The holiday season this year is going to be different for retailers due to the coronavirus situation.

Data for this year suggests that the online sale will have record year-over-year growth of at least 40% in November and December combined.

The marketers need to come up with the best tactics to get customers to their platforms. And what can be better than sending across trigger messages and emails?

Behaviour-based trigger messages are basically a push that retailers provide its customer to make a purchase. Data shows that the average open rate for triggered emails was consistently around 45% to 55% which is around four times higher compared to email newsletters which averaged around 10%. Using them during holiday seasons can be quite effective to drive the customer to your website.

Types of Trigger Messages

Here are some of the trigger message tactics that retail marketers can use to grab customer's attention -

PRE- SALE HYPE

Start sending newsletters way before the sale even starts and create a buzz around your brand. 60% of 2019 Cyber Weekend sales were driven by consumers who engaged with a brand’s email prior to Q3. This will help customers plan what they need to buy. So whenever they decide to actually buy it, they will visit your website first. Along with this, the you can also use sale price reveal tactics to grab the attention of customers.

A countdown newsletter for sale event helps in creating hype by Zagg.

WELCOME SERIES

The holiday season is prime time for online retailers to acquire more customers as 60% of consumers plan to spend more than 50% of holiday shopping online. So, as a retailer you need to make sure that the welcome sign up should not be the regular one during the holiday season. The welcome series newsletter should give an idea to the customer about what your website is offering during sale season. What all brands you carry, the discounts and other offers, key sale dates along with a bit of personalisation.  

An example of welcome message for customer singing up during holiday season by Walmart

BACK IN STOCK ALERTS

It is quite obvious that the bestsellers around the holiday season go quickly out of stock and losing customers over it can be frustrating. You can always turn to BACK IN STOCK emails. If you know that the customer has shown interest in buying a particular product or which is in their wishlist, not letting them know about its availability is a missed opportunity.

BACK IN STOCK alert message from Saks Fifth Avenue

CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCY

Like BACK IN STOCK emails, RUNNING OUT OF STOCK can also be a very good trigger for customers to make a purchase. Sometimes customers add a product to wishlist, anticipating for more discount. The only way to beat this is creating alarm around the product by showing the number of people currently viewing the same products or the number of items left in stock. These can give a push to customers to make an instant purchase.

PRICE DROP ALERTS

98% of customers leave the website by just viewing the product, with no guarantee of returning to actually buy it. They might look for the same product at various other websites to compare the prices. Price drop alerts are another effective way to solve this problem and land customers on your website again. Letting them know that the price of their favourite product is reduced can induce them to make a purchase.

Price drop alert message

POST PURCHASE MESSAGE

After the customer has made a purchase the job is not over yet. Post-purchase messages are equally important. 40% of consumers believe that post-purchase are the most memorable aspect of the overall brand experience. Once the customer has bought something, it is easy to anticipate what they might want to buy next. The post-purchase message includes the suggestions for products matching the style or purchase history that customer might be interested in buying. Even if the customer returns the product, the email must consist of suggestion to replace the returned item in order to retain the customer.

Product recommendations in Post Purchase Message 

CART ABANDONMENT MESSAGE

According to a survey the cart abandonment rate during the holiday season is around 75% i.e. out of every 10 shoppers 7 leave your website without making a purchase! Which is a troubling figure. Most of the time the reason for abandonment is a hope of finding a better deal. Cart abandonment emails are a proven way to solve this problem. Around 81% of customers have shown that they tend to purchase the products from the abandoned cart after they receive the mail for the same. So, why waste such an opportunity ? You can make it more effective around the holiday season, as customers are already in a rush to make a purchase. Try to create FOMO by using tag line like- 'running out of stock' or 'best deal'.

Cart Abandonment Message for creating FOMO

The holiday season comes with a lot of rush and excitement amongst the customer. They look for the best discounts, offers and services. This time of year is a great opportunity for you to multiply the revenue as an average shopper spends $ 970 during the holiday season. Therefore, as a retail marketer, you need to come with innovative and creative marketing strategies to lure customers. Triggered messages can be an effective tool that can help you in capitalising the rush and excitement of your customers.

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