Georges Berzgal says, “Over the last few years Black Friday and Cyber Monday have developed from being a purely US phenomenon to a global sales event, marking the start of the all-important Christmas shopping season.  In 2014 the effects of Black Friday saw UK retail sales rise at their fastest annual rate in more than 10 years, with £810m spent and online sales jumping 13% year-on-year. For commerce marketers, the four-day sales weekend is a critical one to capitalise on. So to help you design a smart and efficient communication strategy for some of the busiest shopping days of the... [...]

Patricio Robles says, “For many retailers, Black Friday is a crucial shopping day that can make or break a year, so it’s inconceivable that a major retailer would choose to sit it out. But one large American retailer has decided to do just that. REI, which has over 140 stores, 11,000 employees and $2 billion in annual sales, created headlines by announcing that it will close its stores on Black Friday. In a letter posted to a campaign microsite, Jerry Stritzke, the company’s CEO, explained: For 76 years, our co-op has been dedicated to one thing and one thing only: a life outdoors.... [...]

Jonathan Long says, “The holiday season is right around the corner, providing businesses with an incredible opportunity to generate record sales online. Ecommerce sales have increased year after year, reaching $53.3 billion in 2014, which was a 15 percent increase over 2013. Cyber Monday alone generated $2.038 billion in sales, a 17 percent increase from the previous year. Those numbers are impressive, but even more impressive is the fact that they only account for desktop sales. Consumers are becoming more comfortable conducting ecommerce transactions on their smartphones and tablets, providing... [...]

Zak Stambor says, “Twitter also adds ads to Moments, the social network’s latest effort to make its platform easier to use. When the holiday season arrives, consumers increasingly turn to Twitter to discuss what they’re thinking about buying, according to a new report that social media consultancy Converseon produced on behalf of Twitter. The report finds that shopping-related conversations jump an average of 83% from 8 p.m.-midnight across the season and soar 87% on Sundays in November, when retailers often release their weekly promotions. Converseon based its report on an analysis... [...]

Amy Gesenhues says, “Going on last year’s campaign results, Yesmail says retailers are waiting too late to send their Black Friday-themed emails and Facebook posts. According to a report from the email marketing provider, open rates for Black Friday emails were the highest on the Monday and Tuesday preceding Black Friday, but the majority of email campaigns — 33 percent — were sent on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday. Yesmail notes the Monday prior to Black Friday also saw the highest deletion rates: “While Monday before Black Friday saw the highest open rates for Black Friday-themed... [...]

Scott Rayden says, “Mobile advertising is poised to make or break 2015 goals for millions of companies over the next six to seven weeks. As we head into the holiday season, I posed a few critical questions to two of the brightest minds I know in mobile: Hathway CSMO Kevin Rice and 3Q Digital VP of Mobile Strategy Craig Weinberg. (Disclosure: Mobile agency Hathway is a 3Q Digital partner, and 3Q Digital is my employer.) If you’re looking for any edge you can get in your holiday mobile campaigns, these guys have answers“. Mobile Strategy For The Holidays: Two Industry Insiders Answer... [...]

Matt Lindner says, “A holiday shopping survey from Deloitte shows that nearly half of all shoppers will buy online. When it comes to winning online shoppers’ business this holiday season, free shipping is far more important than fast shipping. That’s according to a just-released report from Deloitte LLC, which polled more than 4,000 U.S. shoppers in mid-September about their holiday shopping habits. 87% say free shipping is more important than fast shipping, and many (60%) expect retailers to offer free on-time shipping as late as Dec. 17. Offering free shipping this holiday season could... [...]

Spencer Dunfee says, “Emotions are always high during the holiday season, and that puts you, the ecommerce vendor, in a very pleasant situation. Emotions often lead to purchases, especially if you target those emotions responsibly. Knowing which emotions to invoke can lead to some seriously amazing sales. Let’s take a look at which will fill carts on your ecommerce site. Love Well, this probably seems pretty obvious. We buy gifts for people during this time of year because we love them and want them to be happy. Sometimes, amid the hustle and bustle and rampant spending and grumpy shoppers,... [...]

Shelley Kessler says, “The first hot sheet of the holiday season looks at email by the numbers. Volume in the first two weeks is up 25.5 percent year-over-year across all industries. With this large increase, it’s not surprising that performance metrics have been slightly lower. Marketers need to work smarter, not harder. Analyzing and understanding the data from last year can help make the holiday season bright for your customers. We know this is a busy season, so we’ve done (and in this Holiday Hot Sheet series will continue to do) the work for you. The best days to send email to increase... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “Some 38 million users have saved holiday-related pins on Pinterest, according to a recent report from the social network. The report was based on internal Pinterest data, including year-over-year figures from 2013 and 2014, as well as Millward Brown data from 2015. There was a 50% year-over-year increase in holiday pin volume between 2013 and 2014, according to the analysis. To date users have made 170 million holiday decor pins on Pinterest, 92 million holiday gift pins, 50 million holiday fashion pins (including 3 million ugly holiday sweater pins), and 42 million holiday... [...]