5 Last-Minute Tactics to Maximize Holiday Email Engagement

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There are a lot of things to think about when it comes to your 2021 holiday email marketing effort. Will the fear of another outbreak keep your customers at home? Or, will the chance to shop your deals in-store be too hard for them to deny?

Nobody knows — and for a savvy marketer such as yourself, these trends truthfully shouldn’t make much difference anyway. Because the only way to ensure holiday email engagement this year is by providing stellar interactions online and through every brick-and-mortar engagement. 

Sounds easy, right? In many cases, deceptively so.

Before your brand can deliver the relevant, engaging email experience your 2021 holiday audience demands, you need to be moving at the speed they are. Otherwise, you won’t be able to pivot and take advantage of favorable changes by the time consumers are choosing to engage with your messages.

Fortunately, that’s where this post comes in. By focusing on the five key focus areas mentioned below, you can find a few new, last-minute tactics to maximize holiday email engagement and make even the biggest Grinch’s heart grow three sizes in Q4!

Make mobile a priority, then worry about maximizing holiday email engagement

The key to making your holiday promotions — or any email, for that matter — more engaging is to make your path to purchase easy. Any campaign that gives someone a one-click shopping experience in the same place they’re browsing your products dramatically increases your odds of conversion.

In 2021, consumers are responding well to the omnichannel approaches more and more retailers are taking, particularly when it comes to mobile shopping.
In fact, our 2021 Retail Personalization Index research found that nearly half of all retail consumers browsed products and made purchases on their smartphone this year — increasing total mobile website traffic by as much as 80% for some forward-thinking brands that prioritize omnichannel interactions.

This will only become increasingly important as trends like mobile move from afterthought to top-of-mind in 2021. In fact, 73% of all ecommerce sales will take place on a mobile device by the end of this year. So, if you’re not operating with a mobile-first mindset, start making changes now before you fall too far behind the rest of retail.

Build loyalty and long-term email engagement

Holiday promotions definitely help you drive new sales, but retailers need to continue building community and goodwill with their customers to tap into the true business potential of these sends.  And that only happens after you maximize holiday email engagement.

So, what better way to improve your Q4 2021 campaign results than by catering to the needs and wants of your most loyal buyers?

A loyalty program based on your long-time followers’ personal preferences and values is a huge advantage for winning more revenue this time of year. Especially if you add juicy incentives like extra loyalty perks, double rewards points, exclusive discounts, free samples, or a free gift with every holiday purchase into the mix.

Bonus points for building omnichannel flows based on buyer behavior changes to grow loyalty and build rapport with your audience directly into your holiday email campaigns. By providing these highly personalized experiences, you can even follow individual shoppers across every channel to interact on their terms — giving them a sense of control and personal connection with your messaging rather than a lump of generic marketing coal.

If you’re looking to turn last-minute engagement into long-term email results, take your loyalty program  to the next level by tracking each shopper persona that made a purchase during the holidays. Then, design targeted post-purchase email campaigns and triggered messages to turn one-time transactions into repeat purchases regardless of season.

Add flexibility to your in-store experience

This year, COVID-19 is still a serious consideration for retail shoppers — as are the ever-evolving safety protocols and in-store precautions you take to protect your in-store customers this holiday season. While the future may look uncertain, don’t forget about the important lessons you learned in 2020 — or how they can help you maximize holiday email engagement among these shoppers despite another unprecedented season.

Be prepared to adjust your communications approach at a moment’s notice so you don’t leave any potential buyers feeling left out in the cold. Tear down traditional boundaries by integrating your ecommerce and in-store environments into a seamless brick-and-click experience. Because we predict that this season’s most creative marketers will also be the most successful.

Take a page out of their playbook and include special holiday events, hours of operation, in-store promotions, and any other brick-and-mortar benefit in your emails to entice digital buyers to visit your store and engage with multiple marketing channels in a manner that enhances their overall shopping experience.

Remember: holiday marketing success is a two-way street. While you shift your priorities to the ecommerce environment in 2021, be sure to keep your brick-and-mortar interactions in mind. Train in-store staff members to ask for customer data and promote email subscription/marketing opt-ins across every customer engagement to maximize the impact of your omnichannel strategy without lifting a finger.

Offer fulfillment and flexible payment options this year

Holiday shoppers are like snowflakes — every one of them is unique. But here’s something that may not be so obvious: building unique subscription models for each audience persona you market to can deliver tremendous results. After all, 80% of marketers are using automation to increase leads, 77% to increase conversions, and 76% to realize ROI in a year or less (including 44% over just the first six months).

While the risks of COVID-19 are nothing new, many people will still likely be hesitant to visit your brick-and-mortar stores in 2021. Making hybrid fulfillment options like BOPIS and curbside pickup as appealing an offering — if not more so — than they were at this time last year. Because more than half of all consumers plan to continue using these more convenient, customer-friendly fulfillment alternatives even after the pandemic ends.

If your in-store purchases typically feature a high Average Order Value (AOV), it’s a smart idea to create incentives that tempt traditional shoppers to take advantage of your alternative fulfillment options. A free gift upon pickup or a discount off their next BOPIS purchase can be a simple-yet-satisfying holiday experience that convinces first-time buyers to stick with your brand long-term.

Another trend gaining massive momentum this holiday season is Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL). Unlike traditional ecommerce and in-store layaway payment options, BNPL gives your buyers the benefit of instant gratification — and your brand the advantage of actualized revenue in Q4. 

Because someone doesn’t have to wait until payments are complete to receive their products, emails that feature BNPL financing options increase conversion rate by 79% and AOV by twice as much on average. No doubt a huge boon for any retail brand looking to better 2020’s holiday email engagement rate.

Prioritize trust and community in your holiday communications

If the past 18 months have taught marketers anything, it’s that transparency and honesty are more valuable than ever in your email messages. So, emphasize these values at every opportunity to maximize holiday email engagement in 2021.

After all, an experience that hides shipping costs, makes online purchases overly complex and time-consuming, or features irrelevant products and messaging usually scares away more customers than it converts.

While there’s immense pressure to perform and convert as many shoppers to paying customers as possible throughout the holiday season, keep in mind that not every email or promotion you send has to push a product. In fact, shoppers worn out from seeing the same holiday-themed communications for weeks or months on end are more likely to notice and appreciate your efforts for doing so.

Earlier this year, we found that two-thirds of today’s retail buyers believe a brand’s ethics and values are important — substantiating 5W Public Relations’ 2020 Consumer Culture Report that notes 71% of shoppers prefer to shop with brands that are aligned to their values.

But that’s not the only thing your customers expect from your holiday experience this year. Dig even deeper into the trend and tactics that can help you maximize holiday email engagement and take 2021’s results to the next level; download A Smart Marketer’s Guide to 2021 Holiday Success to get started.

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