Week-End Trends: Memorial Day gives email volume a boost

Email activity and seasonal trends during the past week:

The Retail Email Index: Top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 2.7 promotional emails on average during the week ending May 28, 2010. That’s up 5% week-over-week, down 3% from where it was four weeks ago, and up 12% year-over-year.



The Retail Email Participation Rate: Friday, the last weekday before Memorial Day, was the most popular day to send retail emails last week.



The Retail Email Seasonality Meter: The late arrival of Memorial Day finally revived retail email volumes. Already retailers are shifting their messaging toward Father’s Day, which is on June 20 this year.



Selling Seasons on the Horizon:
Graduation (May-June): Graduation 2009 Season Finale
Father’s Day (6/20): Father’s Day 2009 Season Finale
Independence Day (7/4): 4th of July 2009 Season Finale
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Ping Time: RIP Stefan Pollard, personalized greetings, etc.

My latest spin around the mediasphere turned up the following nuggets:

>>The industry remembers Stefan Pollard, an email marketing guiding light and all around fantastic guy. >>Follow the ping

>>The strategy team at Bronto Software tackles when personalized greetings are worthwhile after the topic bubbled up on Twitter. >>Follow the ping

>>Morgan Stewart of ExactTarget also takes on personalized greetings, offering up several alternatives that are likely to demonstrate familiarity better. >>Follow the ping, $FirstName$

>>Mark Brownlow of Email Marketing Reports discusses the battling roles of email as direct response and digital facilitator. >>Follow the ping

>>Mashable covers the launch of the new Hotmail, explaining the changes and new features. >>Follow the ping

>>Loren McDonald of Silverpop tells you which email metrics you should really be paying attention to. >>Follow the ping

>>Matt Vernhout of Email Karma shares a rendering fix in the wake of changes at Gmail. >>Follow the ping

>>In my latest Email Insider column, I write about how marketers aren’t taking Boomers into consideration enough when designing emails. >>Follow the ping
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AM Inbox: Using the nav bar to support the primary call-to-action

>>The Boomer Legibility Initiative for a New Decade: Join the effort to improve the readability of marketing emails and other promotional campaigns.

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Walgreens, 5/27 — Hurry! 50 Prints for $5 + 25% OFF Gifts and Cards End Saturday‏
Walgreens uses a novel call-to-action tactic in this email, having the primary CTA button include an arrow that points to the department link in the navigation bar. At first I was a little confused as to whether to click on the button or the nav link, but both link to the department page, which includes a banner promoting the discount on photo cards. This tactic has some obvious drawbacks, such as placing the button along the nav bar, and the fact that my initial reaction was confusion is probably a warning sign.

An alternative tactic is to use the navigation bar to support the primary CTA by (1) highlighting the nav link that’s associated with the primary message, as Old Navy has done (see Mar. 17, 2009 AM Inbox); (2) adding a secondary nav bar that branches from the primary nav link that’s associated with the primary message, as REI has done (see Mar. 8 AM Inbox); or (3) adding gender tabs or buttons to the nav bar, as REI has also done (see Mar. 22 AM Inbox).



Sears, 5/27 — FREE Shipping + save on appliances, electronics & more!‏
In this email, Sears tells subscribers about the Buzz Hub, a blog. The archive dates back to July, but this is the first time they’ve mentioned it in their emails. The Buzz Hub has some interesting information, but appears to be a work-in-progress, since it doesn’t allow comments, has tiny post titles, and, bizarrely, reprints press releases. I suspect we’ll see some changes during this soft launch period before seeing a big splash email announcement.



Banana Republic, 5/27 — Save up to 50%! Ends Monday‏
Retailers have used a variety of themes to support their mystery deal emails, which give you a random (or not some random, in some cases) discount. Irish luck, gambling, mysteries and others have been used. Banana Republic takes mystery deals to a new place—back in time! Especially considering how the Banana Republic brand has changed over the decades, using this time travel theme is fun and supports the discount offer.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Ross-Simons, 5/27 — Memorial Day Private Sale - Use code VIPSALE for extra savings!‏
Home Depot, 5/27 — Memorial Day Savings from The Home Depot‏
Linens ’n Things, 5/27 — Memorial Day 20% Savings All Week Long!‏
J&R, 5/27 — Memorial Day Sale: Save $15 On Purchases of $150 or More!
Toys “R” Us, 5/27 — Memorial Day Sale! Save 20% on Gym Sets, Swings, Climbers & More Plus Over 40 Coupons & Deals‏
Avon, 5/27 — AVON's Memorial Day Weekend SAVINGS Spree‏
Gap, 5/27 — 25% Off for Memorial Day + FREE SHIPPING‏
Spiegel, 5/27 — SAVE Up to 80% at Our Memorial Day Weekend Sale!‏
Disney Store, 5/27 — Additional 25% OFF Online and In Store - Memorial Day Sale!‏
Sam’s Club, 5/27 — Save on family fun for Memorial Day weekend at Sam's Club‏
Cooking.com, 5/27 — Top 10 Cookout Side Recipes For Memorial Weekend‏
Dell, 5/27 — Shop early this Memorial day; big savings, free shipping on select systems‏
Buy.com, 5/27 — Memorial Day Sale: ViewSonic 4.3" Portable MovieBook $59.99 AR, Marc Jacobs Sunglasses $49.99, Microsoft Portfolio Laptop Bag $15.99, Xbox 360 Naval Assault $39.99,..
TigerDirect, 5/27 — Holiday Deals Start Now: New 40" 1080p HDTV $450...$409 Win7 4GB Laptop w/ 500gb HD...6GB Win7 PC $359...$19 DROID Cell Phone‏
Williams-Sonoma, 5/27 — Great Gift for Dad: Margaritas!‏
Lillian Vernon, 5/27 — Get 15% Off All Gifts for Dads & Grads‏
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AM Inbox: Strong blog launch announcement by B&H

>>The Boomer Legibility Initiative for a New Decade: Join the effort to improve the readability of marketing emails and other promotional campaigns.

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

B&H Photo, 5/25 — The B&H insights Blog - Now Out of Beta!
B&H has launched their blog, B&H insights. The launch comes with an appeal to join them on Facebook and Twitter, plus a video announcing the blog launch. In addition to including a bulleted list of benefits, I like how they include a list of popular posts, each with a prominent link to “Read & Discuss” or to join the discussion on Facebook. Including that real-world activity, takes this email message from telling subscribers what the blog will be about to showing them and inspiring immediate engagement. I’ll be curious to see if B&H leverages their blog and Facebook activity at the bottom of their promotional emails as Crutchfield does (see Mar. 8 AM Inbox).



Fingerhut, 5/26 — Fingerhut: Shop Our NEWEST eCatalog!‏
Fingerhut has debuted online-only catalogs, starting with one dedicated to Hardware, Lawn + Car Care. Free from printing and mailing costs, e-catalogs can become more attractive and allow you to branch out and create more niche catalogs like Fingerhut is doing.



Neiman Marcus, 5/25 — Master the Art of Good Graces with LELA ROSE exclusives‏
In my Email Insider column this week about readability, I didn’t have a handy example of a retailer running “text over background images with lots of bright and dark areas.” While this email isn’t nearly as egregious as I’ve seen, it’s demonstrates how this hurts readability all the same—especially in the parts where the font is thin or very small.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Coach, 5/25 — Shop our first Men's Store online‏
Sports Authority, 5/26 — Get Your 2010 adidas World Cup Gear + $10 In-Store Cash Card‏
Newegg, 5/25 — Our Biggest Memorial Day Sale Yet!‏
HP, 5/26 — HP's Memorial Day Sale Event STARTS NOW!‏
Musician’s Friend, 5/25 — Musician's Friend: Coupon Inside - Memorial Weekend Savings Start Now!
Macy’s, 5/26 — Free Shipping, specials & savings for Memorial Day!‏
Sears, 5/26 — Your backyard never looked so good - save on patio and power lawn & garden essentials‏
Spiegel, 5/26 — Lose Weight in Time for Swimsuit Season‏
Bass Pro Shops, 5/25 — Father's Day Sale + Take 6 Months to Pay‏
OfficeMax, 5/25 — Great Savings on Technology + Gifts for Grads‏
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Boomer Legibility Initiative for a New Decade launched

The Boomer generation is a critical audience for marketers. By 2015, those aged 50 and older will represent 45% of the U.S. population, according to AARP. And currently, Baby Boomers control over 80% of personal financial assets and more than 50% of discretionary spending power, according to ThirdAge.

However, marketers regularly use small text on their websites and in their emails and other marketing materials, creating unnecessary legibility issues for some of their most valuable customers. Speaking at the Forrester's Marketing Forum 2010, TIAA-CREF said they asked their community how to improve their website. The #1 response was “bigger font.”

Not considering the needs of Boomers when designing marketing materials means lost revenue for marketers and a poor user experience for many Boomers—not to mention other visually challenged people like myself.

To help address this issue, I’ve created the Boomer Legibility Initiative for a New Decade (BLIND), which seeks to convince marketers to increase the point size of their fonts by 1 point this year, in 2015 and in 2020 to make it easier for the growing Boomer population to read and take advantage of their offers.

Have you made any recent changes to your emails or websites to make them more legible? Are there marketers that you wish would make their emails easier to read?

>>Join the Boomer Legibility Initiative for a New Decade on LinkedIn and join the conversation.
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AM Inbox: When to use personalized greetings

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Harry & David, 5/24 — A message about your Harry and David account ...
Last week there was a discussion on Twitter about the value of personalized greetings. I argued that whether to use them “depends on content in email. Personalized greetings ring false in mass mailings, but can enhance targeted/triggered emails.” This Harry & David email is a great example of when to use a personalized greeting. It announces the launch of a Personal Giftlist service and includes each customer’s past purchases and who they were sent to. The email contains personal information so a personalized greeting makes total sense, because the email is about them in particular. If you’re looking for a line in the sand, this is a pretty good one.

On the downside, the subject line for this email is a bit alarming, while also being fairly spammy. A subject line that mentioned the Personal Giftlist might have been more appropriate and effective.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Spiegel, 5/24 — EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW Memorial Day Weekend Sale. Up to 80% OFF!
Lane Bryant, 5/24 — Memorial Day Sale - Great Deals + Use Your New Gift Cheque‏
Cooking.com, 5/24 — Top 10 BBQ Rib Recipes For Memorial Weekend‏
Costco, 5/24 — Shop Hot New Wireless Offers for Memorial Day!
Orvis, 5/24 — Great gifts for Father's Day + Free Shipping.‏
Ralph Lauren, 5/24 — Suit Up In Swimwear For The Whole Family‏
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AM Inbox: Adding texture to email designs

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Ann Taylor, 5/21 — Ann Taylor & InStyle Present Wear-To-Work Chic Trends‏
I’m noticing a lot more diagonal text lately, as in this Ann Taylor email. Diagonal text is one way to add “texture” to an email. The boxy-ness of email designs tends to make them feel visually very flat. Having pictures or text that are slightly askew, having elements that overlap with each other, and having images that “break the grid” and stick out of the email design on either side can all add texture. HP (see Apr. 12 AM Inbox) and Coach (see Dec. 31 AM Inbox also provide good examples of using these tactics to add some depth and texture to their designs.



Spiegel, 5/21 — Expert Tips + Makeovers at our NEW Beauty Boutique!
Last month Spiegel launched their Signature Style Magazine (see Apr. 27 AM Inbox) and then redesigning their header and navigation bar (see Apr. 30 AM Inbox). Now they’re leveraging that content to create more of an editorial email. Integrating more editorial content into promotional email streams is definitely a growing trend among retailers. Spiegel does a good job of using rules to create content blocks, although some of the text is so small that it’s difficult to read. Also, they could better optimize the design for preview pane by pulling the Signature Style Magazine logo up into the header area rather than treating it as a second header.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
NFLshop, 5/23 — Design Your Own NFL Gear For Father’s Day‏
Walgreens, 5/22 — 50 Prints $5 + 25% OFF Gifts and Cards for DADs and GRADs‏
Spiegel, 5/22 — Give Your Grads the Gift of Style + Special Gift Card Offer!‏
HP, 5/23 — Must See Deals on PC's for Graduates and Students‏
Crutchfield, 5/23 — Memorial Day savings... hundreds of specials at Crutchfield‏
Neiman Marcus, 5/22 — Summer Planner: We now pronounce you uber CHIC‏
JC Whitney, 5/21 — It's Towing Season - The Gear You Need Plus $5 To Ship!‏
Dell, 5/22 — Dell Notes: tips and tricks for hi-tech summer travel‏
Williams-Sonoma, 5/21 — New! Vitamix- The Most Powerful Blender on the Market‏
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Week-End Trends: Late Memorial Day lowers email volume

Email activity and seasonal trends during the past week:

The Retail Email Index: Top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 2.6 promotional emails on average during the week ending May 21, 2010. That’s down 3% week-over-week, down 6% from where it was four weeks ago, and up 3% year-over-year—the second lowest year-over-year change recorded in the past 4 years.



The Retail Email Participation Rate: Monday was the most popular day to send retail emails last week.



The Retail Email Seasonality Meter: Memorial Day messaging will dominate this week. With the holiday falling on the last day of the month this year, it lead to lower email volume last week.



Selling Seasons on the Horizon:
Graduation (May-June): Graduation 2009 Season Finale
Memorial Day (5/31): Memorial Day 2009 Season Finale
Father’s Day (6/20): Father’s Day 2009 Season Finale
Independence Day (7/4): 4th of July 2009 Season Finale
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AM Inbox: Dedicated social emails with different focal points

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Kohl’s, 5/18 — Wanna be friends?
Kohl’s is the latest major retailer to send a dedicated social email to drive traffic to and fan growth at their social network presence. This is actually a kind of follow-up to an email they sent in March that asked email subscribers to share their “savings story” on Facebook. That email was focused on the story-sharing request, whereas in this message that call-to-action is secondary to a straight-forward fan request. That primary message block is followed up by banners that call out some content that’s on their Facebook page, and then there’s a tertiary messaging asking subscribers to follow them on Twitter. On that note, I’m pretty shocked that they haven’t been able to wrestle @kohls away from whomever is squatting on that account name. They’re blessed with a short brand name and it’s a shame they can’t leverage that economy of characters on Twitter.

Here’s the new email…



And here’s that Mar. 23 email:



L.L. Bean, 5/18 — FREE Shipping + Easy-Fitting Summer Favorites‏
Following in the footsteps of Wal-Mart (see Nov. 23 AM Inbox) and Barnes & Noble (see July 8 AM Inbox), L.L. Bean has made product reviews available on mobile devices to support store shoppers.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Bass Pro Shops, 5/18 — Memorial Holiday Sale at BassPro.com‏
Cabela’s, 5/19 — Memorial Day Sale: Start summer off with the right gear‏
Wal-Mart, 5/20 — Get Ready for Memorial Day With Great Savings on Home Essentials‏
Linens ’n Things, 5/18 — Save 10% This Week For Memorial Day!‏
Ralph Lauren, 5/18 — Our Favorite Gifts For Dad‏
Tiffany & Co., 5/20 — Gifts for the Graduate
Apple, 5/18 — iPad. A graduation gift unlike any other.
Fingerhut, 5/20 — Fingerhut: Shop the Gift Finder for the NEW Graduate!‏
HP, 5/19 — NEW HP Laptops for the New Grad‏
Coach, 5/19 — Coach News: Kristin, grad gifts, more‏
Gap, 5/18 — Sunwashed Summer Styles Designed for Guys‏
Ann Taylor, 5/18 — In The Tropics: Our New Collection Is Here + Buy One, Get One 50% Off!‏
Montgomery Ward, 5/19 — Make Your Outdoors Great with Wards!
Barnes & Noble, 5/18 — Perfect Pairing: 30% off a Hot New Book + Special Offer on an Ice Cold Frappuccino(R)
Musician’s Friend, 5/20 — Musician's Friend: View Our Interactive June Recording Catalog Online Now‏
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Season Finale: Easter 2010

A look back on seasonal trends, email activity and standout B2C marketing:

Start to finish: The first reference to Easter was on Jan. 17. The final reference was on Apr. 5.

The biggest day for Easter emails was Friday, Apr. 2, the last weekday before Easter. Retailers sent the majority of their Easter-themed emails after Mar. 22.



Most interesting emails: I’m a big fan of Harry & David’s use of animated gifs. This Mar. 22 email, with the subject line “Ear-resistible! Exclusive Easter Gifts They'll Love ...,” should be added to their list of animated gif hits. It works in several ways: First, the ears poke up into the header area, which is unusual and should really get folks’ attention. It actually pokes so far up into the header that they made the header a little taller to accommodate the ears. For me, it’s a faint echo of HP’s Ginormica email (see 2009 Design Hall of Fame). Second, the animation brings your eye down the email, enticing you to scroll. And third—and perhaps most importantly—it makes me want to emulate the animation and eat one of these bunnies myself.



Here’s the animated portion of this email:



Toys “R” Us put a bigger emphasis on Easter sales this year, running a daily deals series of emails and using a Easter-themed header for many of their emails. Christmas-themed headers are not unusual, but Easter ones are and Toys “R” Us’s emails really stood out because of this design tactic.



Multichannel tactics: In this Mar. 23 email, with the subject line “You're Invited! 3D Easter Adventure, Sat. 12 – 2pm. FREE Giveaways & More!” Toys “R” Us promoted a 3D Easter Adventure featuring Crayola products. It’s a nice way to engage parents and kids with some free Easter fun and expose them to Crayola’s new 3D products. There seemed to be few retailers having any kind of Easter events to store drive traffic.



Standout subject lines:
Harry & David, 3/5 — 1st Peep: NEW Easter Gifts!
Lillian Vernon, 3/3 — You Don't Have to Hunt for These Easter Deals
Harry & David, 3/26 — Get sHOPpin' ... LAST DAY for Standard Delivery + Offer Inside

Read previous Easter Season Finales: 2009, 2008, 2007,

Explore Easter tag.
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AM Inbox: Going after the full spectrum of graduates

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Toys “R” Us, 5/17 — Grad Gifts for Scholars of ANY Age! View our favorites‏
Graduation isn’t just for college and high school students anymore, although the most money is certainly spent on graduation gifts for those two groups. Students moving on from middle school, elementary school and even kindergarten are recognized by many parents. In this email, Toys “R” Us goes after the full spectrum of graduates with landing pages with assortments that are tailored to each age group. Beyond the advantage of the targeted landing pages, subscribers’ clicks can be used for progressive profiling, giving Toys “R” Us a better idea of the ages of kids in a subscriber’s household. This can be used for segmentation and dynamic content in later emails.



Home Depot, 5/17 — Spring Cyber Monday: 5/17 Only- Online Only!
I have mixed feelings about one-day sales announced on the day of the sale. On the one hand, there’s tremendous urgency to take action. But on the other hand, the majority of subscribers probably won’t see the email about the sale until it’s over, possibly causing frustration. Home Depot takes an interesting approach in this email, adding a message to the email after the sale expired that tells subscribers to expect another “Cyber Monday” deal next week.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Sam’s Club, 5/17 — Memorial Day is on the way! Shop today.
Crate & Barrel, 5/17 — Up to 20% off select Outdoor sets (think Memorial Day...)
Brookstone, 5/17 — Friend, Free Shipping! Fire up the BBQ with our Smart, New Tools!‏
Ann Taylor, 5/17 — Starts Today: The Summer Style Event - Buy One Get One 50% Off Full-Price!
Bluefly, 5/17 — YOU GIVE ME FEVER - Rock Leather & Studs!‏
Wal-Mart, 5/17 — Introducing Top Values: A Special Selection of Great Money Savers‏
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Bird Watching: Are personalized greetings worthwhile?

If you’re not on Twitter yet, here are the kinds of conversations that you’re missing:

@mostew >> Including a person's first name used to increased response, now I think it's just a red flag for spam #emailgeek

@djwaldow >> Agreed! RT @mostew: Including a person's first name used to increased response, now I think it's just a red flag for spam #emailgeek

@bostonmarketer >> @djwaldow really? do you have data on that?

@djwaldow >> @bostonmarketer I do not, but I bet @mostew and/or @RetailEmailBlog both do. I've blogged about it before. Just bleeds IMpersonal to me.

@bostonmarketer >> @djwaldow but how would a standard salutation be more personal?

@coskier >> @mostew In subject line, or in the email body, or it doesn't matter? (first name thing)

@djwaldow >> @bostonmarketer I think (just opinion, no data to support) that first name personalization (esp in subj line) is hokey. Talking mktg emails

@mostew >> @bostonmarketer @djwaldow for subject lines, 5 yrs ago 1st name = good. 2 yrs ago #s showed 0 diff. My opinion that it's < today

@mostew >> @coskier in the subject line especially. In the body, not as bad.

@coskier >> @mostew Good to know, have had some people asking to do it in the subject, but I have been hesitant.

@bostonmarketer >> @mostew thx. But what abou body of email?

@mostew >> @bostonmarketer depens on copy. Is it forced or does it make sense? "Dear Morgan" feels forced. Name assoc with my account makes sense.

@RetailEmailBlog >> @bostonmarketer Depends on content in email. Personalized greetings ring false in mass mailings, but can enhance targeted/triggered emails.

@bostonmarketer >> @mostew I mean "Dear Morgan" type. Is this your personal feeling, or is this overall?

@bostonmarketer >> @RetailEmailBlog wow... have you done research on that?

@RetailEmailBlog >> @bostonmarketer Nothing formal, but that's what we've observed with our clients regarding personalized greetings.

@mostew >> @bostonmarketer "Dear Morgan" doesn't make any difference (done test)-"Dear Customer" when FName is unknown is a problem. Net = why bother?

@RetailEmailBlog >> @bostonmarketer Agree w/ @mostew. Plus, flubbing a personalized greeting makes it super impersonal. I see that error pretty often.

@KNLorenz >> Personalized greeting: I don't get the appeal unless B2B or transactional. Use info you do have beyond name to personalize @retailemailblog

Want to join the conversation? Just reply to @RetailEmailBlog to chime in.
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AM Inbox: NFLshop dramatically redesigns template

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

NFLshop, 5/16 — Spring It On - NFL T-Shirts For Everyone + New Arrivals‏
In the wake of Home Depot and Buy.com redesigning their emails (see May 14 AM Inbox), NFLshop has redesigned theirs, making a number of dramatic changes. First, they’ve added more color, making the header blue and adding a fun background image behind the body of the email. I widened the viewing pane so you could better appreciate the hash marks that run along the side of the body copy. That said, the header seems overemphasized by running the header background all the way across the screen. Second, the header itself is expanded, making room for better branding, “join our community” appeals, and a navigation bar that’s been expanded by three links to 11, which is far exceeds the average among retailers. Third, they’ve changed the text nav links for their “Shop by Team” bar to a graphical nav, using teams’ logos. The move saves a lot of space and I wouldn’t be surprised if navigating by logo is more intuitive than by team name. Fourth, in the body, they’ve gone from a three-across grid to a four-across grid—and they did it without increasing the width of the email, which stayed at 700 pixels. The new product grid also boxes in each item, more clearly delineating content modules. While making all these changes, NFLshop does a great job of continuing to use HTML text throughout the design so lots of content shows up with images are blocked. And finally, I love how they made progressive profiling part of the debut of their new design, asking subscribers what their favorite team is. In the past, NFLshop has used that information to personalize subject lines and to send alerts for new products for your team.

NFLshop last redesigned their email template last August (see Aug. 10 AM Inbox).

Here’s the new design…



And here’s the old design from a May 9 email:



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Cooking.com, 5/14 — Grills Gone Wild - This Year's Must-Have Grilling Accessories
Macy’s, 5/15 — Outdoor furniture: incredible savings and bonuses + fantastic financing!‏
Ann Taylor, 5/14 — Summer Styles Starting At $24 + Ann Taylor & Instyle Present Wear-To-Work Chic
Finish Line, 5/14 — Sandals! Over 100 Styles From 13 Of The Hottest Brands!
Neiman Marcus, 5/15 — Summer Planner: Picnic in the park style‏
RitzCamera, 5/15 — Graduation Gift Deals, Tips For Memorable Graduation Photos‏
Dell, 5/15 — Select grad gifts on sale - XBOX 360 Bundle only $269.99‏
Target, 5/16 — Happy gift season: Great deals on gifts for weddings + other occasions.‏
Newegg, 5/15 — GUERRILLA DEAL ATTACK! 9 crazy deals available for 48 hours only‏
JCPenney, 5/16 — Company's Coming! Make Up Their Beds For Less‏
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Week-End Trends: Later Memorial Day to sap Father’s Day messaging

Email activity and seasonal trends during the past week:

The Retail Email Index: Top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 2.7 promotional emails on average during the week ending May 14, 2010. That’s down 2% week-over-week, up 2% from where it was four weeks ago, and up 21% year-over-year.



The Retail Email Participation Rate: Friday was the most popular day to send retail emails last week.



The Retail Email Seasonality Meter: Last week, we got our first reference to the 4th of July. It should be interesting to see how retailers divide their focus between Memorial Day and Father’s Day, with the former falling a week later this year.



Selling Seasons on the Horizon:
Graduation (May-June): Graduation 2009 Season Finale
Memorial Day (5/31): Memorial Day 2009 Season Finale
Father’s Day (6/20): Father’s Day 2009 Season Finale
Independence Day (7/4): 4th of July 2009 Season Finale
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AM Inbox: Home Depot and Buy.com redesign emails

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Home Depot, 5/13 — Order in Time for Memorial Day: FREE Shipping on Patio Sets, Grills & More!
Home Depot has redesigned their email template, creating a cleaner design that emphasizes prices. While product names got larger treatments in the old design, prices are now preeminent. The more muted product grid reminds me of the NikeStore redesign (see Nov. 2 AM Inbox). Even more striking is Home Depot’s use of partial images of products, which really stands apart from the full-frame images that other big box retailers are using. The redesign also increases the width of their emails to 660 pixels, from 620. One element that seems problematic is that they retained their orange call-to-action button, which blends into the orange background of the hero area. They could probably create an inverted button that uses orange text on a white background for instances like that.

Here’s the new design (left) and the old design from a May 10 email:



Buy.com, 5/13 — Waterproof Digital Camera $99.99, DataTraveler $7.95, 16" Notebook $412.80, Swiss Army Vivante Collection Watch $99.99,..‏
Buy.com also redesigned their Buy.com Deals emails, producing a more streamline design. The header in the new design is about 60 pixels shorter and the width of the email is 25 pixels thinner, at just 560 pixels wide. As with Home Depot’s, Buy.com’s new design is more muted and cleaner. The new design retains the animated gif that offers a preview of items farther down in the email. Oddly, the new animated gif includes the header, which is static. That adds unnecessary size to the gif.

Here’s the new design…



Including the animation:



And here’s the old design from a May 12 email:



Including the animation:



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Fingerhut, 5/13 — Check Out the NEWEST Updates to Fingerhut.com!
NikeStore, 5/12 — Nike Free Run+: The Next Best Thing to Barefoot Running
DisneyStore, 5/13 — Free Shipping + New Dooney & Bourke from Disney Parks!
HP, 5/13 — Great Graduation Deals from HP
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AM Inbox: First reference to the 4th of July

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Lillian Vernon, 5/12 — New Ways to Save 80% in the Sale - Plus, an Added 10% Off Inside!‏
While they don’t mention it explicitly, I’m going to call the “Patriotic ‘Fireworks’ Wreath” in this Lillian Vernon email the first reference to the 4th of July. For ideas and insights for your 4th of July campaigns, check out the 4th of July 2009 Season Finale.



Chadwick’s, 5/12 — Hurry! Our 3-Hour exclusive starts now!
Lunchtime and midnight madness deals, where a promotion runs for just a few hours in the middle of the day or middle of the night, are not uncommon. In this email, Chadwick’s puts their own unique spin on these limited-time offers by having a discount that decreases throughout the day. It’s similar to a recent Gap email that promoted discounts that diminished over the course of several days (see Apr. 28 AM Inbox).



TigerDirect, 5/12 — chad@url.com, did you see the coupons Carl added to the Tiger email? See attached...‏
TigerDirect’s emails have been getting wider and wider over the past few days. Yesterday’s email was 815 pixels wide, which is extremely wide, according to the findings of our Soon Even More Emails Won’t Be Optimized for Width report. Their May 11 email was a more reasonable 720 pixels wide, and their May 10 email was a very reasonable 660 pixels wide. It’s good to test email width, but we certainly recommend widths between 600 and 700 pixels.

You’ll need to click through to the full-sized image to see the full width, but the difference is noticeable by looking at the navigation bar, which wasn’t changed in the wider versions.







SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Neiman Marcus, 5/12 — Are you living with your head in the clouds? [promoting items for frequent fliers]
NFLshop, 5/12 — New Product Alert: New York Giants Dad T-Shirts
Diamond.com, 5/12 — Perfect Graduation Gifts - Get 20% Off
eBags, 5/12 — Summer Kickoff Event
Ann Taylor, 5/12 — Summer Tees - Buy 1 Get 1 50% Off!
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AM Inbox: Where to do the reveal for mystery deal emails

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Gap, 5/11 — Love a Good Mystery? Save Up to 40%
For this mystery deal email, Gap reveals your savings during checkout. However, testing that we’ve done indicate that revealing the subscriber’s savings on the landing page produces a better response. That said, the Gap Inc. brands have done quite a few mystery deal campaigns, so it’s likely that their audience responds better to their approach. So if you’re going to do a mystery deal campaign, I would recommend testing doing the reveal on the landing page and in the cart. The difference in response will likely be significant.



Cooking.com, 5/11 — Wusthof Savings up to 60% + Free Shipping
There’s something about script fonts that seem like a natural fit for testimonials from products reviews. They seem more sincere. Cooking.com uses a script font for the review in this email. The downside of these fonts is that they can be a little difficult to read, especially if there’s a lot of text. As an alternative, consider using the script just for the attribution, as Sephora as done in the past (see May 19, 2009 AM Inbox). If you regularly use product review testimonials in your emails, consider testing script fonts.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Tiffany & Co., 5/11 — Gifts for the Graduate
Linens ’n Things, 5/11 — Celebrate May Days with 99 Cent Shipping!
Kohl’s, 5/11 — A toy. A story. A way to help kids.‏
Costco, 5/11 — Keep the Party Going and Enjoy the Evening Outdoors - Patio Heater $30 OFF
Eddie Bauer, 5/11 — Summer's Must-Have Tees
Bluefly, 5/11 — We Mean Business - Wear to Work Dresses Starting at 40% Off
RitzCamera, 5/11 — Trade In, Trade Up! Get Credit For Your Used Camera Equipment
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Bird Watching: Are emails that are 'one big image' a worst practice?

If you’re not on Twitter yet, here are the kinds of conversations that you’re missing:

@RetailEmailBlog >> Can we please put to rest the myth that designing an email as "one big image" is a worst practice?

@jacaldwell >> +1 RT @RetailEmailBlog: Can we please put to rest the myth that designing an email as "one big image" is a worst practice?

@scottcohen13 >> Uh oh, fightin' words. RT @RetailEmailBlog: Can we please put to rest the myth that designing an email as "1 big image" is a worst practice?

@jacaldwell >> it always depends, hence not 'worst' RT @RetailEmailBlog: put to rest the myth that designing an email as "one big image" is worst practice

@dtboyd >> @RetailEmailBlog I would agree with you that it is not a worst practice but the situation is unique to every campaign/brand

@RetailEmailBlog >> While value brands need to use more HTML text, lifestyle brands can benefit from heavy image usage.

@JesseBouman >> RT @RetailEmailBlog: While value brands need to use more HTML text, lifestyle brands can benefit from heavy image usage.

@iupress >> @RetailEmailBlog YES! I just designed an email as one big image. Sometimes it works best that way.

@RetailEmailBlog >> All that said, I'm a huge fan of HTML text navigation bars and preheader text. Highly visual brands should definitely use those.

@stylecampaign >> @RetailEmailBlog I like how UK retailers Next/Evans add HTML text above fold & images below: http://tinyurl.com/2clq9mk

@remybergsma >> RT @RetailEmailBlog Can we please put to rest the myth that designing an email as "one big image" is a worst practice?

@jvanrijn >> @RetailEmailBlog Big images are not evil, but smart design can yield better results

@jvanrijn >> @RetailEmailBlog How are you going to put alt text that big image? At least cut the CTA's up into Tables and give them a bgcolor ;)

@RetailEmailBlog >> @jvanrijn Many big image emails tend to focus on 1 CTA, so alt text isn't a problem. But we do love bulletproof buttons: http://bit.ly/RR1yt

@Austin_Williams >> @RetailEmailBlog This also depends on who the email is going to. If the recipient is expecting the email, I think big images are fine.

@Austin_Williams >> @RetailEmailBlog That being said, I don't think we sent out an email with one big image in over two years.

@getelastic >> @retailemailblog I just saw a case study where big image improved click through 75% (slide 4) http://ow.ly/1KeQG

@jvanrijn >> @retailemailblog Best practice=more than 1 CTA(link,button) Who clicked where?Optimize by slicing big images! http://bit.ly/8X0oq8

@netatlantic >> @RetailEmailBlog the big image works great for readers at their desk with HTML enabled and images turned on.

@RetailEmailBlog >> @jvanrijn I don't think having 1 CTA is technically a best practice. Sometimes you want subscribers to do one thing. More CTAs=distractions

@RetailEmailBlog >>@netatlantic Having 1 big image can also convince subscribers to turn on images. As others have said, no absolute answer on this issue.

Want to join the conversation? Just reply to @RetailEmailBlog to chime in.
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AM Inbox: Influences from print media

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Neiman Marcus, 5/10 — The only LOOKBOOK with FINE PRINT
While repurposing print campaigns for email is a recipe for underperformance, there are some things that email can learn from print. For instance, there are many design conventions used in print that consumers are very used to, conventions that can be used in email. This Neiman Marcus email uses a design that borrows from fashion magazines where everything think a model is wearing is listed out. The landing page presents a “Shop this Look” call-to-action. I was disappointed that I couldn’t click through to particular items, however.



Frederick’s of Hollywood, 5/10 — A free thong, new swimwear + $15 off your $75 order.‏
Not sure what happened with this email, but I received it twice—once with their usual sender address (offers@fredericks.com) and then again with a new one (news@offers.fredericks.com). If you’re going to change your sender address, consider adding or changing the whitelisting request at the top of your emails beforehand to prevent all of your subscribers from getting security warnings and having images blocked.

SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Fingerhut, 5/10 — Fingerhut: Get Everything You Need for College Life!
Home Depot, 5/10 — Shop Now for Memorial Day and Save on Appliances, Patios, Grills & More!
Sam’s Club, 5/10 — Luxurious outdoor living for less with Sam's Club
Coach, 5/10 — Limited edition Beach Collection is in
Alloy, 5/10 — Jeans: Inseams up to 37" + Free Shipping
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AM Inbox: The top 3 of 10

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

REI, 5/7 — Top 10 Cycling Picks
I’ve seen a lot of top 10 lists in emails, but I haven’t seen one that teases the clickthrough like this one does. In the subject line and headline, REI trumpets their “Top 10” picks, but the body copy only includes their top 3. To see the rest you have to click through to the landing page. It’s a tactic that reminds me of the “What to Wear 7 Days a Week” email Banana Republic sent that only showed two and a half of the days (see Feb. 18 AM Inbox).



GameStop, 5/7 — Your Awesome Weekly Offers - 5/7/10. Come Get 'em!
GameStop has changed up the subject line format for their weekly offers emails. If they’d used their traditional format, this subject line would have been “GameStop Weekly Offers 5.7.10.” While this new format loses the GameStop branding, the voice used here is much, much more representative of the voice they use in the body copy of their emails, which is fun, geeky and a little juvenile at times—spot on for their target audience. Hopefully, in this new format, the slots filled by “Awesome” and “Come Get ‘em” will change every week to keep the subject lines fresh.

L.L. Bean, 5/7 — FREE Shipping + NEW to Sale--Save up to 50%
The subject line of this email immediately made me think of the research AlchemyWorx recently did into the best way to separate items in a subject line. Here, the plus-sign indicates a new idea and the double-dash signals a continuation/clarification of the previous idea. These separator elements are definitely worth experimenting with.

Petco, 5/9 — PETCO | May Savings, Articles & More + FREE Shipping!‏
In this email, Petco does a clever job of working in keywords and the sentiment of Mother’s Day and Memorial Day without actually referencing either directly. Their “Pet Parent Tribute Sale” is their spin on Mother’s Day, and their “Pet Cancer Awareness Memorial Wall” is their spin on Memorial Day.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Coach, 5/8 — Mother's Day made easy: store pick-up
Sports Authority, 5/7 — As Seen On Oprah, Gift For Mom + Get $25 Cash Card
Hallmark, 5/7 — Send Mother's Day E-Cards, Mobile Greetings & More
Office Depot, 5/7 — There's Still Time to Shop for Mom: Save $10 on Your $30+ Purchase | 3 Days Only
Lane Bryant, 5/9 — This One's For You, Mom - 25% Off All 3 Brands Today Only
Ann Taylor, 5/7 — Starts Today: 25% Off Entire Purchase + The Mother's Day Shopping Event!
Avon, 5/7 — MOTHER's DAY Weekend Spree Starts Today
The Company Store, 5/7 — In Honor of Mom - $25 Gift Card with Purchase
Saks Fifth Avenue, 5/8 — La Mer for Mom + A Special Offer
Blair, 5/8 — Celebrate Mother's Day with this 99¢ shipping special
Ralph Lauren, 5/9 — Celebrate Mother's Day With Special Private Sale Savings
Bluefly, 5/9 — EXTRA 10% OFF Everything – Happy Mother’s Day!‏
Target, 5/9 — Happy Mother's Day deal: Free shipping when you spend $50.
Disney Store, 5/9 — Get 25% OFF - Happy Mother's Day! Ends Tonight
Chadwick’s, 5/9 — 99¢ Shipping! Plus: Mom's FREE Gift has been reserved
Walgreens, 5/9 — 30 Prints Only $3 + 25% OFF GREAT GIFTS FOR GRADS
NFLshop, 5/9 — New NFL Gear - Just In Time For Father's Day!
Frederick’s of Hollywood, 5/7 — An e-mail only for femme fatales.
Eddie Bauer, 5/8 — Another First! The Revolutionary BC-200
J. Jill, 5/7 — Save $20. Plus, what's black and white, and always right?
Neiman Marcus, 5/7 — Cocktail hour? Count us in
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Week-End Trends: Retailers to shift attention to Memorial Day next

Email activity and seasonal trends during the past week:

The Retail Email Index: Top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 2.7 promotional emails on average during the week ending May 7, 2010. That’s down 3% week-over-week, up 2% from where it was four weeks ago, and up 14% year-over-year.



The Retail Email Participation Rate: Friday, the last weekday before Mother’s Day, was the most popular day to send retail emails last week.



The Retail Email Seasonality Meter: With all but express shipping still an option, retailers wound down their Mother’s Day messaging toward the end of last week. Cinco de May saw more interest from retailers this year, although that interest level is still very low compared to other holidays (see the May 6 AM Inbox for a Cinco de Mayo recap). With Mother’s Day nearly behind us, retailers will shift their attention to Memorial Day messaging.



Selling Seasons on the Horizon:
Graduation (May-June): Graduation 2009 Season Finale
Memorial Day (5/31): Memorial Day 2009 Season Finale
Father’s Day (6/20): Father’s Day 2009 Season Finale
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Ping Time: Triggered emails, success metrics, etc.

My latest spin around the mediasphere turned up the following nuggets:

>>Loren McDonald of Silverpop talks about the power of triggered emails. >>Follow the ping

>>EMarketer shares the results of a Chief Marketer survey about which metrics companies use to measure interactive marketing success. (Spoiler alert: It’s not ROI.) >>Hint: Follow the ping

>>Christopher Penn of Blue Sky Factory explains why you’re only hurting yourself by letting your ESP host the web version of your emails. >>Follow the ping

>>The email strategists at Bronto Software discuss the tactic of including an incentive on the opt-out page to try to retain subscribers. >>Follow the ping

>>Scott Cohen interviews me about how I got started in email marketing, my favorite blogs, where I see mobile headed, and variety of other things. >>Follow the ping

>>In Smith-Harmon’s latest Email Insider column, Alex Madison and Lisa Harmon discuss the key differences and similarities between B2B and B2C email creative. >>Follow the ping
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AM Inbox: Fourth major retailer elevates opt-out link to top of email

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

eBags, 5/6 — Insider-Only Sale: Extra 25% Off one item‏
Starting with a Apr. 25 email, eBags added an unsubscribe link to their header, making them the fourth major retailer to do so. The others that use this tactic include 1-800-Flowers.com, Norm Thompson, and PC Connection. For more on this trend, read the Apr. 8 AM Inbox.



Crutchfield, 5/6 — Save up to 40% at the Crutchfield Outlet Store
Crutchfield uses a tabbed navigation bar to highlight their three stores. Each of their emails is focused on a particular store, usually Crutchfield.com. Those emails uses blue as its signature color (see Apr. 1 AM Inbox), but when they highlight other stores they change the signature. For example, in this outlet-focused email, they use red, orange and brown for the nav links and calls-to-action buttons. It helps subscribers instantly recognize the different emails that they send.



Kohl’s, 5/6 — 60-80% Off CLEARANCE Items. Shop Now.
A fair number of retailers now include gift services footers (GSFs) in their holiday emails, but Kohl’s is among a few retailers that have adopted the tactic for other major holidays like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. When using GSFs, it’s important to change them over the course of the season to maximize their relevancy. Here at the end of the Mother’s Day season, I love how they’re promoting e-gift cards under the subhead “Mother’s Day S.O.S.”



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Lane Bryant, 5/6 — Just In Time For Mother's Day - 25% Off Storewide
Victoria’s Secret, 5/6 — Give Mom the Brightest Bouquet. Plus, Exclusive Store Offer.
Walgreens, 5/6 — Free 8x10 Collage Print FOR MOM 50 Prints for $5 & 33% OFF Gifts
Linens ’n Things, 5/6 — Celebrate Mom! Extra 20% Off + $2.99 Shipping!‏
Newegg, 5/6 — Exclusive Coupon: $10 off the Sony DASH! Plus, Last-Minute Mother's Day Gifts...
Nordstrom, 5/6 — Spring Dresses Lighten Up Mother's Day is May 9
Abercrombie & Fitch, 5/6 — Bold tees set the tone for summer!
Old Navy, 5/6 — Super Search Final Three: Vote for Your Fave!
Neiman Marcus, 5/6 — TREND REPORT: The Preview of Fall
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