Email Conversions Up During Holidays, Report Says January 13, 2021, | Posted by Guest

It’s no secret that email marketing results have been all over the map ever since the first major outbreaks of Covid-19 appeared last year. Sending was up overall, but consumer reactions to campaigns varied greatly, making many businesses doubt what the holiday season--and beyond--would bring. Good news in the form of up-to-date studies on engagement came just in time for the busiest shopping season of the year, and the results of the end of year blitz are in. Site Impact’s experts have been keeping an eye on what results have come from the increased email sending over the holiday season, as well as what those results can mean for the industry--and those who depend on it--moving forward. Today we’re going to dig into it.

High engagement led to higher conversions

The biggest takeaway and the best news out of a recent report by LiveIntent and MediaRadar is that the boost to email marketing spend at the end of the year bore definite, significant fruit: conversion rates increased 32% YoY. The report joins other studies by those in the industry in confirming that in spite of an often-uncertain consumer mood throughout the year, the holiday season was still successful for retailers and even other businesses. The increase in send was a risky proposition by brands that were barely holding on, and especially those that had already slashed marketing budgets in response to shutdowns and restricted business environments that came along with Covid-19. Engagement remained high throughout the bulk of the holiday shopping season, and a spike in conversions was just what many businesses needed in order to be able to continue operating this year. The increased sending could have caused problems under other circumstances--crowded inboxes are often the enemy of brands and marketers. But with audiences more engaged with their email generally than they usually are, it was a gamble that paid off big.

What these numbers mean moving forward

Conventional wisdom regarding high volumes of email marketing suggests that the more crowded the inbox, the worse the performance of any individual campaign; the conventional wisdom also suggests that brands that send ‘too often’ find themselves facing a deep backlash from overstimulated prospects. While of course there’s still no justification for batch-and-blast tactics in this century, the studies all indicate that it’s not just the volume of emails sent or received that contributes to engagement; where brands send a large volume of high-value, highly relevant emails, prospects are likely to respond favorably. By making sure to pair increased sending with high relevance and value, brands will find it much easier to maintain the high engagement and conversion rates of the holiday season.

The studies published by LiveIntent and MediaRadar and others point to the potential for a long-term recovery strategy. It isn’t just retailers who can benefit from increased sending, either; many industries are likely to find a strong response from consumers if they put out more campaigns--provided that those campaigns are relevant, and the offers provide value to the recipients. Contact Site Impact to hear how we can help you reach out to bigger audiences, to make the most of your strategies in email marketing.