Amy Gesenhues says, “Adobe predicts this year’s online holiday sales will reach a record $83 billion, an 11 percent year-over-year increase compared to last year.With so much up for grabs between now and the end of the year, brands are already escalating their email marketing campaigns as we enter the holiday season – but, reaching consumers through their inbox may prove to be more challenging compared to this time last year.Email marketing provider ReturnPath reports global inbox placement rates have slid below 80 percent in 2015. According to ReturnPath, U.S. brands identified as... [...]

Tracey Edouard says, “Mashable’s latest #BizChats Twitter chat, sponsored by Staples, discussed how small businesses can be more productive during the busiest time of the year.Over the course of an hour, @MashBusiness covered an array of topics, ranging from the major holiday marketing trends every small business should pay attention to, to unique ways businesses can show customer appreciation to drive loyalty during the holiday season.Several small business experts joined the conversation including: Amy Jo Martin, founder and CEO of Digital Royalty; Doug and Polly White, writers... [...]

Martin Beck says, “So where are all the Black Friday shoppers hanging out online?Over here, Pinterest says, releasing new stats today to support its claim that Pinterest is best place to reach people in a holiday buying mood.Pinterest users shop more on Black Friday than the average online user, according to a study done for Pinterest by marketing researcher CivicScience. Pinners spend four times more on toys and games, three times more on housewares, clothing and accessories and 2.2 times more on electronics and media. Furthermore, CivicScience found, Pinners are 50 percent more likely... [...]

Emma Greenman says, “According to NRF, 25 million holiday shoppers said they would specifically use their mobile device to shop online on Cyber Monday this year. That is a big chunk of the expected $116 billion ecommerce will bring in this holiday season! Part of serving customers (that want to give you their money) is providing a happy, helpful online experience. Increasingly, online includes mobile devices.Is your website mobile ready? Can you handle the masses of holiday shoppers that are coming your way? Let’s take a look at some of the most important features you’ll need before... [...]

Carly Stec says, “The malls are decked with holly, your inbox is filling up with holiday-themed promotions, and you’ve deemed it socially acceptable to start listening to your favorite holiday playlist on Spotify … or maybe that’s just me.Either way, the holiday season is here, and marketers are gearing up to finish off the year strong. But just like shopping for gifts, planning your holiday campaign is something you don’t want to shove off until the last minute.There’s going to be a lot of spending going in over the next month or so, which is why it’s... [...]

Fergal Glynn says, “Slated to pull in approximately $965 billion between November and January, this season’s holiday sales will see a four percent bump versus last year.But, online retailers looking to unlock the season’s full potential need to make holiday shopping trends part of their sales strategy.How can you prepare your business for this year’s holiday sales storm?We’ve laid out a few quick online sales tips to help make this season your merriest yet:Tip #1: Get the Timing RightJust because you’re early to the holiday game doesn’t mean you’ll win. Revving up... [...]

Jack Simpson says, “With Black Friday and Christmas on their way there is plenty to keep marketers’ minds distracted. But come the new year the problem of ad blocking is going to be more prevalent than ever. I caught up with Forbes’ European managing director, Charles Yardley, to find out how the publisher moved toward a native content revenue model and why it chose to go down that route.How worried are you personally about ad blocking? Ad blocking is a hugely important topic and poses real threats to all ad-supported publishers. It’s very much top of mind at Forbes.How damaging... [...]

Jonathan Segal says, “The upcoming holiday season can be the most wonderful time of the year, but it all poses challenges to entrepreneurs of all sizes. Yes, there are risks. What good does not come with some risk? But most of the legal and employee relations risks can be mitigated with some thoughtful planning. So here’s a checklist of issues to minimize the risk that your December celebrations will result in January claims.1. Don’t eliminate Christmas.Don’t eliminate Christmas from the holiday season, says this Jewish guy. It’s a beautiful holiday that should be celebrated. And a... [...]

Michael O’Grady says, “In Western Europe, November and December account for a fifth of annual retail sales. However, consumers aren’t spending more over the holiday period; they are just shifting their spending earlier in the shopping season. Forrester expects European online sales over the holiday period to grow 12.5% compared to 2014. In the UK, heavy discounting, notably as a result of Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions, has a huge impact on holiday shopping.Holiday spending is of critical importance to retailers. In 2014, Amazon traded one-third of its retail sales in... [...]

Kyla Cobb says, “In today’s MarketingExperiments blog post, we’ll look at the 2014 holiday campaigns of Amazon, Best Buy, Apple and Walmart and see what you can learn from their efforts. If you sell anything at all — from books to electronics to glow-in-the-dark toilet paper — you compete with at least one, if not all, of these retailers.More than 500 data points gathered and analyzed over 42 daysTo understand the information you’re about to see, let’s take a quick look at the methodology. 16 Web Research Analysts from MECLABS Institute (MarketingExperiments’ parent research... [...]