Week-End Trends: Majority of retailers have begun their holiday email marketing campaigns

Email activity and seasonal trends during the past week:

The Retail Email Index: Top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 3.0 promotional emails on average during the week ending Oct. 29, 2010. That’s down 1% week-over-week, on par with where it was four weeks ago, and up 19% year-over-year.



First References to the Holidays: As of Oct. 29, 57% of top online retailers had begun their holiday email marketing campaigns. Prior to October, first references to the holidays by retail email marketers we’re running ahead of both 2008 and 2009 levels. But during the first weeks of October, first mentions slowed to below the levels seen in 2008 when retailers were urgent to kick off the holiday season before the economy got any worse. However, last week first references to the holiday season surged and now stand back ahead of 2009 and 2008.



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 Black Friday, which is Nov. 26 this year. Over the next two weeks, Veterans Day will have its small moment, but it will be dwarfed by Thanksgiving references, which in turn will be dwarfed by references to the holidays and Christmas. By mid November, more than half of all retail emails will include at least one reference to the holidays.



Selling Seasons on the Horizon:
Thanksgiving (11/25): Thanksgiving 2009 Season Finale
Christmas (12/25): Christmas 2009 Season Finale and the 2010 Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season
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Ping Time: Outlook 2011 rendering, new Yahoo Mail, etc.

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

>>Tweet of the Week: @aliverson: Javascript in email: Bad idea, or really bad idea? Discuss.

>>The Email Standards Project reports the happy news that Outlook 2011 for the Mac will use Webkit to render HTML, not Word. >>Follow the ping

>>Matt Vernhout of EmailKarma discusses the changes to the new Yahoo Mail. >>Follow the ping

>>EMarketer points out that consumers will be taking a very multichannel approach to their holiday shopping, with a majority of consumers researching online and buying in store. >>Follow the ping

>>George Bilbrey of Return Path details what you should include when contacting an ISP about deliverability problems. >>Follow the ping

>>Amanda Withers of Smith-Harmon discusses an email from Uncommon Goods that among my favorites for the year. >>Follow the ping

>>Chris Donald of Inbox Group, along with several collaborators, have put an email marketing twist on Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven. >>Follow the ping

>>In Smith-Harmon’s latest Email Insider column, Alex Madison and Lisa Harmon offers advice on the legal text at the bottom of your emails. >>Follow the ping
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AM Inbox: Daylight Savings approaches

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, 10/28 — 10% Off Appliances with FREE Delivery & Haul Away‏
Home Depot gives us our first reference to Daylight Savings. We fall back an hour on Nov. 7. A minor selling occasion to be sure, Daylight Savings has been used by retailers in a variety of fashions over the years. Promoting watches and clocks are a favorite. Norm Thompson has offered free clocks as an incentive (see Oct. 30, 2009 AM Inbox), Brookstone has promoted clocks that automatically adjust to the right time (see Feb. 26, 2008 AM Inbox), and SmartBargains has used the occasion to have a watch sale. Disney Store has probably had the most fun with the day, using the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland as their ambassador (see Mar. 20, 2008 AM Inbox). Retailers have also included reminders for subscribers to change the batteries in their smoke detectors, which is the tactic that Home Depot leverages in this email. But they put an eco-friendly twist on it by suggesting it as a good time to also switch out your old light bulbs for energy-efficient ones.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Cabela’s, 10/28 — Now's the time! Start your holiday shopping with Free Shipping.‏
Linens ’n Things, 10/28 — Ready for the Holidays? Save Extra 20% Off!
Urban Outfitters, 10/28 — Exclusive First Look: Holiday 2010‏
Disney Store, 10/28 — See Our Top Toys of the Season!
Spiegel, 10/28 — REDBOOK Presents... Elegant GIFT PICKS You'll Love!
1-800-Flowers.com, 10/28 — Halloween's a Scream with 20% Sitewide Savings‏
Bluefly, 10/28 — BOO! Extra 10% Off EVERYTHING - Today Only‏
Newegg, 10/28 — Trick or Treat! $12 OFF Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Pre-Order + Fun Halloween Deals‏
Kmart, 10/28 — $2 Candy Bags and 50% off Costumes at your nearest Kmart‏
OfficeMax, 10/28 — Introducing Text Alerts from OfficeMax‏
Dell, 10/28 — Introducing Dell’s new all-in-one touch screen desktop‏
Coldwater Creek, 10/28 — FREE Shipping + The tees you'll treasure all season‏
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Bird Watching: My #EmailWishList

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

@RetailEmailBlog >> 51% of retailers have begun their holiday email campaigns. To mark the occasion, share your #emailwishlist. Here’s mine…

@RetailEmailBlog >> I wish more retailers’ emails were as creative and fun as Uncommon Goods’. #emailwishlist

@RetailEmailBlog >> I wish Nordstrom would use larger font sizes in their emails. #emailwishlist

@RetailEmailBlog >> I wish more retailers used preferences for segmentation like NFLshop does. #emailwishlist

@RetailEmailBlog >> I wish Finish Line would fix their image alignment issues in Gmail. #emailwishlist

@asouers >> @RetailEmailBlog Ouch, you've got a machine gun over there! I kinda like it.

@emailjuan >> I wish Outlook didn't suck #emailwishlist

@emailjuan >> I wish people would stop referring to email campaigns as email blasts #emailwishlist

@knuss >> I wish I would stop receiving plain text welcome emails #emailwishlist

@aliverson >> I wish Chad would stop filling my twitter stream with his email wishes! #emailwishlist (just kidding, promise!)

@KNLorenz >> @RetailEmailBlog I wish more of the C-Suite "got" email marketing & put resources in to make it successful #emailwishlist

@KNLorenz >> @RetailEmailBlog I wish marketers would increase their email frequency smartly during Q4/holiday season #emailwishlist

@RetailEmailBlog >> Thanks @emailjuan @knuss @aliverson and @KNLorenz for sharing your #emailwishlist. Anyone else have wishes to share?

@timbay >> @retailemailblog I wish people would stop proclaiming the death of email #emailwishlist

@timbay >> @RetailEmailBlog I wish companies used all of the info they have about me to provide truly relevant/personalized emails #emailwishlist

@KFinnegan >> @RetailEmailBlog I wish there was a common email rendering engine (NOT created by Microsoft) used by all email services #emailwishlist

@paulmconnolly3 >> @RetailEmailBlog As a designer I wish more marketers had a dedicated email strategy. No more last min "blasting" #emailwishlist

@EmailEnergetics >> @RetailEmailBlog I wish #emailwishlist. more emails would use display:block on images so there aren't so many emails broken in Gmail

@MarkatEMR >> I wish for more emails that inspire me to smile, laugh, think, escape, dream...and still hit the buy button #emailwishlist

@simmsjenkins >> +1 RT @MarkatEMR: I wish for more emails that inspire me to smile, laugh, think, escape, dream...and still hit the buy button #emailwishlist

@jacaldwell >> @RetailEmailBlog i wish all email vendors will adopt the S.A.M.E email metric standards by Christmas http://bit.ly/aXmNfu #emailwishlist

@rorycarlyle >> @retailemailblog I wish that clients would impose a standardized rendering engine for ease of development. #emailwishlist

@jacaldwell >> @RetailEmailBlog i wish emailers would understand appending means data to email addresses, not the other way around #emailwishlist

@inboxgroup >> @RetailEmailBlog I wish "industry average open/click rate" would just die. #emailwishlist

@scottcohen13 >> +1 RT @rorycarlyle: @retailemailblog I wish clients would impose a standardized rendering engine for ease of development. #emailwishlist

@scottcohen13 >> I wish email vendors would require at least a week of best practices training with each new customer. #emailwishlist / cc @RetailEmailBlog

@inboxgroup >> +1 RT @scottcohen13: I wish email vendors would require a week of best practices training 4 new customer. #emailwishlist @RetailEmailBlog

@KNLorenz >> @scottcohen13 You can try to teach a man to fish, but if he doesn't want fish, it'll be a waste of both parties' time. cc @retailemailblog

@scottcohen13 >> @KNLorenz True, but I call it due diligence. You have an excellent reason to say no to a client if you've performed due diligence.

@inboxgroup >> You can always tell them to fish somewhere else. RT @KNLorenz: @scottcohen13 cc @retailemailblog

@rorycarlyle >> RT @KNLorenz: @RetailEmailBlog I wish more of the C-Suite "got" email marketing & put resources in to make it successful #emailwishlist

@KNLorenz >> @scottcohen13 I hear ya, but to an ESP, best practices are not the same thing as accepted practices.

@KNLorenz >> @inboxgroup "Batch & Blasts" will not & should not get you kicked off an ESP. It's all about education & helping those that want it improve

@scottcohen13 >> @KNLorenz True, again. But you can spend the time teaching basics of permission, CAN-SPAM, deliverability, etc.

@scottcohen13 >> @KNLorenz For example, my co-workers didn't understood that Hotmail controlled what went to the inbox for their customers.

@scottcohen13 >> @KNLorenz I'm guessing 6 out of 10 of your new customers are not as locked in as I am or you are into even accepted practices.

@Lukes_Tweets >> I wish ESPs would make it easier to export individual data points by subscriber/message. #emailwishlist @scottcohen13 @RetailEmailBlog

@KNLorenz >> @scottcohen13 @inboxgroup Agreed. We have all new clients sign an agreement not to violate our permission policies & walk thru it w/ them

@inboxgroup >> AMEN @Lukes_Tweets: I wish ESPs would make it easier to export individual data points by subscriber/message. #emailwishlist @RetailEmailBlog

@scottcohen13 >> @KNLorenz I understand. The exercise was #emailwishlist. Since I'm a client, I'll have a diff perspective on what vendors should provide.

@KNLorenz >> @scottcohen13 Absolutely - and it's good insight from the other side of the aisle!

@KNLorenz >> I wish for emails that show the marketer I've done business with has any idea who I am and what my interests are #emailwishlist

@KNLorenz >> RT @rorycarlyle: I wish that clients would impose a standardized rendering engine for ease of development. #emailwishlist (KL: YES)

@dkrier >> RT @Lukes_Tweets: I wish ESPs would make it easier to export individual data points by subscriber/message. #emailwishlist

@joe262_ >> @RetailEmailBlog I wish more folks would use text/plain , or text/plain within multipart/alternative (No. i wont "upgrade") #emailwishlist

@kheilbrunn >> @emailjuan Me too! http://bit.ly/cfZmr3 #emailwishlist

@emailjuan >> That's amazing! RT @kheilbrunn Me too! http://bit.ly/cfZmr3 #emailwishlist

Want to join the conversation? Just reply to @RetailEmailBlog to chime in.
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AM Inbox: First reference to Black Friday

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

JCPenney, 10/27 — PEOPLE StyleWatch Editors' Fall Must-Haves‏
While several retailers have held “Black Friday” sales on various Fridays over the past several months, JCPenney gives us our first reference to the actual Black Friday in the form of a Facebook fan sweepstakes. This year Black Friday is Nov. 26. For insights and ideas to help you formulate their Black Friday campaigns, check out Black Friday and Cyber Monday Set Retail Email Volume Records.



Overstock, 10/27 — BIG BRANDS ON A BUDGET‏
Product manufacturers spend big bucks building up their brand equity. One way that retailers can tap into that value is by using manufacturers’ logos in their email designs, as Overstock does in this email. REI, Sports Authority and others also regularly used this tactic. Of course, not all brands have enough umph to be highlighted in this way, but it should be considered a tool in your tool belt. For comparison, here’s the email (left) next to an Oct. 24 email that doesn’t include brand logos:



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Ann Taylor, 10/27 — A Sneak Peek At Our Perfect Presents + 3 Days Left - Free Shipping On Everything!
Disney Store, 10/27 — Our Holiday Shop is Now Open! See What's New!
Harry & David, 10/27 — Create Lasting Holiday Memories + SAVE 20% on $50 or more‏
Fingerhut, 10/27 — Fingerhut: Be Ready for Your Holiday Feasts + Get a Recipe!
Frederick’s of Hollywood, 10/27 — New markdowns up to 50% off. New holiday styles. $15 off your order.
Linens ’n Things, 10/26 — Get Holiday Ready & Save 20% Off Your Order!
Lillian Vernon, 10/26 — Holidays will be Here before You Know It! Shop Now and Save 15%
Fingerhut, 10/26 — Fingerhut: Find the HOTTEST Toys for the Holidays!
Barnes & Noble, 10/26 — Why Pay Full Price To Make A Child Happy When You Can Save 20% on Any Toy?
1-800-Flowers.com, 10/27 — Charm Them with One Dozen Assorted Roses, just $19.99 - Last Chance!‏
Brookstone, 10/26 — Ghosts and witches just love the CandyMan!
J&R, 10/26 — Free Shipping Extended Thru Halloween‏
ShopNBC, 10/27 — 5 or more ValuePay - Trick or Treat Surprise!
Bluefly, 10/26 — Cold Weather Boots: The C-C-Coolest Collection - New! & Up to 40% Off‏
REI, 10/27 — Get Outdoors with REI and The Oprah Winfrey Show‏
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Season Finale: Columbus Day 2010

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

Start to finish: The first reference to Columbus Day was on Sept. 27. The final reference was on Oct. 12. The biggest day for Columbus Day emails was Columbus Day itself, Monday, Oct 11. Retailers sent the majority of their Columbus Day-themed emails after Oct. 9.



Most interesting emails: Dick’s Sporting Goods had the most fun with Columbus Day. In an Oct. 11 email with the subject line “Take 14.92% Off Your Order and Discover a World of Savings!” they use the year that Columbus landed in America for their discount and created a kind of skull-and-crossbones with a football and two baseball bats. It’s fun and the offer and call-to-action are very clear.



Linens ’n Things went in a totally different direction. They were the only major retailer that used cause marketing with their Columbus Day campaign, using it as an occasion to support wounded warriors. They kind of treated Columbus Day like Veteran’s Day, which is very odd—but it certainly stood out.



Standout subject lines:
Linens ’n Things, 10/11 — Support Wounded Warriors with LNT Exclusive!
Dick’s Sporting Goods, 10/11 — Take 14.92% Off Your Order and Discover a World of Savings!
Blair, 10/26 — Discover extra 25% savings today‏

Read previous Columbus Day Season Finales: 2009, 2008, 2007

Explore Columbus Day tag.
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AM Inbox: Ross-Simons email template redesign

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

Ross-Simons, 10/25 — New Site Sale! EXTRA Savings This Week!
In the wake of quietly announcing the launch of their new site a couple of weeks ago (see Oct. 12 AM Inbox), Ross-Simons announces the relaunch with a bit more fanfare, including the introduction of a new email template. As it should, the new template design matches the design of the new site. The changes to the template are largely cosmetic, with Ross-Simon going with a more neutral color palette, which has been popular with many template and website redesigns lately. It definitely looks sharper and more polished. They leave the width of their template unchanged at 600 pixels, which is a nice, mobile-friendly width. One of the few substantive changes is that they changed several navigation links, although they held the number of links to eight. While the navigation link text looks like HTML text, it unfortunately isn’t. The other significant change is that they repeat their header at the bottom of the email, using it like a recovery module. It’s a little odd to also repeat the “view with images” and “view on mobile” links so deep into the email, but I have seen other retailers do this.

Here’s the new design (left) and the previous design from an Oct. 16 email:



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
The Company Store, 10/25 — Get ready for holiday house guests...
Sam’s Club, 10/25 — Welcome your holiday guests with style. Save today on new furniture at Sam's Club‏
Avon, 10/25 — Sneak Peek @ Holiday Savings‏
ShopNBC, 10/25 — Holiday Gifts Week ValuePay ON EVERYTHING!
Frederick’s of Hollywood, 10/25 — The holidays rock! Glam new styles & 150+ new gifts under $25.‏
Hanna Andersson, 10/25 — 20% Off Nearly Every Hanna - Get What You Wish!
Cooking.com, 10/25 — Retro Thanksgiving Recipes: Appetizers, Bundt Cakes + Ambrosia‏
1-800-Flowers.com, 10/25 — Halloween's best new treat: Pumpkin Orange Roses + Free Vase, just $29.99‏
Oriental Trading, 10/25 — Last chance for spooktacular Halloween savings + Free Shipping‏
Art.com, 10/25 — Up to 30% Off - In Honor of Picasso's Birthday!
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Bird Watching: Best practices vs. 'It depends'

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

@rorycarlyle >> Is #emailmarketing really a world with no absolutes? How many "it depends" answers does it take to make an #email guru?

@jacaldwell >> it depends RT @rorycarlyle: Is #emailmarketing a world with no absolutes? How many "it depends" answers does it take to make an #email guru?

@rorycarlyle >> @jacaldwell That's +1 in the jar for Caldwell's guru fund. :-)

@ryanpphelan >> test it RT @rorycarlyle: How many "it depends" answers does it take to make an #email guru? (cc: @jacaldwell )

@LorenMcDonald >> @rorycarlyle Been planning to write an article on that 4 years - there are some absolutes, e.g., make it easy 2 unsubscribe #emailmarketing

@rorycarlyle >> Ok folks - survey on new #emailmarketing tag to follow (Gurus Only) - #ItDepends or #ImTooProudToSayIDontKnow

@jacaldwell >> +1 RT @rorycarlyle: @inboxgroup @jacaldwell @ryanphelan @theemailguide @lorenmcdonald - "Universal Best Practices" & "Rules of Engagement"

@LorenMcDonald >> @jacaldwell @rorycarlyle Yes, I stole term from GAAP - changed to GABP - Generally Accepted Best Practices #emailmarketing

@RetailEmailBlog >> @rorycarlyle The big questions have absolute answers. For small ones, the best practice is only right most of the time.

@rorycarlyle >> Ok folks - survey on new #emailmarketing tag to follow (Gurus Only) - #ItDepends or #ImTooProudToSayIDontKnow

@jacaldwell >> lmao - RT @rorycarlyle: Ok folks - survey on new #emailmarketing tag to follow (Gurus Only) - #ItDepends or #ImTooProudToSayIDontKnow

@rorycarlyle >> RT @RetailEmailBlog: @rorycarlyle The big questions have absolute answers. <-- "Winner" So, there are best practices?

@KNLorenz: @rorycarlyle Okay, wow. If everything was an absolute there would be no need for email gurus to help figure out what's best for you.

@inboxgroup >> #ItDepends is like a diaper, it cover everything

@inboxgroup >> @jacaldwell: covers all the questions asked with not enough info given. Hey we're not mind readers... #ItDepends

@RetailEmailBlog >> @rorycarlyle Every time a guru says "Best practices don't exist," an email fairy dies...and a spammer is given new life.

@inboxgroup >> RT @RetailEmailBlog: @rorycarlyle I'm not sure but I think he just called you a fairy, Rory #letthecagematchbegin

@rorycarlyle >> @KNLorenz Disagree. There are and always will be certain things that must be done.

@rorycarlyle >> RT @RetailEmailBlog: @rorycarlyle Every time a guru says "Best practices don't exist," an email fairy dies...and a spammer is given new life

@KNLorenz >> @rorycarlyle From a deliverability perspective, yes (like permission & unsub), most else is "it depends"...con't

@KNLorenz >> @rorycarlyle ...Sometimes breaking "best practices" produces biggest wins ($$) which you wouldn't know if you took as absolute rule.

@rorycarlyle >> @KNLorenz I get that, but the reason you're breaking best practices is because they're improperly defined as a "best practice".

@KNLorenz >> @rorycarlyle I disagree. Best practices change & evolve over time, especially w/ the introduction of new technology like mobile or social.

@KNLorenz >> @rorycarlyle I'll give you an example. For one of my clients, text links as calls to action work extremely well, for another, button ctas.

@rorycarlyle >> @KNLorenz We're still not aligning our terms. If it doesn't apply to two companies it's not a "Universal Best Practice". cont ->

@rorycarlyle >> @KNLorenz We're applying practices to email as a whole. If it only applies to one client ... it's not a best practice.

@KNLorenz >> @rorycarlyle Then what are you considering best practices? Button ctas, social&mobile links are all considered bps, but don't always work.

@rorycarlyle >> @KNLorenz That's the point. There aren't any defined BP's. Everything is lumped into the email ambiguity bucket. Like saying SEO is magic.

@rorycarlyle >> ...exactly. SEO has the same "best practices" as does every piece of marketing deliverable. So, I'm done and out.

@RetailEmailBlog >> Just because a best practice doesn't work for 100% of email marketers doesn't mean it's no longer a best practice.

@krusk >> @RetailEmailBlog what is the logic behind that statement? How can it be a best practice if it's not?

@AdamHoldenBache >> RT @retailemailblog: Just because a best practice doesn't work for 100% of email marketers doesn't mean it's no longer a best practice.

@roanne1 >> Agreed, @RetailEmailBlog. I love 'best practice = practice thats best for you' as seen at http://bit.ly/bAjrZP

@gruidl >> @RetailEmailBlog I'll second that! Key to finding if best practices work for you is in the testing!

@RetailEmailBlog >> @krusk Ex. It's a best practice to avoid spammy, all-caps subject lines. Just because Overstock finds success with them doesn't nullify BP.

@RetailEmailBlog >> Actually I disagree with that statement. RT @roanne1: I love 'best practice = practice thats best for you' as seen at http://bit.ly/bAjrZP

@rorycarlyle >> +1 RT @RetailEmailBlog: I disagree with that statement @roanne1 I love 'best practice = practice thats best for you' -> http://bit.ly/bAjrZP

@SydneyChase >> RT @RetailEmailBlog: I am with you. more like 'best practice = practice that is best of your audience" RT -as seen at http://bit.ly/bAjrZP

@roanne1 >> @RetailEmailBlog mmm. assuming of course that fundamentals are met- 'it depends' and 'test' is truer than 'do it this way'

@RetailEmailBlog >> @roanne1 Just saying that best practices are a starting point. Best practices exist because they're best for most folks.

@krusk >> @RetailEmailBlog ahh now I gotcha. Also think those w/"success" are not measuring properly (ie a/b testing)

@roanne1 >> @RetailEmailBlog Agreed. Great email keeps the basics as non-neg & the 'it depends' as the fun/impactful stuff

@remybergsma >> @RetailEmailBlog best practices are good as basics, starting points. Once one learns, the 'it depends' becomes more important/relevant

@KNLorenz >> RT @remybergsma: best practices are good as starting points. Once one learns, 'it depends' becomes more important/relevant (KL: Great pt!)

Want to join the conversation? Just reply to @RetailEmailBlog to chime in.
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AM Inbox: Why rendering is important for CAN-SPAM compliance

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

Ralph Lauren, 10/22 — Latest Luxury Arrivals, Now Online‏
Coding is a constant thorn in email marketers’ sides, but it’s vital not only for consistent rendering but also for CAN-SPAM compliance, as we see in this Ralph Lauren email. In it, the preheader and administrative text is accidently rendered in white text on a white background—which makes it invisible. The lost text includes the unsubscribe instructions and mailing address, a violation of CAN-SPAM. Text links were unaffected, but Ralph Lauren didn’t help themselves by using the old-school “click here” call-to-action for both their “view with images” and “unsubscribe” links. More descriptive calls-to-actions like “view this email online” and “unsubscribe” would have been more user-friendly. The fact that this email made it out the door is also a sign that Ralph Lauren is not doing pre-launch rendering checks across all the major email clients and browser combinations, which is highly recommended.

Other retailers that have suffered the same coding error include J&R (see Nov. 9 AM Inbox), Costco (see Feb. 9, 2009 AM Inbox) and Sports Authority (see Apr. 9, 2008 AM Inbox).

Here’s the email (left) and the email with all the images and text highlighted:



Sephora, 10/22 — New! Sephora app for iPhone‏
This is one of the nicer mobile app launch email announcements that I’ve seen. Labels make it easy to understand.



J. Crew, 10/22 — 24 HOURS LEFT: 20% OFF all women's outerwear, in stores and online‏
I’m suddenly very confused as to who J. Crew’s target audience is. Is it really people who know
what “sitch” means? That Dictionary.com definition also seems off-brand for J. Crew.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Drs. Foster & Smith, 10/23 — Halloween Clearance SALE‏
Kmart, 10/22 — 40% off Assorted Costumes and Capes + Introducing Sinister Apparel‏
Newegg, 10/22 — Scary Movie Blowout! $13.99 Shutter Island Blu-ray, $10.99 Paranormal Activity DVD...‏
Oriental Trading, 10/22 — Save $10 + Free Shipping on Eye-Popping Toys & Candy‏
Abercrombie & Fitch, 10/24 — We're feeling naughty and sneaking Christmas in early!
Orvis, 10/22 — Classic gifts to last a lifetime.
HSN, 10/22 — Holiday Host Pick + 100K Great Gift Giveaway!
Neiman Marcus, 10/23 — What does BRIAN ATWOOD love most about boots?
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Week-End Trends: Holiday references to dominate rest of calendar year

Email activity and seasonal trends during the past week:

The Retail Email Index: Top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 3.0 promotional emails on average during the week ending Oct. 22, 2010. That’s down 2% week-over-week, up 7% from where it was four weeks ago, and up 17% 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: As expected, holiday references pulled ahead of Halloween references, which should now begin to decline. Holiday references will dominate the rest of the calendar year. Three weeks from now more than half of all retail emails will reference Christmas or the holiday season. Last week gave us our first reference to Veterans Day.



Selling Seasons on the Horizon:
Thanksgiving (11/25): Thanksgiving 2009 Season Finale
Christmas (12/25): Christmas 2009 Season Finale and the 2010 Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season
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Ping Time: Welcome emails, sh*t about email, etc.

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

>>Tweet of the Week: @KNLorenz: Welcome messages are so 2009. Welcome series are the new "it" thing :)

>>Emarketer shares research from Cheetahmail about the outperformance of welcome emails. >>Follow the ping

>>Chris Donald of Inbox Group shares “Sh*t my Dad Says about Email Marketing,” a funny and enlightening post on what’s important to older email users. >>Follow the ping

>>Loren McDonald of Silverpop details seven post-purchase triggered emails that drive higher revenue and engagement. >>Follow the ping

>>Liz Lynch of e-Dialog warns marketers not to bludgeon inactives with the exact same win-back campaign again and again. >>Follow the ping
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AM Inbox: Boosting relevancy by leveraging the news

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

Eddie Bauer, 10/21 — Prepare For The Harshest Winter In Years – Free Shipping To Gear Up Now!
In the past we’ve talked about boosting relevancy by responding to a subscriber’s past purchases or clicks with recommended products and by providing context for products, such as how-to-wear tips (see Oct. 11 AM Inbox). Another tactic is to play off current events, such as promoting Super Bowl champion gear right after the game ends, promoting carry-on bags after the airlines all started charging for checked bags, or promoting coats while informing subscribers that this year’s winter is expected to be particularly harsh, as Eddie Bauer does in this email.



J&R, 10/21 — We've Got Over 800 Headphones - Find One That's Right For You!
Way back when I was a writer at a technology magazine we regularly used illustrations to help quickly convey how a particular technology worked. In this email, J&R uses illustrations to clarify what the different styles of headphones are. It ensures that J&R and subscribers are speaking the same language. This email reminds me of the Bumble & Bumble email we included in the 2010 Email Design Look Book.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
eBags, 10/21 — Gear Up for Holiday Travel - Up to 70% Off‏
Orvis, 10/21 — Gifts for men made easy - Combos from $139!
Spiegel, 10/21 — SPARKLE & SHINE! Redbook's Glamorous Gift Picks!‏
Barnes & Noble, 10/21 — 15% Off Any One Item. We Call That Horrifyingly Irresistible.‏
Disney Store, 10/21 — Last Day! Free Shipping on Halloween Costumes & More‏
J. Jill, 10/21 — 25% off sweaters! Plus, the layers of fall.
Apple, 10/21 — Introducing the new MacBook Air.
B&H, 10/21 — The New Apple Macbook Air‏
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AM Inbox: Do your landing pages help subscribers?

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

Chadwick’s, 10/20 — Time for Trivia, Do You Know the Answer?
It seems like a ridiculous question: Do your landing pages help subscribers? But I’ve repeatedly written about landing pages that make subscribers work to find products or promotions that are featured in emails. Here’s another example of an email with a landing page that’s not in tune with subscribers. This Chadwick’s email poses a “trivia” question—which is a nice, less salesy way to engage subscribers—but at its root it exposes subscribers to three blazers.



Most subscribers will probably pick the blazer that they like the best, regardless of whether they believe it’s the best-seller. And that’s why the landing page is less than optimal. The landing page below is served up regardless of which blazer you choose, which leaves subscribers who liked the non-best-sellers on their own to track down the blazer to learn more and potentially buy it. The landing page could have been easily fixed by adding secondary message boxes promoting each of the other two blazers.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Lillian Vernon, 10/20 — We'll Upgrade Your Shipping to get Your Halloween Needs in Time!‏
Barnes & Noble, 10/20 — 50% Off Our Predictions For Hot Holiday Books‏
HSN, 10/20 — Deck the Halls Event - New Arrivals & Special Pricing
Eddie Bauer, 10/20 — New! Holiday Collection + Save up to $40 on World's Best Down‏
Target, 10/20 — It’s the Biggest Video Game Event of the Season.
Orvis, 10/20 — Grab your coat - warm new outerwear styles for men and women.‏
The Company Store, 10/20 — 50% Off Outerwear + Free Delivery‏
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AM Inbox: First holiday mobile app

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, 10/19 — Santa goes techie! Presenting the NM GIFTS APP‏
While several top retailers have promoted new or updated mobile apps this month, Neiman Marcus gives us our first holiday mobile app of the season. Holiday apps were pretty much non-existent last year, so I’ll be interested to see how many retailers promote them in their emails this year and when. In this email, I’m not sure that Neiman Marcus does a very good job of explaining the app, particularly the “shake” aspect. I assume that it emulates shaking a gift to guess what’s inside, but that’s not really captured by the copy.



Bloomingdale’s, 10/19 — The North Face® Keeps Out The Chill‏
One of the big design trends this year has been the use of diagonal text, as in this Bloomingdale’s email. While it makes HTML text impossible to use, it breaks up the boxiness of traditional email designs and can lead the eye deeper into the design.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Barnes & Noble, 10/19 — IZZE Free or IZN'T He? Yes, with a Sandwich‏ [promoting free Izze drink with sandwich purchase]
Urban Outfitters, 10/19 — Five Bands, Live: This Saturday @ Urban Outfitters!‏
Sony, 10/19 — Introducing the NEW Reader Digital Books by Sony‏
Neiman Marcus, 10/19 — Free gift packaging, free guaranteed delivery & FREE TIME!
JC Whitney, 10/19 — Get In The Halloween Spirit - Take $45 Off Your Order!‏
Oriental Trading, 10/19 — Halloween Sale - Save up to 70% on 600+ items‏
Toys “R” Us, 10/19 — 2 Days Only! Scary Deals on Halloween Costumes & Candy, Ride-Ons, Bikes & More.
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AM Inbox: First reference to Veterans Day

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

1-800-Flowers.com, 10/18 — Set the Autumn scene: Orange Tulips + Free Vase, just $29.99‏
1-800-Flowers gives us our first references to Veterans Day, which is Nov. 11. Veterans Day is very minor selling season for retailers. Last year, the core of the selling season lasted just two weeks, with fewer than 6% of retail emails mentioning the holiday during the week of Veterans Day; and fewer than 3% mentioning it the week prior.



J&R, 10/18 — Free Shipping Week‏
To shake things up and deliver a simple message without any distractions, J&R abandons their usual email template. The template used for this email includes preheader text, but drops their usual header and navigation bar. It’s similar to the approach taken by Target in an Aug. 13 email (see Aug. 16 AM Inbox).



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Urban Outfitters, 10/18 — Open If You Dare...
Fingerhut, 10/18 — Fingerhut: Trick or Treat! Find Frightfully FUN Treats - Online ONLY!
Kmart, 10/18 — 25% off Halloween Porch Greeters + Cars Collectors Event October 23‏
Disney Store, 10/18 — Free Shipping + Get Up to 40% Off Halloween Costumes & More!
Orvis, 10/18 — Fall is here and we have a sweatshirt just for you.
Coldwater Creek, 10/18 — Happiness is...FREE SHIPPING on ALL ORDERS + SALE!
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AM Inbox: First Foursquare promo by retailer

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

Saks Fifth Avenue, 10/15 — New York Upcoming Store Events‏
Saks is the first major retailer I’ve seen to reference location-based service Foursquare. They are incentivizing folks to check in at their stores on Foursquare by offering them a free lipstick. Encouraging check-ins means that Saks will get more brand exposure on the Foursquare network.



Overstock, 10/15 — 7% OFF COUPON CORNUCOPIA‏
As referenced in the 2010 Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season, last year Overstock ran a progressive couponing campaign that turned purchases in October and early November into sales during the critical Black Friday–to–Cyber Monday period by offering progressively larger discounts. Overstock is running this campaign again this year. However, one critical change to the promotion this year is that the final coupon expires a week earlier. Where last year’s expired on Cyber Monday, allowing customers to use it over Black Friday weekend, this year it expires before those critical shopping days. Perhaps this is a margin-saving tactic to get folks to purchase before the deep discounts of Black Friday through Cyber Monday.



Staples, 10/15 — 2 coupons + sneak peek the 10/17 Weekly Ad
Here’s a great example of why it’s important to specify link and text colors. Default colors may not be harmonious with the rest of your color scheme. In this email, the links in the left-hand coupon defaulted to blue, making them very difficult to read. The white links were coded properly on the right-hand coupon and are easy to read.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
1-800-Flowers.com, 10/15 — The perfect time to work it - Boss's Day is this Saturday‏
Sportsman’s Guide, 10/15 — Discounts on Halloween from the Guide!
Kmart, 10/15 — Save on Costumes and Shoes + Jaclyn Smith - Celebrating 25 Years of Style‏
Frederick’s of Hollywood, 10/15 — Your search for the sexiest costumes ends here. $10 off + free shipping.
Disney Store, 10/15 — See Our Frightful, Yet Delightful Disney Parks Collection‏
Oriental Trading, 10/15 — Free Shipping on top-rated Halloween favorites‏
Orvis, 10/15 — Ultimate gifts: one-of-a-kind vintage Land Rover.‏
HSN, 10/16 — Holiday Gift Store Premiere! Popular Gifts & More
Eddie Bauer, 10/15 — Eddie's Birthday: 30% Off EVERYTHING Saturday Only! + NEW Holiday Styles‏
Lillian Vernon, 10/16 — Save Big in the Early Christmas, Plus an Early Gift for You Inside!
NFLshop, 10/17 — New York Giants Fans - Check Out Our Gift Finder & Save 10%!‏
Sportsman’s Guide, 10/16 — It's NOT Too Early!... $10 coupon at The Guide‏
HSN, 10/15 — Introducing HSN2 - Get More of What You Love
Macy’s, 10/16 — Today only: Extra 20% or 10% off when you Shop For A Cause!
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Week-End Trends: Halloween messaging peaks

Email activity and seasonal trends during the past week:

The Retail Email Index: Top online retailers sent each of their subscribers a new year-to-date high of 3.1 promotional emails on average during the week ending Oct. 15, 2010. That’s up 6% week-over-week, up 11% from where it was four weeks ago, and up 27% year-over-year.



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



The Retail Email Seasonality Meter: Last week was the peak for Halloween messaging, as well as Columbus Day messaging. For the rest of the year, Christmas messaging will dominate.



Selling Seasons on the Horizon:
Halloween (10/31): Halloween 2009 Season Finale
Thanksgiving (11/25): Thanksgiving 2009 Season Finale
Christmas (12/25): Christmas 2009 Season Finale and the 2010 Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season
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Ping Time: Email usage, iPad's impact, holiday advice podcast, etc.

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

>>Tweet of the Week: @stylecampaign: Hotmail marking emails with a Trusted Sender icon http://twitpic.com/2x36co via @advenix

>>Morgan Stewart of Trendline Interactive explains how the Nielsen report showing that time spent with email is decreasing is severely flawed. >>Follow the ping

>>Jeanniey Mullen of Zinio talks about the growing influence that touch-interface devices like the iPad will have on email design. >>Follow the ping

>>Dylan Boyd of eROI and I team up to deliver holiday email marketing advice on this episode of eMailRadio. >>Follow the ping

>>Ed Henrich of Responsys foretells the death of forward-to-a-friend. >>Follow the ping

>>In my latest Email Insider column, I talk about the perception versus the reality of certain email practices, sharing soon-to-be released research on the adoption of SWYN links. >>Follow the ping
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AM Inbox: Content-specific recovery modules

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

Williams-Sonoma, 10/14 — Save Over $75 on Shun Classic Hollow-Ground Chef’s Knife‏
Recovery modules are boxes at the bottom of the body copy that present lots of different links to subscribers as a last ditch effort to capture their interest. Most recovery modules tend to focus on promoting items that are unconnected to the primary message of the email, such as clearance items as Target does or the most popular product categories and searches as Northern Tool does. But in this email Williams-Sonoma uses theirs to give subscribers a chance to dig deeper into cutlery product category, which is the focus of the email. Both tactics are worth exploring and make for a straightforward A/B test. Here’s the recovery module they use in this email:



And here’s their usual recovery module from an Oct. 12 email:



Urban Outfitters, 10/14 — Must-Haves: Coats, Boots, Bags‏
There are lots of ways to display products, but the way Urban Outfitters photographed the boots in this email are eye-catching and delightful. Very fun and on-brand for UO.



L.L. Bean, 10/14 — Personalized Products for Your Business or Event + Save up to 20%
Some apparel retailers including L.L. Bean periodically promote their B2B businesses to their consumer subscribers as a way of building awareness. This L.L. Bean email is a solid example of one of these emails. They use bullets to quickly list the benefits of their service and allow subscribers to opt-in to receive more emails from their Direct to Business division. They also allow subscribers to opt-out so that they don’t get anymore emails promoting this division. Realizing that most subscribers don’t read every email, they leave the door open to send more emails about Direct to Business if you don’t tell them not to. The email also includes a nice secondary message about using gift cards for employee rewards.

For more on promoting sister brands, check out Cross-Promoting Sister Brands Safely.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
HSN, 10/14 — The Holiday Gift Store is Here!
B&H, 10/14 — The B&H iPhone app is here - Download today free of charge‏
Sportsman’s Guide, 10/14 — "Like Us" on Facebook... chance to win $100 Gift Card or hourly $25 Gift Cards!
Bed Bath & Beyond, 10/14 — It's like a sports car for your kitchen countertop. [promoting blender]
Barnes & Noble, 10/14 — America's Smartest Readers Choose Their 100 Favorite Books‏
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AM Inbox: Changing sender addresses close to the holidays

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

Lane Bryant, 10/13 — Add Beautiful Bras To Your Wardrobe - Save Up To 50%
Lane Bryant has changed their sender address to admin@email.lanebryant.com. Besides a slightly cold sender address, Lane Bryant failed to include a whitelisting request that drew attention to the new address, relying solely on subscribers’ email clients to provide that warning/notification. Ralph Lauren had the most innovative new address notification that I’ve seen (see July 19 AM Inbox). Just remember to remove the notification after a handful of emails or so, as preview pane real estate is valuable and if subscribers haven’t added your address to their address book after several requests they’re unlikely to do it if you continue to ask. With the holidays quickly approaching, now is a slightly dangerous time to be changing or adding sender addresses, so be diligent in warming up new IPs and be sure to includes whitelisting requests.

It’s also worth noting that Lane Bryant’s new preheader appears to include a broken personalized greeting.



Neiman Marcus, 10/13— Crash the party & see what we'll be wearing‏
I believe Neiman Marcus is the first major retailer to refer to branded iPad content in their emails.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Barnes & Noble, 10/13 — Save Money and Ace Your Midterms. Now That's Smart.
Fingerhut, 10/13 — Fingerhut: Last Chance to Enter Our Holiday Sweepstakes – Find Out More!
Drs. Foster & Smith, 10/13 — Exclusive Pet Holiday Gift Ideas!‏
Disney Store, 10/13 — Make a Splash! Save Up to 40% on Costumes & Accessories‏
Lane Bryant, 10/13 — Add Beautiful Bras To Your Wardrobe - Save Up To 50%
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AM Inbox: 'Show, don't tell' approach to promoting loyalty programs

>>If you missed eMailRadio today, you can listen to the recording of Dylan Boyd of eROI and I discussing holiday email marketing. Listen Now.

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, 10/12 — REI Fall Sale on Now + 20% Off Member Coupon‏
October and early November are great times to try to lock in some holiday loyalty by getting subscribers to become a member of your loyalty program, apply for your credit card, etc. While plenty of retailers send standalone emails promoting these programs, the “show, don’t tell” approach used by REI in this email is very compelling. Rather than sending this members-only coupon only to coop members, REI sends it to all their subscribers. It shows non-members the kinds of opportunities that they’re missing and REI includes a secondary call-to-action asking non-members if they’d like to join and take advantage of the offer. Sephora has used a similar approach in promoting their Beauty Insiders program (see Apr. 15 AM Inbox).



GameStop, 10/12 — This edition has a new low price.
With engagement metrics becoming more important to the health of deliverability, it’s becoming increasingly vital to give your subscribers links to click on that don’t have any financial strings attached. Educational content, polls and other content can generate clicks and keep subscribers engaged and can help lead to conversions later on. When GameStop redesigned their email template recently (see Sept. 21 AM Inbox), one of the content changes that they made was that they started promoting a free game of the week. While GameStop’s goal is to sell video games, promoting free content like this keeps subscribers opening and clicking on emails and therefore regularly exposed to their sales and new game announcements. Engagement marketer requires looking at the big picture, and while conversions are still the No. 1 metric to judge email marketing success by, the value of clicks is on the rise.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
JC Whitney, 10/12 — Start Your Holiday Shopping Early & Save 15% Now!‏
Spiegel, 10/12 — Holiday Exclusive! Shop REDBOOK'S Signature GIFT PICKS!
NFLshop, 10/12 — Unique Pink NFL Products BID NOW!‏
Northern Tool, 10/12 — Introducing NorthernTool.com For Your Phone‏
Williams-Sonoma, 10/12 — 4 Days Only - Save 15% on All Halloween Tricks & Treats‏
Linens ’n Things, 10/12 — Gear up for Goblins & Save an Extra 20%!
Sony, 10/12 — Introducing the World’s First HDTV Powered by Google TV‏
Backcountry.com, 10/12 — Here, Not There - Exclusive Brands‏
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AM Inbox: First holiday gift services footer

>>If you missed eMailRadio today, you can listen to the recording of Dylan Boyd of eROI and I discussing holiday email marketing. Listen Now.

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

Orvis, 10/11 — Brand-new online gifts-for-men collection. 80+ NEW gifts.‏
In addition to announcing the launch of their new blog, Orvis gives us our first gift services footer (GSF) of the holiday season. GSFs are a smart design element during the holidays because they consolidate lots of links in one place, which reduces message sprawl. It’s important to change your GSFs during the course of the holiday season to maintain relevancy. At the beginning of the season, GSFs will be packed with gift guide links, but later they’ll contain links to shipping deadlines, returns info, e-gift cards and other handy information.



Ross-Simons, 10/11 — Shhh...Secret Sale! 25% Off + Extra Savings at Checkout‏
This is the softest website relaunch announcement I’ve ever seen in an email. Ross-Simons tucks a link to their new site into the navigation bar. The sneak peek isn’t even an active version of the new site, just screenshots of it, so I’m not sure why they’re so shy about drawing attention to it. Often soft-launch messaging appears in secondary banners and then later as a primary message.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Dick’s Sporting Goods, 10/11 — Take 14.92% Off Your Order and Discover a World of Savings!
Blair, 10/11 — Discover extra 25% savings today‏
Avon, 10/11 — Discover the Savings this Columbus Day‏
Musician’s Friend, 10/11 — Musician's Friend: Discover Instant Savings Today Only Details Inside‏
Sports Authority, 10/11 — Columbus Day Sale – Take 20% Off Your Entire Online Order‏
Linens ’n Things, 10/11 — Support Wounded Warriors with LNT Exclusive!
Sam’s Club, 10/11 — Host a Hi-Def Halloween: HDTV and Blu-Ray deals‏
Kmart, 10/11 — 30 - 40% off Outerwear + Save on Games, Halloween Decor and Clothing‏
Hanna Andersson, 10/11 — Save On Plaid Tidings: Holiday Dress and Sweater Sale!‏
Fingerhut, 10/11 — Fingerhut: It's HERE - Shop the Holiday BIG Book Today!
Saks Fifth Avenue, 10/11 — Winter essentials every guy needs now: Burberry London & more‏
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AM Inbox: Sears redesign + the sum of product promos

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

Sears, 10/10 — Hurry, Only 3 Days Left to Get The Big Deals While They Last!
In the wake of debuting a new logo, Sears has redesigned their email template. The new design features a new product grid that headlines each box with a product category call-to-action, making their email a little easier to scan. The other big changes happen in the header, where they’ve reversed the color scheme of the navigation bar and added their Facebook and Twitter community links. Here’s the new design (left) and here’s the previous design from an Oct. 8 email:



Coldwater, 10/8 — Last 2 days of FREE SHIPPING + 25% off + Fall Outfit Inspiration‏
In Mark Brownlow’s latest post on Email Marketing Reports he discusses relevancy. In it he makes an important point: It’s not just the content that makes a message relevant; it’s also the context in which the content is presented. This email from Coldwater Creek is a great example of this. This email could have simply included a 2-by-2 product grid of the four products. Instead, they present those four pieces as part of a layering story that creates an outfit, explaining very succinctly how each piece contributes to it. Because they take the time to explain how the pieces all work together, this email message is significantly greater than the sum of its product promotions.



Neiman Marcus, 10/9 — Miracle Workers: Beauty TOOLS that top our list‏
“Buy now, we’ll ship later” is a tactic that was little used by retailers last year. In this email, Neiman Marcus uses as part of their early holiday messaging, hoping to capitalize on early excitement before it fades.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Toys “R” Us, 10/10 — R Perfect 10 Sale: 3 Ways to Save Online on 10.10.10!‏
Norm Thompson, 10/8 — Your Columbus Day discovery: 20% MORE OFF ALL SALE!
Macy’s, 10/8 — Columbus Day Sale: Free Shipping on jeans, shoes & more!‏
Frederick’s of Hollywood, 10/8 — A extra 50% off Clearance for Columbus Day Weekend.
Brookstone, 10/8 — SAVE BIG with our Columbus Day Specials!
Chadwick’s, 10/8 — Columbus Day Weekend Event! Special offer inside‏
J&R, 10/8 — Weekend Sale: Special Columbus Day Edition‏
Spiegel, 10/9 — Perfect Dress! Perfect Price! 50% OFF Columbus Day‏
SmartBargains, 10/9 — COLUMBUS DAY SALES: Fall Suits, Denim, Bedding, Bath & Tons More!
Kmart, 10/10 — October 11 Online Only - Save an extra 5-10% + Free Shipping‏
Kmart, 10/8 — Save on Halloween Inflatables + Candy Coupon and Family Fashions on Sale‏
Oriental Trading, 10/10 — Create a spooktacular video with Oriental Trading‏‏
RitzCamera, 10/8 — Halloween Photo Tips, Costume Contest and One Week Savings!
Lillian Vernon, 10/10 — Don't be Scared - You can Still find Great Costumes! Plus, Ship for $3.99‏
Sony, 10/8 — Please Confirm Your Info with Sony Be Among the First for Holiday News‏
ShopNBC, 10/10 — Your Lucky Day: premiere of Holiday Must Have Gifts‏
Orvis, 10/8 — New deals just added - special savings and early holiday deals‏
Home Depot, 10/10 — How Much Can You Save by Living Green?
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Week-End Trends: Holidays lead all seasonal references

Email activity and seasonal trends during the past week:

The Retail Email Index: Top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 2.9 promotional emails on average during the week ending Oct. 8, 2010. That’s down 4% week-over-week, up 1% from where it was four weeks ago, and up 23% 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: Compared to the comparable week last year, Christmas/holiday references were up more than 30% year-over-year last week. That strength put holiday references ahead of Halloween references last week, which didn’t happen until two weeks later last year. That said, Halloween messaging should re-establish their dominance next week before beginning to fade.



Selling Seasons on the Horizon:
Breast Cancer Awareness Month (Oct.): Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2009 Season Finale
Halloween (10/31): Halloween 2009 Season Finale
Thanksgiving (11/25): Thanksgiving 2009 Season Finale
Christmas (12/25): Christmas 2009 Season Finale and the 2010 Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season
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