Danielle Forget says, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year, marketers. It’s shopping season! From the eager parents getting all their Christmas shopping done early, to the shopping enthusiasts counting down the days until those Black Friday promotions. People are gearing up to shop, and they’re gearing up to shop now. To help get you through marketing’s busiest time of the year, we put together five helpful tips… 1. Leave Enough Time Related Resources from B2C » Free Webcast: How to Create Killer Email Conversion Copy There is nothing worse than feeling rushed when setting up... [...]

Derek S. says, “As the holidy season quickly approaches, its important that companies understand what consumers of all ages are looking for in a website. AnswerDash, a provider of contextual FAQ technology for websites and Web applications, has announced the results of its first-ever website survey. Among the many findings from the survey include the most frustrating websites for consumer (Comcast.com, IRS.gov and CenturyLink.com) as well as the highest rated usability websites (Amazon.com, Facebook.com and Apple.com). The survey also found that 75 percent of 18 to 24 year olds and 57 percent... [...]

Pamella Neely says, “If you haven’t already planned your holiday marketing, you’re behind the curve: 40 percent of consumers started making Christmas buying decisions before Halloween. But don’t let that spoil your pre-holiday cheer. Even a few well-timed emails can bring in loads of Christmas orders. Holiday Marketing Calendar Marketers seem to add another semi-official holiday marketing day every year. While it’s good to know which days perform best, if you’re a small shop you may not be able to keep up with every new holiday, and you may not want to bury your clients or customers... [...]

Kim Stiglitz says, “The day after Halloween marked the official start of the holiday shopping season and since then, holiday-related emails have been arriving in our inboxes on a daily basis. Why are holiday emails seemingly being sent earlier and earlier each year? Christmas-themed and general winter holiday season emails have higher open rates when sent weeks or even months earlier than immediately before the target holiday, according to a recent article by Marketing Profs. To get you in the holiday swing of things, here are 25 examples of holiday email subject lines that stood out in our... [...]

Katie Oakes says, “Each week, we will provide you with real time insights and trends for the 2014 holiday season: how consumers are shopping, what they are searching for and how marketing campaigns can be optimized to maximize rewards for both consumers and brands. Sign up to receive the weekly #HolidayHotSheet in your inbox and stay tuned to the blog for highlights and additional holiday coverage. Now that Halloween is behind us, the focus on the upcoming holiday season is stronger than ever. Sure, we still have Thanksgiving to get through, but 45 percent of holiday email campaigns already... [...]

Matthew Whitehead says, “Paid search is a key element of marketing campaigns during the festive shopping season. What should advertisers be focusing on to succeed this year? Here are six key tips to inform your search advertising campaigns this festive season: 1. Analyse past performance and forecast for the future Reference historical data when planning your campaigns, but don’t simply replicate the same tactics from the previous year. Where were your peaks in 2013 – and how does the changing calendar impact them? In 2014, there will only be 26 days between Black Friday and Christmas itself... [...]

Allison Howen says, “Ninety-one percent of consumers intend to make a purchase through a mobile or tablet app this holiday season according to new data from Artisan Mobile. The data comes from a survey of 500 consumers, which also found 94 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they are purchasing and browsing products on apps more than ever before. The study also revealed that 54 percent of consumers plan to do one-half or more of their holiday shopping (purchases and/or browsing) via a mobile or tablet app. Other noteworthy stats show that 75 percent of consumers browse... [...]

David Rakuc says, “Well, it’s here. Halloween has officially passed and Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away. At this point, retailers should be well on their way to nailing down a solid holiday strategy. But here’s one area you may not have considered: the three policies that can make or break your customer’s confidence at checkout. Shipping, delivery, and return policies often play second string to promotional and discount strategies, but they can be just as significant when it comes to influencing actual sales. Here are some actionable tips to apply before the holidays: Return... [...]

Greg Sterling says, “Using a mix of its own data and third party data, mobile ad personalization platformAppLovin is predicting that nearly 30 percent of Cyber Monday transactions this year will come on mobile devices. This is transactions — not traffic. The awkwardly named Cyber-Monday has been the biggest online shopping day of the year in the US since 2010 according to comScore data. In 2013 Cyber Monday sales rang up roughly $2.3 billion according to Adobe. AppLovin points out that in 2010 mobile transactions represented only 2 percent of Cyber Monday buying. However mobile commerce... [...]

Alan Harris says, “As we turn the page on October and say “hello” to November, Thanksgiving is just around the corner. With it comes the 1-2-3 punch of Black Friday (Nov. 28), Small Business Saturday (Nov. 29), and Cyber Monday (Dec. 1). For many of us, this time of year determines whether we’ll be in the red or in the black come 2015, but the key to making sure your business has a successful November is getting ahead of the competition and promoting early. If you haven’t already prepared your holiday marketing calendar, here’s a helpful checklist of tips and to-dos for November. Week... [...]