Five E-Commerce Emails Brands Should Send This Holiday Season

Think emails are an old-school way of sourcing and closing business? Think again! Nearly 105 billion emails are sent each day, and the number of email users worldwide is just under three billion individuals.

E-commerce brands that want to boost visibility and earn a greater share of the consumer’s wallet must embrace email marketing. The holidays are the perfect time to maximize this lucrative marketing channel. Here are five unique email messages that can help e-commerce brands soar during the holidays.

1. Abandoned Shopping Cart Email

Recent studies have shown more than 67% of online shopping carts are abandoned before the checkout stage. Imagine if 7 out of 10 grocery store shoppers simply walked away from their carts and headed out the door to patronize a competitor. Knowing this is a real concern, e-commerce email marketing can seek to earn back some of this lost business by sending timely abandoned shopping cart emails – ideally, within 20-30 minutes of the cart going “inactive.”

A promotional offer can be tied to this – wherein the shopper re-engages the shopping cart and receives a small discount, free shipping, or other benefits for picking up where they left off. This can all be automated and has proven to salvage many a wandering consumer.

2. Flash Sale Email

Though it might seem silly, adding a timeframe to a promotional offer (especially if this timeframe “counts down” in front of the consumer) can have a profound effect on the desirability of a product. Amazon is notorious for their flash sales and daily deals. A graphic representation of the percent of on-hand inventory sold and the time left for the deal can wreak havoc on a consumer’s sense of willpower.

Flash sale email marketing can be incredibly effective and can help an e-commerce brand drive revenues and put dollars in the bank account in preparation for capital needs.

3. Free Shipping Email

Consumers feel like they shouldn’t have to pay for shipping anymore, largely in part to a certain brand. But, moving beyond this “prime” example, brands can send a strong message. They can be competitive by sending out free shipping emails to be used on orders of a certain dollar amount or more. This type of message creates some parity with bigger brands who have cornered the market on the free shipping angle.

4. Extra Coupons Email

Send out coupons that can be used down the road or on future orders. Follow-up on the original email with a reminder message that’ll land right before the discount is active. Or, simply provide a season-long shopping pass that can be used throughout the holiday season – a blanket 10% off or free shipping coupon can keep things simple and drive business.

5. Win-Back Email

The win-back email is a subtle reminder that a business exists. It is sent to customers that have shopped at a site before. It can either act as a promotional tool to rekindle awareness of a brand or to offer a unique value proposition for returning customers, a 10% off loyalty bonus or free shipping for returning customers, for example.

Embracing email marketing is a surefire way to add dollars to the bottom line this holiday season.