Email Marketing Trends Indicate Cyber Monday Will Be Huge This Year

NEW YORK — According to RetailEmail.Blogspot, a blog that tracks the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 of the largest online retailers, Cyber Monday is set to be huge this year thanks to a surge in email marketing from retailers.

“In recent weeks there have been several signs that retailers are trying to bring holiday sales forward before the economy and consumer confidence weaken any further,” said Chad White, founder of RetailEmail.Blogspot and director of retail insights of the Email Experience Council. “That means that Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, is likely to be much bigger this year than last year.”

The most telling sign is that this past Monday, Nov. 19, 49% of major online retailers sent out at least one promotional email, up from 29% last year. It also significantly eclipses the 44% of top online retailers that sent at least one promotional email on Cyber Monday last year.

“Because of the urgency to generate sales and the efficiency at which email marketing drives them, this year I expect much more than 44% of retailers to send email on Cyber Monday,” said White. “I also expect each of the four Echo Mondays—the Mondays between Cyber Monday and Christmas—to see heavier volumes as well this year.”

Other signs that we’ll have a huge Cyber Monday this year include a 14% jump in promotional email volume from top online retailers last week, according to RetailEmail.Blogspot’s RetailEmail Index, which is a general measure of the promotional email volume generated by 100 of the top online retailers. Last year there wasn’t a similar week-over-week spike in retail email volume until the week ending Dec. 8. So this year’s spike comes four weeks earlier than last year, providing further evidence that retailers are trying to accelerate holiday buying this year. Moreover, after the spike last week, the RetailEmail Index is tracking 30% higher than at the same time last year.

Retailers’ email marketing campaigns have also put a significantly larger emphasis on promoting both Columbus Day (Oct. 8) and Veterans Day (Nov. 11) sales this year, another sign that retailers may have less faith that holiday sales will come through.

However, despite the emphasis put on Cyber Monday, it was only the sixth most popular day of the year to send retail emails last year. Cyber Monday was outperformed by two of the three Echo Mondays, plus the day after Christmas, which saw the greatest percentage of retailers sending promotional email, at 53%.

“Considering that Cyber Monday will likely exceed last year’s email high-level mark, we should expect record-level promotional email volumes this year,” said White.

About RetailEmail.Blogspot

RetailEmail.Blogspot, the strategic retail partner of the Direct Marketing Association’s Email Experience Council, is the only blog dedicated to tracking the email marketing campaigns of the largest online retailers. This blog tracks more than 100 retailers’ activities to reveal best practices and trends that are helpful to others in the industry who are looking for ideas, insight and guidance in executing their own campaigns. RetailEmail.Blogspot is written by its founder, Chad White, the director of retail insights and editor-at-large for the Email Experience Council.

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