The holidays are one of the most important times of year for small businesses, startups and e-commerce business to increase sales and boost revenue. One smart way to capitalize on this expected increase in consumer spending is to polish your holiday email marketing practices.
According to Deloitte’s U.S. holiday economic forecast, holiday retail sales are expected to increase 1 percent to 1.5 percent this year, while holiday e-commerce sales are expected to grow 25 percent to 35 percent year-over-year during the 2020 to 2021 holiday season.
To take a closer look at how email marketing can be put to good use this time of year, the GoDaddy email marketing team identified trends and developed best practices for small business marketers this holiday season.
The most wonderful time of the year (for email marketing)
With more people going online to find gifts this holiday season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, holiday shopping is starting even earlier this year. An online shopping surge is expected to cause shipping and delivery delays, so you want to make sure you’re marketing to your customers earlier than ever this holiday season.
Plus, a reported 73 percent of holiday shoppers will make their purchases primarily online this year, so you must plan your email marketing campaigns accordingly in order to stand out from the crowd.
Related: The Best Types of Content to Include in Your Email Marketing Campaign
Take a break on the actual holiday
Avoid sending emails on major holidays. Black Friday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day all saw the lowest email open rates of the holiday season. Contrary to popular belief, Cyber Monday isn’t a great day to send marketing emails, either, due to the massive volume of emails sent out that day.
For example, Cyber Monday has a higher email sending volume than any other day in both November and December. The influx of emails may leave online shoppers feeling overwhelmed, and could cause your messaging to be lost.
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Make your emails mobile-friendly
Most people check their phones 150 times a day, for a mere 70 seconds. Additionally, GoDaddy data shows that over a 10-day period, nearly half (46 percent) of customers who opened GoDaddy Email Marketing emails opened them on a smartphone or tablet. Many online shoppers are scrolling through their inboxes and scanning email subject lines on the go.
In fact, millennials are 63 percent more likely to be swayed into making a purchase after receiving a promotional email than their Gen X or Baby Boomer counterparts.
This time of year, it’s more important than ever to include snappy, attention-grabbing subject lines and send mobile-optimized emails in order to reach online shoppers.
