Retailers: How Good Are Your Holiday Plans?

Author:

Gretchen Scheiman

Source:

As holiday 2009 raced to the finish line, I blogged about the disappointing lack of relevance in emails during what is arguably the most important time of the year for many retailers ("Does Holiday Relevance = 40% Off and a Five-Star Review?").
 
We're all about to take our last deep breath before rushing into the fray for holiday 2010. So now is a good time to ask: how good are your holiday plans? Here are three tactics it's not too late to consider.
 
1. Holiday-ize your triggered emails. You should already have a program that automatically sends emails based on actions registered users take on your site. (Fellow Email Insider Loren McDonald wrote an excellent article on this topic titled "Triggered Emails: Low Volume, High Returns" earlier this year). Most retailers though, haven't set up trigger programs based on holiday purchase patterns.
 
Look specifically at purchase patterns in holiday season over the past few years, and you might find some interesting nuggets that can generate new triggers. For example, you might find that shoppers who purchase jewelry at this time of year often also purchase perfume. If you sell both, this type of cross-category marketing could be successful at this time of year. Triggered emails generate high returns at low cost. Augment your holiday program with these money-makers now, while there is still time...
 
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