which is generally more recent and more predictive of in-market intentions. If you want to use this tactic this holiday season, start collecting and organizing this data now.”

In this Oct. 8, 2010 email, Sony asks subscribers to update their account information so they can receive their holiday catalog.


Progressive Profiling & Subscriber Surveys

Power your targeted emails and dynamic content with timely data by including progressive profiling questions in your regular promotional campaigns or sending a subscriber survey request.

“Progressive profiling is a great way to determine in market interest for your subscribers that can be leveraged to increase the relevancy of upcoming holiday campaigns,” says Heather Blank, Vice President of Strategic Services at Responsys.

For instance, asking subscribers if they plan on hosting Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner would let you know who to target with additional promotions and content on entertaining.

Akin to asking subscribers to update their preferences is asking them to complete a survey about your email program. Unlike your preference center, a survey can get at attitudes about your frequency and content and allow you to collect feedback on what your subscribers would like to see more of. Plus, on the survey completion page you can ask subscribers to update their preferences.

Don’t be discouraged by the fact that only a small percentage of your subscribers will update their preferences or participate in a survey. The subscribers that do engage will be among your very best customers and worth the extra time and attention.

“We work with clients to target a 20% response rate,” says Blank. “We recommend clients resend the campaign to non-openers until they reach that target.”

In this Oct. 24, 2010 email, Petco asks subscribers which product is at the top of their pet’s wish list. This is valuable information that can be used in a segmented email campaign or power dynamic content in a promotional email.

In this Oct. 1, 2010 email, Bluefly asks subscribers about their holiday plans, including when they start their shopping and if they plan on shopping at Bluefly for gifts. This is valuable information for determining the timing and cadence of holiday emails to individuals.


Site Relaunches & New Functionality

If you’ve relaunched your website or added or improved any functionality, consider telling your subscribers about it. If you relaunched your website earlier in the year or have made incremental improvements throughout the year, consider highlighting those improvements in an email as well.

Consider this tactic if you’ve done one or more of the following this calendar year:

• Improved your search functionality

• Improved your navigation

• Improved your checkout process

• Added product reviews

• Added delivery options, such as “in-store pickup”

• Changed your shipping or return fees

• Added a membership-based shipping program

• Added a new collection or brand, especially if exclusive

• Added a blog or other content that

helps customers make purchase decisions

• Added new email newsletters

Product Reviews

Product reviews have proven to be key drivers of sales. Make sure that your products have sufficient reviews by spurring subscribers to review products during the summer and early

Neiman Marcus alerted subscribers to their new “Quick Look” functionality in an Aug. 29, 2010 email.

In this Sept. 27, 2010 email, Art.com lets subscribers know about their new “View in Room” capabilities.


fall. In addition to sending post-purchase triggered emails to buyers asking them to review recently purchased items, consider sending broadcast emails asking for reviews.

Although most retailers’ broadcast appeals for product reviews include an incentive, we don’t recommend using them. “Most retailers have not seen success with offering incentives for reviews,” says Blank. “It creates false content and is also pretty difficult to execute.”

When you have a healthy number of product reviews, be sure to leverage them back into your email by highlighting top-rated products and using quotes from product reviews as testimonials.

Credit Cards, Loyalty Programs & Other Programs

If you have a private label credit card, loyalty program or member-based shipping program, promoting it in the run-up to the holiday season could make more consumers predisposed to buy from you during the holidays. Layaway and other payment plans are also worth considering promoting ahead of the holidays.

Shipping Options

While the 2009 holiday season was marked by retailers serving up a variety of payment options in response to the recession, the 2010 holiday was noteworthy for the extra attention given to shipping options. Because shipping is such a huge point of friction for online shopping, retailers are certainly wise to explore new offerings.

Here are some shipping trends from the 2010 holiday season:

In this Dec. 18, 2010 email, Blair promotes top-rated products, with a secondary call-to-action to review a product yourself.


Free Shipping Programs. TigerDirect and Williams-Sonoma launched free shipping programs a la Amazon Prime.

Free Shipping All Holiday Season. Eddie Bauer, J&R and a few others offered free shipping all holiday season, looking to remove uncertainty around “on again, off again” free shipping offers.

Buy Now, Ship Later. Harry & David and Neiman Marcus promoted “buy now, ship later” programs, allowing shoppers to buy gifts early without having them arrive well ahead time.

Recurring Delivery. Cooking.com and others promoted regular deliveries of a product on a monthly basis or some other time frame.

In-Store Pickup. Allowing customers to order online and pick up their orders in their local store has become an established service, with the service being offered by major retailers like Kmart, Wal-Mart, Barnes & Noble, Nordstrom and GameStop. It’s a popular service to promote in the waning days of the holiday season when home delivery is not an option or very expensive, but you can also build awareness of the option earlier in the season.

The 22 Phases of Holiday Messaging

To maximize your holiday email outcome, adjust your messaging strategies throughout the season. By our count, there are 22 phases to the holiday email season:

1. “Christmas in July” Campaigns

While some retailers are just beginning to plan for the holidays in July, others retailers have already kicked off their holiday messaging by launching a “Christmas in July” campaign. Last year, 7% of major online retailers did so, up from 6% in 2009.

A tradition with fuzzy origins, “Christmas in July” campaigns are often just an excuse to hold generic sale during the holiday-starved summer months. Santas in sunglasses on the beach are typical imagery for these campaigns. To make these campaigns less gimmicky, connect them to the holiday season by promoting items and events such as:

• seasonal merchandise, especially holiday décor and dinnerware

• contests or sweepstakes with holiday tie-ins, like a holiday shopping spree in New York City

• hoilday charity efforts, like raising money for Toys for Tots

For more on holiday shipping messaging, read “Shipping Messaging Played Big Role in 2010 Holiday Emails.”

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To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about “Christmas in July” promotions:

Kmart, 7/18/10 — Christmas in July! Free Shipping on Christmas Lane orders of $39

Toys “R” Us, 7/18/10 — Christmas in July Sale! Save on LEGO, Games, Baby Gear & More!

Blair, 7/20/10 — Merry Christmas in July! Celebrate with free shipping.

TigerDirect, 7/23/10 — Christmas in July: 3 Day Special Event

2. Other Early Holiday Messaging

“Christmas in July” emails aren’t the only holiday messages to appear during the summer months. There are a variety of other early holiday messaging, which generally take the form of boxes and banners that accompany non-holiday messages. For example, Hallmark began promotion Christmas ornaments in a June 29, 2010 email and in mid July Sears began promoting their Christmas Club card, which helps its customers save money for holiday shopping.

While many “Christmas in July” emails are indeed promoting generic sales, increasingly these campaigns are actually about promoting holiday décor and other seasonal goods, as in this July 18, 2010 Kmart email.

In a July 16, 2010 email, Sears began promoting their Christmas Club card.


Popular early references to the holidays include:

• Shop our pre-holidays clearance sale.

• Sign up for our Christmas catalog.

• Pre-order these hot holiday products.

• Preview our holiday collection.

• Create a wish list.

• Learn about layaway and other financial services

These kinds of messages may help these retailers win the battle for holiday mindshare long before the weather turns chilly. Considering these other holiday references, 11% of major online retailers began their holiday email messaging by the end of July last year, up from 8% in 2009. Early Christmas messaging generally ends in early November when retailers begin sending emails dedicated entirely to Christmas gifts, décor, and other holiday-related products.

In a June 29, 2010 email, Hallmark began promoting their Christmas ornaments and recordable storybooks. In previous years, Hallmark waited until July 1 to begin their holiday email campaigns.


3. Core Holiday Messaging

Emails that are primarily about the holidays generally start arriving in earnest in the days leading up to Halloween. These emails usually include one or more of the following messages:

• Shop our holiday collection or catalog.

• Shop these gift ideas and gift guides.

• Shop our top-rated gifts.

• Shop our top 10, top 20, top 100, etc. gifts.

• Shop holiday deals under $20, $50, $100, etc.

• Shop gifts by recipient: him, her, kids, babies, grandparents, teachers, etc.

• Shop by age of recipient.

• Shop gifts by interest.

• Shop gifts for these personality types.

• Shop for stocking stuffers.

• Shop for holiday entertaining goods or try these holiday decorating tips.

• Shop for holiday outfits, holiday parties, and hostess gifts.

• Shop new arrivals.

• Free shipping offer.

• Free gift wrap offer.

• Free gift card with purchase.

• Personalize or monogram these gifts.

• Sign up for special holiday email deals.

• Download holiday mobile app.

• Visit holiday Facebook page or microsite.

• Cause-marketing tie-in to support a charity.

In a few emails in October 2010, Sam’s Club included this banner promoting a daily deals email sign-up.


4. Black November

To get a jump on holiday sales, some retailers have begun offering Black Friday pricing and deals earlier in November—a trend that we refer to as Black November. Last year, the number of references to Black Friday between Nov. 1 and Black Friday increased 68% year-over-year. And that’s after they nearly doubled in 2009 versus 2008.

This was the biggest systemic change to the holiday email marketing season last year. While retailers have always tried to secure holiday sales earlier in the season, the degree to which so many retailers focused their attention on closing sales in early and mid November was unprecedented.


To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about Black November:

Newegg, 11/2/10 — IT STARTS NOW: Black Friday Deals all month long at Newegg!

Sportsman’s Guide, 11/3/10 — "Like Us" on Facebook... Sneak Previews of 'Black Friday' Doorbuster Deals!

Kmart, 11/5/10 — It's Better than Black Friday - Preschool Games starting at $3.99

J&R, 11/5/10 — Pre Black Friday Weekend Sale -- Biggest Savings of the Week!

Fingerhut, 11/5/10 — Fingerhut: Jump Start Your Black Friday Shopping TODAY!

Sears, 11/5/10 — Save 5-20% on all appliances, plus Black Friday NOW deals

In this Nov. 2, 2010 email, Newegg kicked off their “Black November” campaign. They were among the first to use the term. The subject line of the email was “IT STARTS NOW: Black Friday Deals all month long at Newegg! ”


Sports Authority, 11/14/10 — Black Friday Pre-Sale! -In Store Only- Skip The Lines and

Pick Up On 11/26!

TigerDirect, 11/16/10 — Extra $700 Off HDTVs w/ Coupons + 10 More Early Black Friday Deals

eBags, 11/18/10 — Extra 20% Off Sitewide + Holiday Doorbusters, Shipped Free

5. Debuting Holiday Headers

To signal to subscribers that it’s time to begin their Christmas shopping, consider introducing a holiday-themed header or navigation bar. Last year 43% of major online retailers did that, up from 38% in 2009 and 35% in 2008. While we’ve seen holiday headers being introduced earlier and earlier over the past few years, early November is the most popular time to debut them.

“For our retail clients I always discuss adding holiday elements to their templates when it's in season,” says Lynn Baus, Creative Director at Responsys, “but how far we take it is usually dependent on their particular case.”

When designing a holiday header, consider one or more of the following elements:

1. Add a “Gifts” or “Holiday” tab to your navigation bar, as Lands’ End did. Set your holiday link apart from your standard navigation by using a different color, font, and button design.

If a single navigation link just doesn’t seem like enough for the biggest shopping season of the year, consider a new trend that’s gaining momentum: Add a dedicated holiday nav bar. Rather than squeezing a single link into their standard nav bar, retailers like Sephora added a second holiday-focused nav bar underneath their standard nav bar.

“If you have a high performing standard nav and don't want to monkey with it too much, we recommend an additional bar that is gift-focused,” says Baus.

Lands’ End introduced a red “Gifts” nav bar link in a Nov. 4, 2010 email, but upgraded it to an icon in this Nov. 24 email.

In this Nov. 3, 2010 email, Sephora debuted a pink-themed holiday header with a secondary nav bar focused on gifts.


2. Add snow, snowflakes, wrapped presents, or another holiday motif to your header, as Hallmark did. Depending on your brand positioning, it may be best to avoid anything that may be interpreted as a religious symbol such as Christmas trees and stick to more wintery motifs.

3. Add a countdown to Christmas or—even better—to the end of guaranteed Christmas delivery with standard shipping. Last year countdowns were used by just a few retailers, including J&R.

In conjunction with a holiday header, also consider re-skinning your entire email template with a holiday theme, a festive color scheme, or just a different background color. This intensifies the signal to subscribers that the holiday season is here.

6. Introducing Gift Services Footers

In addition to holiday headers, retailers also use gift services footers (GSFs) to signal the start of the holidays in earnest. Generally launched in early November, GSFs help you to avoid giant stacks of secondary message banners by consolidating lots of service links into one tidy package. Nearly 19% of major online retailers used a GSF during the 2010 holiday season, up from 16% in 2009 and 13% in 2008.

Here are some elements to consider including when designing your GSFs:

• Umbrella your gift services footer with a benefits-focused headline.

• Link to your website gift center.

• Provide a more granular approach to choosing a gift by linking to gifts under certain price points, stocking stuffers, personalized/monogrammed gifts or intended recipient (i.e., gifts for dads).

• Promote gift cards and e-gift cards.

J&R added a countdown to their header starting in this Dec. 2, 2010 email.

Hallmark introduced this stylized ribbon header in a Oct. 18, 2010 email.

From a Nov. 16, 2010 Office Depot email, this gift services footer highlights top gifts, gifts by price point, gift cards, and free shipping details.


• Link to your gift registry or wish lists so subscribers can find the lists of friends and family members or start their own list.

• Highlight gift services like gift-wrapping and boxing that help make holiday shopping easier.

• Detail order-by dates, particularly as mid-December approaches, and link to your shipping calendar, shipping rates, and returns information. These provide assurances to shoppers.

• Dynamically generate local retail store info to drive brick-and-mortar traffic—or simply include a store locator link.

Because subscribers’ needs change over the course of the holiday season, create more than one GSF so that you can include the links that are most helpful to subscribers at the moment. For instance, e-gift cards are much more relevant late in the season than early on.

“Gift services footers can be very effective,” says Jamie Frech, Customer Success Director at Responsys, “but be sure to work with your website counterparts to ensure that your gift landing pages are designed well.”

7. Thanksgiving Day

In the past, Thanksgiving Day was typically a low email volume day where some pure-play internet retailers held online-only, one-day promotions in an attempt to take advantage of retail stores being closed. However, the last two years there has been a pronounced shift in messaging, with many more retailers launching their Black Friday deals online on Thursday, just like Cyber Monday offers have been spilling over into preceding day.

Sixty percent of retailers sent email on Thanksgiving Day last year, up from 45% in 2009. The jump in Thanksgiving Day email volume was largely due to several large store-based retailers including Sears and Toys “R” Us opening their stores on Thanksgiving Day and other retailers responding by holding special one-day, online-only sales and by leaking their Black Friday deals early. With one-quarter of retailers releasing their Black Friday deals a day early, Thanksgiving is quickly becoming Black Thursday.

Kohl’s changed their gift services footers throughout the holidays. From a Dec. 19, 2010 Kohl’s email, this GSF highlights e-gift cards prominently as a last-minute gift option.


The 32% increase in Thanksgiving Day email translated very efficiently into more sales. According to comScore, online sales on Thanksgiving Day last year jumped 28% to $407 million compared to 2009.

To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about promoting sales on Thanksgiving Day:

Saks Fifth Avenue, 11/24/10 — Thanksgiving Sale Online Only: Up to 70% off

NFLshop, 11/25/10 — [Today Only!] Thanksgiving Day Special - Buy One, Get One 50%

Off!

In this Nov. 25, 2011 email, NFLshop promotes a one-day-only BOGO deal, positioning a share bar just below the offer to spur forwarding and SWYN activity.

http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2010/11/Black_Friday_Boasts_648_Million_in_U.S._Online_Holiday_Spending�


In this Nov. 24, 2011 email, Toys “R” Us promotes their Black Friday doorbusters, which actually start on Thanksgiving Day at 10pm. This is yet another example of retailers moving their Black Friday offers forward to get out ahead of their competitors.

Toys “R” Us, 11/24/10 — Over 150 Doorbusters start 10pm Thursday night! After

Thanksgiving Sale Preview!

Sports Authority, 11/25/10 — [THURSDAY ONLY] – 25% off Sports Authority – Begins At Midnight

Target, 11/25/10 — Online-only Thanksgiving Sale + shipping offers on 900,000+ items.

Sears, 11/25/10 — Thanksgiving Deals Start Today Online + $10 off Coupon

J&R, 11/25/10 — Black Friday Deals (1 of 4). . . The Savings Start Now!

Macy’s, 11/25/10 — Black Friday Specials online now + Ship for Free every day!

OfficeMax, 11/25/10 — Shop Black Friday Deals Today + In-Store Coupons for Friday

SmartBargains, 11/25/10 — Black Friday Coupons start NOW! | Up to EXTRA 50% Off

8. Black Friday

Retailers generally begin promoting their “Black Friday” or “After-Thanksgiving” sales starting on the Monday before Thanksgiving. For retailers with stores, this messaging usually highlights store hours for Friday and promotes doorbusters—those deep-discount, limited-quantity products available on a “first come, first serve” basis. Black Friday promotions often include store hours and doorbusters for Saturday and Sunday too, looking at the holiday weekend as a whole.

Overall, Black Friday email messaging continues to surge. Last year, more than 31% of the promotional emails sent by the top online retailers during the seven days ending with Black Friday mentioned Black Friday, up from 19% of emails did during the same period in 2009. That’s a 67% increase in year-over-year Black Friday messaging, which follows a 63% year-over-year increase in 2009.


Despite the hefty increase in overall Black Friday messaging, the percentage of retailers sending at least one email on Black Friday itself was unchanged at 69% last year. According to comScore, online sales on Black Friday hit $648 million, up 9% from Black Friday 2009.

A new element to Black Friday messages in 2010 was the promotion and rewarding of check-ins via Foursquare, Yelp and Facebook Places. For instance, Toys “R” Us enticed shoppers to check in via any of those services with the promise of a “special offer.” Sports Authority brought the viral crowd behavior into the store by entering people who checked in into a sweepstakes and then announcing winners over the PA in the store that they are in. And on a day that is the embodiment of consumerism, REI appealed to their shoppers’ philanthropic generosity by donating a dollar for every check-in.

The breadth of tactics used for this fairly new channel was impressive. While the popularity of check-ins has waned this year, we’ll likely see more check-in campaigns this holiday season, especially around Black Friday.

In a Nov. 26, 2010 email, Sports Authority asked subscribers to check-in via Foursquare for a chance to win $500.

In a Nov. 26, 2010 email, REI appealed to subscribers’ philanthropic generosity to generate check-ins.

http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2010/11/Black_Friday_Boasts_648_Million_in_U.S._Online_Holiday_Spending�


To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about Black Friday deals:

Office Depot, 11/25/10 — Black Friday Sale Starts Tomorrow: Most Stores Open at

6:00AM & Online at 7:00AM EST

Spiegel, 11/26/10 — BLACK FRIDAY SAVINGS! Extra 30% Off Featuring Chic, Cozy

Sweaters!

JCPenney, 11/26/10 — Wake Up! Don't Miss BLACK FRIDAY DEALS

Victoria’s Secret, 11/26/10 — Today Only! Free Supermodel Tote with $60 Purchase. In Stores & Online. Details Inside.

ShopNBC, 11/26/10 — Fun! Host picks with Black Friday savings

Lillian Vernon, 11/26/10 — Here's Our Amazing Black Friday Deal!

Musician’s Friend, 11/26/10 — Musician's Friend: Save 10% Plus Free Shipping - 1 Day Only

- Black Friday

Sierra Trading Post, 11/26/10 — Black Friday Deals - EXTRA 40% OFF over 7,000 Items!

Home Depot, 11/26/10 — Black Friday Starts Now!

Buy.com, 11/26/10 — Alert: Black Friday Blowout

Omaha Steaks, 11/26/10 — Black Friday Savings Event - Get FREE Shipping, 4 FREE

Steaks, a FREE $10 Reward E-Card & 61% Savings

Overstock.com, 11/26/10 — BLACK FRIDAY - 10% OFF COUPON

Linens ’n Things, 11/26/10 — Black Friday Deals for Your Eyes Only!

Fingerhut, 11/26/10 — Fingerhut: Black Friday is HERE - SAVE Up to 15% on Your Order!

Macy’s, 11/26/10 — Shop Black Friday Specials through tomorrow + Free Shipping!

Norm Thompson, 11/26/10 — Black Friday is a happy day - 20% OFF EVERYTHING!

HP, 11/26/10 — HP Black Friday Exclusive - ENDS SOON

The Company Store, 11/26/10 — 15% Off + Free Delivery (Don't wait in line for savings...shop online)

Ross-Simons, 11/26/10 — Black Friday Holiday Closeouts - up to 87% Off!

Crate & Barrel, 11/26/10 — Up to 50% off Black Friday Cutlery Sale. Free Shipping

Details....

Harry & David, 11/26/10 — Black Friday Savings all weekend - FREE Delivery + up to 50%

OFF


9. Cyber Monday

On Cyber Monday, 77% of the top online retailers tracked by the Retail Email Blog sent their subscribers at least one promotional email, setting an all-time record. This was up from 71% in 2009. That increase was preceded by strong growth in email volume on the day before, which we refer to as Cyber Sunday, when 56% of retailers sent email, up from 45% in 2009.

Despite the record-shattering percentage of retailers sending email on Cyber Monday, overall Cyber Monday messaging grew only a little. During the three days ending Cyber Monday, the percentage of retail emails referencing Cyber Monday grew only 9% compared to 2009.

Retailers’ email marketing efforts helped propel Cyber Monday online sales to record-breaking levels. According to comScore, online sales reached $1.028 billion on Cyber Monday, up 16% versus a year ago, making it the first online shopping day to surpass the billion-dollar mark.

As during the 2009 holiday season, more retailers tried to beat the crush of email on Cyber Monday by sending on the Sunday before, which has become known as Cyber Sunday. The number of retailers sending email on Cyber Sunday rose to 56%, up from 45% in 2009.

A new trend that emerged last year was the extension of Cyber Monday deals into Tuesday in a significant way. More than 19% of the retailers that sent email on Cyber Monday extended their campaign in some form.

Despite more retailers sending email on Cyber Sunday, the percentage of emails on Sunday that referenced Cyber Monday actually fell compared to last year.


http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2010/12/Billion_Dollar_Bonanza_Cyber_Monday_Surpasses_1_Billion_in_U.S._Spending�


To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about Cyber Monday deals:

Sears, 11/28/10 — The deals launch tonight! Get up to 20% off for Cyber Monday!

HP, 11/28/10 — HP's Best Deals of the Season: Cyber Monday Starts Now

Macy’s, 11/28/10 — Cyber Monday starts early! Get Free Shipping at $75!

Norm Thompson, 11/28/10 — Beat the Cyber Monday crowd - SAVE 25% TODAY!

Staples, 11/28/10 — Cyber Monday deals on Sunday!

SmartBargains, 11/28/10 — Cyber Monday STARTS NOW + Free Shipping!

Toys “R” Us, 11/28/10 — R Biggest Cyber Monday Sale Ever! Save up to 60% on Hot

Toys! Starts Midnight Tonight!

GameStop, 11/28/10 — Cyber Monday at GameStop. Avoid the crowds, stay warm, save

big!

Sam’s Club, 11/29/10 — Cyber Week starts today! Don't miss the best values of the holidays

Ross-Simons, 11/29/10 — 30% Off PLUS Totally Free Shipping - 3 Day Cyber Sale

Walgreens, 11/29/10 — Week Long Cyber Monday Sale! EXTRA $20, $15 or $5 OFF Your

Order | 25% OFF Contact Lenses

Newegg, 11/29/10 — 24-HOUR CYBER MONDAY DEALS: The holiday savings continue

with FRESH BARGAINS!

Kmart, 11/29/10 — Cyber Monday Savings + Free Shipping and 5X Points

Harry & David was among those retailers to extend their Cyber Monday sales another day. The subject line of this email was “Email Exclusive - Cyber Tuesday Savings - SAVE 25%.”


Linens ’n Things, 11/29/10 — Cyber Monday Savings! Cybusters, Coupons & more!

J. Jill, 11/29/10 — Today Only! All orders ship free + 25% off everything!

Northern Tool, 11/29/10 — Monday Only! Save Up To 60% + Free Gift Card

Dick’s Sporting Goods, 11/29/10 — Take 25% Off a Single Item - 1 Day Only!

TigerDirect, 11/30/10 — CyberTuesday...24 Deals...24 Hours Only!

Newegg, 11/30/10 — TODAY ONLY! Encore Tuesday: One last chance to shop our best

deals of the year!

Target, 11/30/10 — Target Tuesday: Another day of big online-only deals.

The Company Store, 11/30/10 — 20% Off + Free Delivery - Extended for 1 Day Only

Wal-Mart, 11/30/10 — Cyber Week Online Specials End on 12/3! Shop Today, While Supplies Last

10. “12 Days of Christmas” Campaigns

Once we get beyond Cyber Monday, we start to see “12 Days of Christmas” or daily deal campaigns. Nearly 17% of top retailers ran these campaigns last year, up from 13% in 2009 but down from 19% in 2008. The vast majority of those were “12 Days” campaigns, but there are always a few retailers with longer or shorter campaigns.

“These campaigns were a big trend in 2011 and a main contributor to the increases in frequency,” says Heather Blank, Vice President of Strategic Services at Responsys. “Clearly retailers were inspired by the success of Groupon and other daily deal companies.”

Although retailers used a variety of start dates for their “12 Days” campaigns, most started within a week after Cyber Monday. Dec. 1 and the first Monday in December are perennially popular start dates. These start dates allow campaigns to end while brands are still able to guarantee Christmas delivery with standard shipping. In fact, in a number of cases, their “12 Days” campaigns counted down to the last day of guaranteed Christmas delivery with standard shipping.

Roughly half of retailers sent their subscribers daily emails for the duration of their “12 Days” campaign, with most of the remaining retailers running the campaign on their websites and sending occasional emails to promote it. Securing an additional opt-in for these campaigns has grown less popular in recent years as holiday email volume has grown.

“Daily deals during the holidays are tempting and can be a big success, but they can put all of your emails at risk for filtering and blocking if they’re not opt-in and too many recipients complain,” says Heather Goff, Senior Deliverability Consultant at Responsys. “A block—or even just filtering—during the holidays can be devastating to revenue, even if it’s only for a


short time. If you can’t convince your organization to require an opt-in before sending recipients daily deals, then at least consider sending them only to recipients that have recently clicked emails.”

Goff also warns not to opt all your subscribers into a “12 Days” campaign or other daily deal program and then offer an unsubscribe link that removes them from the daily deal emails only. “Not only is this not compliant with CAN-SPAM, which requires that every promotional message include an unsubscribe option that removes recipients from all messages from their company,” she says, “but it also causes havoc on repeated complainer metrics. Consumers end up believing the unsubscribe didn’t work and in frustration start complaining instead.”

Retailers employ a variety of tactics around what they promote each day of their campaign, but popular promotions include:

• discounts on different product categories each day

• a deeply discounted product or selection of products each day

• different discount schemes each day (i.e., discount on single item, dollar or percent discount sitewide, “buy one, get one,” etc.)

• a different free gift with purchase each day

Free shipping offers are also commonly woven in among the other deals.

Dell was among a handful of retailers that ran their “12 Days” campaign on their website and allowed their subscribers to opt in to receive daily reminders about the deals.


To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about “12 Days of Christmas” campaigns:

Lane Bryant, 11/29/10 — Celebrate Day 1 of 12 Days of Deals - BOGO Free Sitewide +

Free Shipping!

Lane Bryant, 12/7/10 — 50% Off All Tops Online - Today Only, 12 Days 12 Great Deals

HP, 12/1/10 — 12 Days of Gifts STARTS NOW!

HP, 12/2/10 — 12 Days of Gifts - Day 2

Blair, 12/1/10 — Our first Deal of Christmas: 99¢ shipping!

Blair, 12/8/10 — Deal #8: gift ideas at up to 85% off plus free shipping

Spiegel, 12/2/10 — STARTS TODAY! 12 Days of Holiday Giveaways!

Spiegel, 12/13/10 — LAST DAY! What's Our Final Holiday Giveaway?

Barnes & Noble, 12/6/10 — 12 Days of Incredible Deals Start Today!

Cooking.com, 12/8/10 — Save on the 12 Deals of Christmas!

REI, 12/10/10 — Gifts to Fit Your Budget + 12 Days of Deals at REI-OUTLET.com

Musician’s Friend, 12/14/10 — Musician's Friend: Perfect Gift Pointers + 12 Nights of Deals

Overstock, 12/2/10 — 25 Days, 25 Deals - Diamond Earrings - Ends Tonight

11. Special Order Deadlines

There are a number of products that take extra time to prepare and ship, including personalized and oversized products. Retailers that offer these products promote the order deadline for them in mid-December. For example, Walgreens promoted a Dec. 15 deadline for photo gifts and Lane Bryant a Dec. 17 for ship to store.

To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about the end of standard shipping for special items:

HP, 12/14/10 — Last chance: Customize your PC now for Holiday Delivery

Wal-Mart, 12/15/10 — Hurry! Order by Dec. 20 for Standard or Site to Store Shipping on

Great Gifts.

Apple, 12/16/10 — Last chance to give a personalized iPad or iPod.

In this Dec. 10, 2010 email, the Disney Store included a separate shipping schedule for personalized products.


12. Free Shipping Day

Retailers have rightfully had very mixed reactions to the emergence of Free Shipping Day, which was created by in 2007 with the intent of spurring free shipping offers later in the holiday season. First, Free Shipping Day is Dec. 16 (it was Dec. 17 last year), a time when most retailers are already offering free shipping. This makes promoting their involvement with Free Shipping Day seems rather hollow since consumers aren’t getting anything they weren’t getting before. Second, Free Shipping Day has also billed itself as consumers’ final chance for free shipping, which just isn’t true for the vast majority of retailers, and therefore has the potential to cause confusion among customers.

In terms of garnering references in emails, only 6% of retail emails on Free Shipping Day last year mentioned it—and one of the retailers, J&R, did so only to mock it. Other retailers took the opportunity to point out that they would be offering free shipping for several more days, sucking the urgency out of Free Shipping Day. While the creators of Free Shipping Day, Luke and Maisie Knowles, liken it to Cyber Monday and Black Friday, as an email messaging strategy it’s significantly less popular than April Fools’ Day and Cinco de Mayo.

To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some that mentioned Free Shipping Day:

J&R, 12/17/10 — Free Shipping DAY? People Puhleeze, We Have Free Shipping All Holiday Season!

Toys “R” Us, 12/17/10 — Free Shipping Day, Dec. 17! Our Biggest & Best Offer Ever!

HSN, 12/17/10 — Free Shipping Day! Save on Over 5,000 Gifts

Bluefly, 12/17/10 — OMG! Extra 25% Off ALL Sale Items (now up to 80% off) + Celebrate Free Shipping Day!

In this Dec. 17, 2010 email, J&R makes fun of Free Shipping Day, drawing attention to the fact that they’ve been offering free shipping all holiday season. Some other retailers also took the opportunity on Free Shipping Day to point out that their free shipping offers would be in effect for a few more days.


13. End of Standard Shipping

There are always some outliers, but for the majority of retailers sometime between Dec. 15 and Dec. 20 was the cutoff for guaranteed delivery for Christmas with standard shipping last year.

In addition to highlighting shipping deadlines in gift services footers and standalone banners, consider highlighting shipping deadlines in preheader text and in a preview pane banner, a banner that sits right below the navigation bar or to the right of your logo so that it will show up in preview panes. When communicating the deadline for standard shipping, consider highlighting the upcoming deadlines for express and overnight shipping options as well.

When it comes to subject lines, “last” is the keyword used most often to communicate that a shipping deadline is approaching—“last day,” “last chance,” “last-minute,” etc.

To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about the end of standard shipping:

Alibris, 12/8/10 — Avoid the last-minute scramble: Order by 12/12

Linens ‘n Things, 12/12/10 — Hurry, 4 Days Left for X-mas Delivery!

Cooking.com, 12/14/10 — Last Chance to Get Best Gifts in Time for Christmas

Crate & Barrel, 12/15/10 — Gift ideas for the entertainer. Free Shipping ends 12/22.

Brookstone, 12/15/10 — Free Shipping…Ends TODAY!

Finish Line, 12/15/10 — Last Day for Free Shipping in Time for Christmas!

Home Depot, 12/15/10 — Gift Cards + Last Chance for Free Shipping in Time for

Christmas

Orvis, 12/16/10 — Shop by 11:59 p.m. (EST) TONIGHT - for guaranteed Christmas delivery via standard delivery.

Sears, 12/17/10 — FREE Standard Shipping ENDS TODAY! Plus, Extra 10% off Electronics

Saturday Only!

Target, 12/17/10 — Hey, Santa: Standard shipping ends Dec. 21.

In this Dec. 15, 2010 email, Crate & Barrel highlights the end of free shipping in both their preheader text and in a preview pane banner to their right of their logo. Those references are in addition to a shipping schedule banner at the bottom of the email.


DisneyStore, 12/17/10 — Free Shipping Today Only! Standard Shipping by Christmas

Ends Tonight

REI, 12/17/10 — Time's Running Out - Order by December 21 for Standard Shipping!

Eddie Bauer, 12/17/10 — One Day! Last Chance! Free Shipping No Min | Daily Deal: 50% Off Fleece

Kohl’s, 12/18/10 — Last Day to Get Standard Shipping Before Christmas!

Harry & David, 12/18/10 — LAST DAY for Standard Delivery in time for Christmas

L.L. Bean, 12/19/10 — Your Order Ships FREE until Midnight Tomorrow

Overstock, 12/19/10 — Last Day for Ground Delivery by December 24

Northern Tool, 12/20/10 — Order By 12/21 For Christmas Delivery w/ Standard Shipping

+ Free Gift Card Ends Wednesday

Nordstrom, 12/20/10 — Free Holiday Shipping Ends Today, Dec. 20! (Details Inside) | The

Best New Year's Dresses

Ann Taylor, 12/20/10 — LAST DAY: 40% Off Your Full-Price Purchase In-store & Online + Free Shipping Ends!

Barnes & Noble, 12/20/10 — Today Only! 25% Off One Item & Last Day for FREE Delivery

by Christmas

Macy’s, 12/20/10 — Ends tonight! Extra 20% off + Free Guaranteed Christmas Delivery!

Cooking.com, 12/20/10 — Last Chance for FREE Shipping in Time for Christmas!

J&R, 12/20/10 — Today is the Last Day for Free Ground Shipping. . . Shop Now!

NFLshop, 12/21/10 — Last Chance to Get FREE SHIPPING - Offer Ends Soon!

REI, 12/21/10 — Last Chance: Order Now for Standard Shipping + Gifts from Patagonia, Keen, The North Face and more

14. End of Express Shipping

Retailers’ order deadlines for express shipping—whether it was 3-day, 2-day or overnight shipping—varied from Dec. 18–23 for the most part last year. Messaging about the end of guaranteed Christmas delivery is almost always accompanied by messaging about other last-minute shopping options such as store hours, in-store pickup and e-gift cards—all of which are discussed further later in this report.

To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about the end of express shipping and guaranteed Christmas delivery:

Blair, 12/16/10 — Last call for a free shipping upgrade!


Finish Line, 12/16/10 — Order Today with $9.99 Rush Shipping for Christmas Delivery!

ShopNBC, 12/19/10 — Holiday Shopping Express: Guaranteed Arrival by Christmas

RitzCamera, 12/19/10 — There's Still Time! Free Expedited Shipping From Nikon!

Sephora, 12/19/10 — Top-rated gifts + free 2-day shipping upgrade

JCPenney, 12/20/10 — Faster Than A Speeding Reindeer! 50% Off Express Shipping

Walgreens, 12/20/10 — 2 Days Left for FREE Expedited Shipping | Use FSA Funds

Before They Expire

B&H, 12/20/10 — FREE Overnight and Second Day Shipping

Costco, 12/20/10 — Order by 9PM Monday, 12/20/10 To Receive In Time For Christmas

Harry & David, 12/21/10 — Last minute gifts still available - Only hours left to order for Christmas

Target, 12/21/10 — Today is it: Last call for Christmas delivery.

JC Whitney, 12/21/10 — There's Still Time For Expedited Delivery + Get 20% Off

eBags, 12/21/10 — FINAL DAY for Guaranteed Delivery by 12/24!

Cooking.com, 12/21/10 — Last Chance for $9.99 Flat-Rate Shipping in Time for

Christmas!

NFLshop, 12/22/10 — $9.99 Express Shipping - 2 Days Left To Get Your Gifts There By

Christmas

Brookstone, 12/22/10 — LAST CHANCE for Free Express Shipping for Christmas

Bass Pro Shops, 12/22/10 — FREE 1-DAY UPGRADE for Christmas Delivery

Tiffany & Co., 12/22/10 — Final Day To Shop Tiffany.com for Christmas Delivery

Blue Nile, 12/23/10 — Last Day! Order by 7 pm ET for FREE Overnight Delivery + 40% Off Pearls

TigerDirect, 12/23/10 — Last Chance for Overnight Service for Xmas Eve...Order by 5pm

ET Today

J&R, 12/23/10 — Last Chance For Christmas Delivery. . . Order by 2pm EST Today!

Crate & Barrel, 12/23/10 — Last day to order for guaranteed Holiday Delivery is today at noon CT

15. Shop at Your Local Store

Another last-minute option for marketers with brick-and-mortar locations is to promote your stores. When doing so, be sure to make prominent use of your store-locator


functionality, perhaps even making it the primary call-to-action. Store hours also typically figure strongly into this messaging.

If you’ve captured your subscribers’ zip codes during your sign-up process then consider adding an automated preferred store reminder to your email that tells subscribers the address of their closest store or stores.

To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about store deals and hours:

Toys “R” Us, 12/21/10 — For the First Time EVER! Stores Open 24 Hours Now Thru

Christmas Eve!

Kmart, 12/22/10 — Kmart is Open 64 Hours Straight - Get Your Last-Minute Gifts

J&R, 12/24/10 — Attention Last Minute Shoppers: Our Park Row Stores Are Open Until 7pm Today!

16. Buy Online, Pick Up in Store

Promoting in-store pickup services is also popular in the days before Christmas. When promoting your program, be sure to say how long it takes for the order to be processed and get staged for pickup. GameStop, J&R, Nordstrom, and Sears, among others, promoted their in-store pickup programs in the days before Christmas last year.

As in this Dec. 20, 2010 Sam’s Club email, messaging about rush delivery options are often accompanied by store hours information.


17. E-Gift Cards & E-Gifts

In addition to express shipping, in-store pickup and store promotions, the other lever that many retailers pull in the final days before Christmas is promoting e-gift cards. During the three days before Christmas (Dec. 22-24) last year, 30% of all the emails tracked via the Retail Email Blog promoted e-gift cards. That’s down slightly from 31% during the same span in 2010.

Note that we only counted emails if they mentioned “e-,” “online,” “virtual” or “email” gift cards or certificates. Plenty of retailers promoted “gift cards,” but if it wasn't clear from the email whether they were e-gift cards, we didn't count them. So these numbers may understate the promotion of e-gift cards slightly.

Sports Authority used their in-store pickup service to take pre-orders for pick on Black Friday. It was a novel tactic. The subject line for this Nov. 14, 2010 email was “Black Friday Pre-Sale! -In Store Only- Skip The Lines and Pick Up On 11/26!”

Dec. 23, which is the height of e-gift card messaging, as been dubbed E-Gift Card Day. While e-gift cards cease to be the subject of primary messages in emails, they linger as secondary messages, with retailers hoping to catch the eye of subscribers who may have forgotten someone on their shopping list.



E-gift messaging was new to the mix last year and we will likely see greater adoption this year, building upon a tiny base of first-movers. Besides retailers like Sears offering to send e-gift cards to recipients via Facebook, a few others like Sephora allowed customers to post gifts on their friends’ Facebook walls that are redeemable for the actual gift. It’s possible that retailers will also start touting other digital products such as software, apps, and music as last-minute gifts.

E-gift cards are frequently touted as the “perfect last-minute gift” in subject lines and body copy. To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some promoting e-gift cards:

Coldwater Creek, 12/20/10 — Last 3 days! $5 Christmas Delivery + 25% off. Or shop E-

Gift Cards

L.L. Bean, 12/21/10 — Email Gift Cards--Delivered Today

Orvis, 12/22/10 — The perfect last-minute gift - an Orvis email gift certificate!

RitzCamera, 12/22/10 — Need A Last Minute Gift? Online Gift Cards Are A Perfect Fit!

In this Dec. 23, 2010 email, Sephora focuses on last-minute gift options: (1) visiting one of their stores, with the store locator as the call-to-action, (2) posting a gift to someone’s Facebook wall that’s redeemable for the actual item, and (3) sending an e-gift certificate.


In this Dec. 25, 2010 email, J. Jill uses a simple illustration style and some animation to tell a nice story to support their season’s greetings and thank you message for supporting the J. Jill Compassion Fund. View the animation in this email.

Crutchfield, 12/22/10 — It's not too late - email them a Crutchfield Gift Card

Cabela’s, 12/22/10 — The perfect last-minute gift: Cabela's eGift Cards!

J. Jill, 12/23/10 — Need a gift by tomorrow? Send the J. Jill e-gift card!

Old Navy, 12/23/10 — GiftCards by Email: Finish Your Shopping Instantly!

Buy.com, 12/23/10 — Price Drops, Gift Certificates - Send Instantly by E-mail - Over 9

Million Products

Home Depot, 12/23/10 — eGift Cards Make a Great Last Minute Gift + 40% Off Holiday Decor

Nordstrom, 12/23/10 — It's Not Too Late! Send a Virtual Gift Card Today

Musician’s Friend, 12/23/10 — Musician's Friend: Quick Delivery On The BEST Last-

Minute Gift: E-Certificates!

Bass Pro Shops, 12/23/10 — Instant delivery for that last minute gift

CB2, 12/23/10 — Still time to send our new eGift card.

Drs. Foster & Smith, 12/23/10 — Last Minute Gift Idea!

Sportsman’s Guide, 12/23/10 — 16-Pc. Forstner Bit Set under $15... eGift Certificates &

New Catalog from The Guide

Sears, 12/24/10 — In-store, Online or eGift Cards -- wrap up your shopping at Sears!

J. Crew, 12/24/10 — Oops. Who'd you forget this year?

18. Season’s Greetings

For a softer-sell approach, consider sending a season’s greeting email. Nearly 24% of major online retailers used this tactic last year, up from 19% in 2009, 14% in 2008 and less than 10% in 2007. The vast majority of retailers that sent season’s greetings emails did so on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

“Emails wishing season’s greetings can be another great way to extend a warm experience to your subscribers, as long as they can be focused on a great customer

experience rather than driving sales,” says Yeomans. “They provide opportunities to share personalities behind the email program, showcase beautiful photography

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or show gratitude to a customer for their participation in your email program.”

Season’s greetings messages are usually—but not always—paired with secondary promotional messaging. Last year, significantly more retailers included promotional messaging in their season’s greeting emails than did in 2009.

To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some offering season’s greetings:

Office Depot, 12/20/10 — Warmest Wishes From The Office Depot Family To Yours!

The Company Store, 12/22/10 — Happy Holidays + A Gift to bring in the New Year

L.L. Bean, 12/23/10 — Happy Holidays from L.L.Bean

Williams-Sonoma, 12/24/10 — Happy Holidays to You and Yours from Williams-Sonoma

JC Whitney, 12/24/10 — Happy Holidays - Wishing You The Best | JC Whitney

Chadwick’s, 12/24/10 — Happy Holidays from Your Friends at CHADWICKS

Orvis, 12/24/10 — Merry Christmas from Orvis!

Oriental Trading, 12/24/10 — Merry Christmas Chad from Oriental Trading

Sony, 12/24/10 — Cheers To a Wonderful Holiday Season | From the Sony Family

Costco, 12/24/10 — Thank you and Happy Holidays from Costco.com

Land’ End, 12/25/10 — A very merry thank you: $1000s in Gift Cards for Lands' End fans.

Sports Authority, 12/25/10 — Happy Holidays - Special Christmas Offer Inside!

Ann Taylor, 12/25/10 — From Us, To You...

Macy’s, 12/25/10 — Merry Christmas! Enjoy Free Shipping + extra 15% or 10% off!

Toys “R” Us, 12/25/10 — Merry Christmas From "R" Family to Yours!

Bloomingdale’s, 12/25/10 — Happy Holidays! Happy Savings!

Urban Outfitters, 12/25/10 — Happy Holly Daze: Take 50% Off Sale In Stores

19. Christmas Day

Historically, some retailers have promoted online-only one-day sales on Christmas Day, just like they’ve done on Thanksgiving Day, to take advantage of most stores being closed. However, just as Thanksgiving Day is becoming an occasion to release Black Friday deals early, Christmas Day increasingly marks the start of after-Christmas sales. That messaging along with season’s greetings now dominates Christmas Day emails. That said, Christmas Day is a low-volume day, with only 26% of major retailers sending email on that day last year.


20. After-Christmas & End-of-Year Sales

Nearly every major retailer holds an after-Christmas sale and promotes it via email. While there were a few retailers that began their post-Christmas sales before or on Christmas last year, the vast majority hung their clearance signs on Dec. 26.

To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some promoting after-Christmas sales:

Lane Bryant, 12/20/10 — After Christmas Sale Starts Early: Buy 2 Get 2 Bras Free + 50% Off Jeans

ShopNBC, 12/23/10 — Year-End Clearance & Sale

Omaha Steaks, 12/23/10 — SNEAK PREVIEW - After Christmas Sale - Save up to 67%

TigerDirect, 12/25/10 — After Christmas Sale Starts Now: 32" HDTV $279...Dual Core

Laptop $399...23" LCD $139...100 DVD-Rs $9.99...

Dick’s Sporting Goods, 12/25/10 — Don't Miss the Savings - It's Our After Christmas

Clearance!

REI, 12/25/10 — REI Holiday Clearance on Now

eBags, 12/25/10 — After Christmas Sale - Up to 70% Off + Free Shipping

Musician’s Friend, 12/26/10 — Musician's Friend: Winter Sale! Save Up To 93%

In this Dec. 25, 2010 email, Musician’s Friend uses the familiar post-Christmas meme of “Get What You Really Wanted.”


Wal-Mart, 12/26/10 — Hurry! Shop Our End-of-Year Clearance Event, While Supplies Last

Ann Taylor, 12/26/10 — Up to 50% Off: Semi-Annual Sale Starts Today In-Store & Online

Sierra Trading Post, 12/26/10 — EXTRA 25% OFF + EXTRA 20-30% OFF Warehouse

Sale!

Chadwicks, 12/26/10 — The BIG After-Christmas Sale's On!

Avon, 12/26/10 — After Christmas Spree Starts Today - SAVE UP TO 50%

Omaha Steaks, 12/26/10 — 48 HOURS ONLY! After Christmas Sale - Save up to 67%

L.L. Bean, 12/26/10 — Save up to 60% at Our Biggest Sale of the Season

Crate & Barrel, 12/26/10 — Up to 50% off Winter Clearance Sale starts today (select furniture, too!)

Alloy, 12/26/10 — End of Season Clearance: Up to 80% Off + Free Shipping

SmartBargains, 12/26/10 — AFTER HOLIDAY SALE & CLEARANCE | 2 Days Left

Norm Thompson, 12/27/10 — Save up to 91% at Winter Sale. New Markdowns too!

Ross-Simons, 12/27/10 — After Christmas Clearance Sale – Hurry for Best Selection!

Oriental Trading, 12/27/10 — Save up to 75% & stock up for next year. Shipping is free

Spiegel, 12/27/10 — Our Year-End CLEARANCE EVENT Starts TODAY! Up to 80% OFF!

Target, 12/28/10 — Merry Clearance: Save up to 75% on all sorts of great finds.

Musician’s Friend, 12/28/10 — Musician's Friend: New Winter Sale Rebates & Discounts

Up To 93% - Going Fast!

Urban Outfitters, 12/28/10 — The Get What You Really Wanted SALE!

Barnes & Noble, 12/28/10 — Now Treat Yourself. Save 50% in Our After Holiday Sale!

Dell, 12/29/10 — Get a great deal on the gift you really wanted - DROID X BY

MOTOROLA

HSN, 12/29/10 — SAVE UP TO 60%! Biggest Clearance Markdowns of 2010

Williams-Sonoma, 12/30/10 — New Reductions at Our Winter SALE Online & In Stores - Save Up to 75%

21. Gift Card Redemption Messaging

With consumers buying an estimated $24.8 billion in gift cards last holiday season alone, according to a National Retail Federation survey, there’s an increasing focus on using email to remind customers to redeem their gift cards. Last year, 17% of major online retailers sent at least one email encouraging subscribers to redeem their gift cards. That is up from 13% in 2009.

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Since retailers can’t book gift card values until they’re redeemed and the end of the year falls just a few days after Christmas, retailers moved quickly to spur redemptions last year, with 48% of emails referencing gift card redemptions coming before New Year’s Day.

While a few retailers sent emails dedicated to the redemption of gift cards, most included the messaging in a secondary banner. Often gift card redemption messages were accompanied by after-Christmas sale promotions or spring collection announcements.

To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some promoting gift card redemptions:

Sam’s Club, 12/25/10 — Treat yourself! Redeem your Sam's Club Gift Cards online

anytime

Target, 12/26/10 — Your GiftCards + our gadgets = goodness.

Dick’s Sporting Goods, 12/31/10 — Not Sure What to Get with Your Gift Card? We Can Help!

24. Follow-Ups & Upsell Opportunities

Lastly, some retailers tried to create incremental sales and engagement by building off gifts that subscribers may have received.

Messaging includes:

Christmas Day is the biggest day for gift card redemption messaging, with many season’s greetings emails including this messaging.

In this Dec. 27, 2010 email, Toys “R” Us combines gift card redemption messaging with upsell messaging about accessories.


• Shop for accessories for your gift.

• Shop for apps and other digital content for your gift.

• Learn more about how to get the most out of your gifts (with links to user guides, forums and other resources).

• Shop for “Thank You” gifts.

To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some going after upsell opportunities:

Barnes & Noble, 12/25/10 — Read It Now! Get Our Apps for Your New Gadget

Alibris, 12/26/10 — Santa says: fill your new eReader with Google eBooks, Book Lover

Sony, 1/12/11 — 20% OFF Sony Accessories | Offer Ends on 1/15

Conclusion

We sincerely hope that these benchmarks, examples and pieces of advice help make your email marketing results merrier this holiday season. To review:

1. Start with a thorough review of your holiday email campaigns from the last year or two to determine what to repeat, tweak, and avoid.

2. Determine a strategy for safely increasing your email frequency during the holiday season.

3. Get your holiday emails going early with a slow buildup.

4. Devise a strategy for standing out in the inbox.

5. Change your messaging over the course of the holiday season to improve relevance, stay fresh, and maximize urgency.

Happy holidays, everyone!

In this Dec. 28, 2010 email, Sony takes the novel approach of promoting their EcoTrade program, which allows people to cash in their old electronics.

In this Dec. 29, 2010 email, Drs. Foster & Smith reaches out to subscribers that received a new dog or cat for Christmas.


About the Author

Chad White is the Research Director at Responsys, a leading provider of email and cross-channel marketing solutions. The author of the Retail Email Blog and dozens of research reports, Chad is an authority on email marketing strategies and trends in the retail industry. In addition to working with Responsys clients, he is an Email Insider columnist for MediaPost and has been interviewed by the New York Times, USA Today and others.

About Responsys

Responsys is the leading provider of email and cross-channel marketing solutions that enable companies to engage in relationship marketing across the interactive channels customers are embracing today—email, mobile, social and the web. With Responsys solutions, marketers can create, execute, and automate highly dynamic campaigns and lifecycle marketing programs that are designed to grow revenue, increase marketing efficiency, and strengthen customer loyalty.

Responsys’ New School Marketing vision, flexible on-demand application suite, and customer success-focused services aim to deliver high ROI, increased levels of automation and fast time-to-value.

Founded in 1998, Responsys is headquartered in San Bruno, California and has offices throughout the world. Responsys serves world-class brands such as: Brooks Brothers, Hanover Direct, Lands’ End, LEGO, Newegg, Nutrisystem, and Onlineshoes.com.

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Date post:	17-Oct-2014
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Responsys 2011 Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season

Technology