I’m pleased to report that a very unscientific study of email response and deliverability data from the 2009 holiday season reveals that retailers were using some pretty smart strategies for generating response.

1. Volume was high, but concentrated in key buying weeks.  Over mailing is a primary cause of complaints (clicks on the Report Spam button) which depress inbox placement and deliverability for all subscribers.  Although many marketers held back some frequency outside the core season (Black Friday to Christmas Week Delivery Cut Off), many did not.  Unfortunately, this affects us all -  due to the excessive volume, many retailers saw email delivery traffic jams or deferral – where the ISPs like Yahoo! and Gmail just slowed down delivery of every message from all senders.  This can be very detrimental for time sensitive sales or alerts.

2. More retailers permissioned (opt in) holiday-specific content, resulting in highly engaged segments of buyers and brand loyalists.  An increase in the number of these “25 days of gifts” type series does not seem to have diminished the attraction for subscribers.  For 10 retailers we work with, all of them saw triple digit subscription files, and the response rates ranged from a mere double to a 50x increase over the regular file.  Several retailers have invited these subscribers to “continue the relationship” by joining a VIP or loyalty program.

3. Many retailers integrated social marketing into holiday promotions.  There was wide usage of “share this” among retailers, which makes it easy for subscribers to forward offers to others.  Interestingly,  a great deal or an unusual gift was not something widely shared.   There was perhaps a reticence to publicize to a circle of friends things that may have been purchased for them!   On the other hand, gift guides and one day site-wide sales saw strong sharing, since there is a lower personal connection.  The lesson:  Always to be timely with  social sharing – making it very clear that there is a benefit for the subscriber.

4. Most of the messages sent were broadcasts of generic offers to the entire file.   However, an increase in triggered, custom messages was integrated into the mix, resulting in higher overall response.  We find that even inserting 1-2 custom messages a month can reawaken subscriber interest and pop results.  Curiously, many retailers found that $ off was more successful than % off, even if the latter resulted in more savings.  (Please know this is a thoroughly unscientific sample!)  I’m sure there is some powerful macro-economic trend at work there, but in the meantime, it’s a great case for testing offers prior to committing to your sale strategy!

Creating great subscriber experiences is the only way to improve response and sender reputation (which determines if your messages make it past the spam filters and reach the inbox). However, too often, the email channel is used for discount promotions that go the entire file – pleasing a small subset, but fatiguing the rest of the file.  Many retailers are lulled into a false sense of security by the revenue generated with email campaigns.  In fact, most subscribers are not responding and not buying.  That lack of engagement leaves revenue on the table.

Most subscribers don’t bother to unsubscribe.  However, the “passive unsubscribe” is just as dangerous to future revenue, as those customers are tuned out, and no amount of promotion is likely to re-engage them.  Plus, who wants to be in a position of trying to bribe back a big group of non-responders with ever increasing discounts?  Sales without margin is a hollow victory.

Since the holidays, we’ve found that Q1 frequency is down a bit, but some retailers have not yet turned off the spigot from the holiday intensity.  That’s a shame – as it’s a sure way to burn out the file and reduce the opportunity for future seasonal markets.  If you are already mailing 7 times a week, it’s hard to generate more revenue or capture new attention when a new buying cycle starts.

How does this anecdotal data jive with your results?  Please post to the comments below and also let me know what I can clarify.