Alert: Cyber Monday looks to be huge email marketing day this year

Get ready for some serious inbox congestion on Cyber Monday. In recent weeks there have been several signs that retailers are trying to use email marketing to bring holiday sales forward before the economy and consumer confidence weaken any further —and that means that Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, is likely to be much bigger email marketing day this year than last year.

The most telling sign is that this past Monday (Nov. 19) 50% of major online retailers sent out at least one promotional email, up from 29% last year. It also significantly eclipses the 44% of top online retailers that sent at least one promotional email on Cyber Monday last year.

In addition to higher volumes on Cyber Monday, I also expect each of the four Echo Mondays— the Mondays between Cyber Monday and Christmas—to see heavier promotional email volumes as well this year.

Other signs that we’ll have a huge Cyber Monday this year include a 14% jump in email volume from top online retailers last week, according to the RetailEmail Index, which is a general measure of the promotional email volume generated by 100 of the top online retailers (see Week-End Trends every weekend for the latest numbers). Last year there wasn’t a similar week-over-week spike in retail email volume until the week ending Dec. 8. So this year’s spike comes four weeks earlier than last year, providing further evidence that retailers are trying to accelerate holiday buying this year. Moreover, after the spike last week, the RetailEmail Index is tracking 30% higher than at the same time last year.

Retailers’ email marketing campaigns have also put a significantly larger emphasis on promoting both Columbus Day (Oct. 8) and Veterans Day (Nov. 11) sales this year, another sign that retailers may have less faith that holiday sales will come through and will push big on Cyber Monday.

However, despite the emphasis put on Cyber Monday, it was only the sixth most popular day of the year to send retail emails last year. It was outperformed by two of the three Echo Mondays, plus the day after Christmas, which saw the greatest percentage of retailers sending email, at 53%.

Considering that Cyber Monday will likely exceed last year’s promotional email high-level mark, we should expect record-level email volumes this year. Stay tuned for updates in the days ahead.