Season Finale: Labor Day
A look back on seasonal trends, email activity and standout marketing:
Start to finish: The first reference to Labor Day was from Bass Pro Shops on Aug. 8. The last reference was from Alibris on Sept. 6.
The count: The 89 major retailers that we tracked during this period sent out 46 emails about their Labor Day sales.
Most interesting email: On Sept. 1, Coldwater Creek sent out a nice email that actually wasn’t an official Labor Day email at all, which is to say that we didn’t include it in our count. What was noteworthy about it is that it plays off the holiday with the smallest effort. It is an email about their outlet and looks the pretty much the same as all their other outlet emails; the difference is all in the subject line: 350 items, $19.99 or less ~ your holiday weekend just got better. Without saying that the prices are part of a Labor Day—which they weren’t; they were just their normal outlet prices—Coldwater Creek is able to capture the attention of folks tuned in to Labor Day sales.
Surprises: The most surprising thing was that some retailers held sales on Labor Day weekend but didn’t invoke “Labor Day” in their emails. JCPenney, Gloss and Linens ’n Things were among those that did this. We’re not sure what the advantage is in not invoking the holiday.
The distribution curve: Although a few retailers tried to beat the crowds and mention their Labor Day sales first, most major retailers waited until the week before to start getting the word out. In fact, more than 40% of the Labor Day references came on the Thursday and Friday prior to Sept. 4.
Previous posts about Labor Day:
9/9 — Week-End Trends: Totally exhausted?
9/2 — Week-End Trends: Working the Labor Day emails
8/26 — Week-End Trends: Labor Day coming on
8/31 — AM Inbox: Aborlay Ayday Alesay
8/8 — AM Inbox: First Labor Day reference
Start to finish: The first reference to Labor Day was from Bass Pro Shops on Aug. 8. The last reference was from Alibris on Sept. 6.
The count: The 89 major retailers that we tracked during this period sent out 46 emails about their Labor Day sales.
Most interesting email: On Sept. 1, Coldwater Creek sent out a nice email that actually wasn’t an official Labor Day email at all, which is to say that we didn’t include it in our count. What was noteworthy about it is that it plays off the holiday with the smallest effort. It is an email about their outlet and looks the pretty much the same as all their other outlet emails; the difference is all in the subject line: 350 items, $19.99 or less ~ your holiday weekend just got better. Without saying that the prices are part of a Labor Day—which they weren’t; they were just their normal outlet prices—Coldwater Creek is able to capture the attention of folks tuned in to Labor Day sales.
Surprises: The most surprising thing was that some retailers held sales on Labor Day weekend but didn’t invoke “Labor Day” in their emails. JCPenney, Gloss and Linens ’n Things were among those that did this. We’re not sure what the advantage is in not invoking the holiday.
The distribution curve: Although a few retailers tried to beat the crowds and mention their Labor Day sales first, most major retailers waited until the week before to start getting the word out. In fact, more than 40% of the Labor Day references came on the Thursday and Friday prior to Sept. 4.
Previous posts about Labor Day:
9/9 — Week-End Trends: Totally exhausted?
9/2 — Week-End Trends: Working the Labor Day emails
8/26 — Week-End Trends: Labor Day coming on
8/31 — AM Inbox: Aborlay Ayday Alesay
8/8 — AM Inbox: First Labor Day reference
Labels: Coldwater Creek, Labor Day, Season Finale
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posted at 8:27 AM by Chad White
I love Smith-Harmon's enthusiasm. It's so great to have a connection with people who really "get" and get excited by email marketing. (Truly, there are not that many of us out there!) I count myself very lucky to have found such accomplished enthusiasts to collaborate with on the REI program. They are helping to bring amazing opportunities to fruition with panache.
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