Email Marketing Drives Holiday Shopping
Email remains one of the most effective advertising mediums on the planet. While business owners should engage with their target audience via email throughout the year, it’s particularly beneficial during the holiday season.
Here’s why.
Analyzing the Data
According to a recent Digital Index report published by Adobe, email marketing was responsible for more than 15% of all online sales from Thanksgiving to the following Sunday. The report also found conversion rates of email to have increased 25% from this same period in 2014. Being that these numbers come directly from Adobe — one of the most reputable tech companies in the world — it’s safe to assume they aren’t doctored in any way, shape or form. Of course, there’s other evidence indicating a strong holiday season for email marketers.
A report published by Custora found email marketing to account for roughly 1 in 4 of all online orders placed on Black Friday this year. Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving — has long been viewed as the nation’s leading day for retail shopping. But many consumers are now choosing to shop online from the comfort of their smartphone or computer. Subsequently, Custora found that online sales for Black Friday increased 15.1% from last year, with the average order value also growing just slightly by 0.5%.
Why Email Marketing Rocks for the Holidays
So, why is email such an effective marketing platform for the holidays? We can only speculate regarding the reasons why shoppers are responding to email more than in previous years, but one factor that’s likely playing a role in this trend is mobile shopping. Custora found that 36.1% of all online sales placed on Black Friday were made from a smartphone or tablet. That number is up from 30.1% in 2014.
Whether you are at work, riding the bus, or just sitting on your couch, you can fire up your mobile web browser and start shopping. This is far easier and more convenient than having to start up a clunky old desktop, which could be at least part of the reason why email is driving higher sales this holiday season.
Adobe Principal Analyst Tamara Gaffney explained the link between mobile traffic and email, saying “Email and mobile traffic and sales growth are linked. Consumers have had several years to get comfortable with mobile shopping. It’s clear that they’re there now, which means they have no problem clicking from their emails to a retailer’s site on their phone and then clicking and buying — particularly when they know that the offers they find in their inbox are only available for a limited time, as they were over the weekend and today.”
You also have to think about the increasing number of consumers who check their email during the holidays. Perhaps they are expecting personal emails from friends or family, or maybe they are expecting to receive promotion codes and coupons from retailers. Regardless, the fact remains that more people check their inbox during the holidays.
Are you using email as part of your holiday marketing strategy? Let us know in the comments section below!
