Week-End Trends: Mother's Day messaging surges, but still depressed

Email activity and seasonal trends during the past week:

The Retail Email Index: The top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 3.3 promotional emails on average during the week ending Apr. 29, 2011. That’s flat week-over-week, up 1% from where it was four weeks ago, and up 15% year-over-year.



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



The Retail Email Seasonality Meter: With Easter out of the way, Mother’s Day messaging surged last week, although it’s still trailing last year’s levels by a significant margin. We also got our first reference to Memorial Day, which is on May 30 this year.



Selling Seasons on the Horizon:
Mother’s Day (5/8): 2010 Season Finale
Father’s Day (6/19): 2010 Season Finale
Graduation (May-June): 2010 Season Finale
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Ping Time: Defining 'relevance,' best promotional channels, etc.

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

>>Tweet of the Week: @jamespaden: Seriously @brandoncorbin, when are we going to build that bot that auto-emails people who brag about inbox zero on twitter??

>>Morgan Stewart of Trendline Interactive says that while marketers talk about “relevant” emails, consumers judge valuable emails based on whether they’re “interesting,” “helpful” or “informative.” >>Follow the ping

>>Todd Wasserman of Mashable provides more proof that email and social are much better promotional channels than social. >>Follow the ping

>>Email marketing consultant Jeanne Jennings discusses birthday emails and how to make them perform best. >>Follow the ping

>>Tanya Williams of Responsys shares this roundup of emails playing off the royal wedding. >>Follow the ping

>>In my latest Email Insider column, I talk about some of the trends that are currently impacting email design and share actionable advice on how to respond to those trends. >>Follow the ping
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AM Inbox: Putting user-generated photos to work

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

Northern Tool, 4/28 — Free Shipping On All Trailers‏
For more than two years now, Northern Tool has been incentivizing its customers to upload their own photos along with product reviews (see Mar. 22 AM Inbox). Well now, for the first time, Northern Tool is leveraging those user-generated product images back into their email program. User photos add another layer of authenticity and create more powerful endorsements—not to mention making the brand seem more inclusive and customer-driven. If you want to see user-generated product shots achieving their fullest potential, check out any product page on ThinkGeek.com.



Backcountry.com, 4/28 — An Apology For Yesterday's Email‏
Backcountry’s email creative on Wednesday was edgy, witty, tough—and unfortunately, very poorly timed. With hundreds killed by tornadoes in the Deep South this week, Backcountry’s “Mother Nature hates you. Deal with it.” messaging could be interpreted as wildly insensitive. Backcountry wisely sent this apology email. It was straightforward, didn’t waffle in saying they were wrong and sorry for it, and was signed by the CEO. Well done.

Here’s yesterday’s apology email...



...and here's the email from Wednesday:



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Kohl’s, 4/28 — $5 & $10 Food Network Breast Cancer Merchandise. Shop for a Cure.
Lillian Vernon, 4/28 — Celebrate Her Day and Save 15% - This Weekend Only‏
1-800-Flowers.com, 4/28 — FREE Shipping/No Service Charge for Mother's Day - Don't Miss It!
Harry & David, 4/28 — Free standard delivery for Mother's Day ends tomorrow.
Sam’s Club, 4/28 — Mother's Day gifts for less. Jewelry, floral and more from Sam's Club‏
J. Crew, 4/28 — Jenna's Mother's Day picks (plus, EXTRA 30% OFF sale items & FREE SHIPPING ends today)‏
Blue Nile, 4/28 — Up to 50% Off Mother’s Day Jewelry Gifts‏
J&R, 4/28 — Mother's Day Gift Ideas for the Modern Mom‏
Barnes & Noble, 4/28 — NOOK Color: The #1 Gift This Mother's Day‏
NFLshop, 4/28 — [2011 NFL Draft Tonight] Check Out The New York Giants Newest Gear!
Crate & Barrel, 4/28 — Get decked out on a budget with colorful, affordable outdoor furniture, available exclusively online.
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AM Inbox: The broadening of Mother's 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:

J. Jill, 4/27 — What we're giving for Mother's Day. Plus, $20 off.‏
While mining product reviews for content is still a major content tactic, more and more retailers are turning to their staffers to generate product picks and other material for their emails. J. Crew used staffers for models last month (see Mar. 16 AM Inbox) and in this email, J. Jill uses staffers for product picks and accompanying text. I really like how they used a script font for that text. It makes it seem more personal and authentic. The other interesting trend that this email highlights is the push to broaden Mother’s Day into a kind of Women’s Day, where you also buy gifts for aunts, sisters and the other women in your life.



Urban Outfitters, 4/27 — You're invited to an exclusive event...
Urban Outfitters is expanding their community presence, adding a Tumblr page to the mix. UO is actually the first major retailer I’ve seen promote their presence on Tumblr. In the past, Urban Outfitters has used Flickr as their primary photography community (see May 14, 2009 AM Inbox).



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Williams-Sonoma, 4/27 — Win a Trip to Blackberry Farm: A Great Getaway for Mom!
Sony, 4/27 — Don't Wait, Save for Mother's Day | More Gift Ideas & Deals from Sony‏
Fingerhut, 4/27 — Fingerhut: Shop for Mom + Get Her a FREE Gift - Find Out More!‏
eBags, 4/27 — Up to 60% Off Gifts for Mom + Free Shipping‏
Crate & Barrel, 4/27 — Up to 30% off best-selling Mother's Day gifts.
Art.com, 4/27 — Last Chance: 20% Off Everything + Photos to Art gifts for MOM!
Eddie Bauer, 4/27 — Our Top Gifts For Mom! Plus, $10 Off Capris & Sweaters.
HP, 4/27 — Gift Ideas to Celebrate Mom‏
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AM Inbox: First reference to Memorial 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:

Oriental Trading, 4/26 — Save $10 + get FREE shipping on patriotic fun‏
Although Oriental Trading doesn’t mention it explicitly, I’m going to call this email the first reference to Memorial Day, which is May 30 this year. For insights and inspiration for your campaigns, check out the Memorial Day 2010 Season Finale.



Barnes & Noble, 4/26 — Now! Even More Tablet to the Reader's Tablet -- Popular Apps, Email, Video, More.‏
Looks like email designers have yet another email platform to be wary of: the Nook Color. Rebranding it as a tablet instead of an e-reader, Barnes & Noble touts the Nook Color’s “full-featured email” capabilities in this email.



Macy’s, 4/26 — Friends & Family online today: extra 25% off + Free Shipping!
This Macy’s email does several things very well: First, there’s a nice reminder of their every-day free shipping offer that they introduced a few months back. Second, there’ a viral pass-along discount offer that subscribers can share with friends and family. And third, the Thank-a-Mom Movement campaign is interesting in that it incorporates cause marketing as a reward for engagement. Here’s the email:



And here’s the landing page for the Thank-a-Mom Movement on Facebook:



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Neiman Marcus, 4/26 — Don't forget Mom - exclusive gifts from DAVID YURMAN‏
Ann Taylor, 4/26 — Treat Her To A Little Chic This Mother's Day...
1-800-Flowers.com, 4/26 — Save up to 25% on Mother's Day Bestsellers - LIMITED TIME‏
Dick’s Sporting Goods, 4/26 — Be Mom's Favorite - We've Got the Gifts to Make Her Day‏
Linens ’n Things, 4/26 — Show Mom She's #1 with a Comforter Set!
L.L. Bean, 4/26 — Stay Cool in Our Popular Tropics Shirt + FREE Shipping
Dell, 4/26 — Our little bundle of joy‏
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AM Inbox: Are retailers missing out on the royal wedding?

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, 4/25 — Win the Royal Treatment: A Winner Every Day in Every Store
Given that royal wedding of William and Kate is getting more media coverage in the U.S. than in the U.K., you might expect retailers to be promoting royal this and royal that to capitalize. But this Gap email is just the second reference to anything royal. (The first was an Apr. 14 ShopNBC email promoting the commemorative CD of the wedding.) Not sure if retailers are missing out or whether they have a much better feel for interest in the wedding than the media outlets do.



Ross-Simons, 4/25 — Chad, 30% Off Sitewide - Mother's Day Sale!
After publishing the 2010 Oopsy Hall of Fame, one impassioned reader wrote me to say he thought it was, let’s say, silly to point out misspelling and typos. While some subscribers either won’t notice or care about spelling and grammar errors, there’s no doubt that others will notice and will either be distracted by them or will hesitate to do business with a company that isn’t paying attention to the details. For instance, in this Ross-Simons email, they’re letting subscribers know that they can download their latest catalog for the “IPad, IPhone or ITouch.” It doesn’t make Ross-Simons look too tech-savvy when they misspell iPad and iPhone and when they refer to the iPod touch as an “ITouch.”

When I was getting my Masters in Journalism at NYU, I had a professor, Dick Blood, that doled out F’s on any assignments that contained a misspelling of a proper noun. While not everyone was thrilled by this policy—or the F’s they received as a result—it was absolutely the right amount of emphasis to place on professionalism.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Costco, 4/25 — There's Still Time To Order For Mother's Day! Find Great Gift Ideas For Mom At Costco.com.
Sam’s Club, 4/25 — Perfect gifts for mom‏
J. Jill, 4/25 — Celebrate mom with the gift of color. Plus, $20 off!
Tiffany & Co., 4/25 — Personalized Tiffany for Mom
Walgreens, 4/25 — Mother's Day Sale Just for You: Fragrances + Other Gift Ideas | 20% OFF Contact Lenses‏
Saks Fifth Avenue, 4/25 — Bangles, bracelets, baubles & more for Mom‏
Sony, 4/25 — Amazing Deals For Mom | FREE Shipping For You‏
Hanna Andersson, 4/25 — Be First To Save - Best Of Summer Sale Is Here!‏
NFLshop, 4/25 — All New NFL Gear Has Arrived - Just In Time For The Draft!
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AM Inbox: The neglected second 'R'

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

Urban Outfitters, 4/22 — New Again + Shop Sale‏
Earth Day campaigns this year pulled many of the usual levers: buy eco-friendly products; by products that help you reduce your consumption or waste; trade in or recycle your electronics and other products; for every purchase you make we plant a tree; etc. But this Urban Outfitters email was perhaps the most interesting. First, it promotes Urban Renewal, a line that makes apparel out of vintage clothes, deadstock, and surplus material. Essentially it reuses material and uses cloth that might otherwise be discarded. Second, this email promotes their This Into That Contest , which asks subscribers for their best remakes of apparel and furniture. Overall, Urban Outfitters put a big emphasis on the second R, “reuse,” which tends not to get nearly as much attention as “reduce” and “recycle.”



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
TigerDirect, 4/22 — Easter Weekend Deal Event + Green-Saving Earth Day Deals + Top Mommy Deals under $100‏
Dell, 4/22 — Earth Day. It's all about saving‏
JC Whitney, 4/22 — Protect Our Environment | $45 Off Fuel Saving Products!
Sony, 4/22 — Celebrate Earth Day: Trade In Old Electronics for Sony Credit + More Deals‏
RitzCamera, 4/22 — Celebrate Earth Day! Shop eco-friendly products‏
Disney Store, 4/22 — Celebrate Earth Day: Go Green Disney Store Style‏
Kmart, 4/22 — Earth Day Sale: up to 25% OFF, today only‏
SmartBargains, 4/22 — Celebrate Earth Day | 22% Off EVERYTHING
Toys “R” Us, 4/23 — Happy Easter… Hop in, We’re Open 10am - 7pm. Save 35% on Wii Remotes Plus More Deals, Sun. April 24 Only!
1-800-Flowers.com, 4/23 — Last Chance for Easter Gift Delivery!
Cooking.com, 4/22 — Top 10 Carrot Cake Recipes for Easter + Wacky Cake Photos‏
JCPenney, 4/22 — Be Mom’s Favorite--Gifts To Get You To #1!
Crate & Barrel, 4/23 — Mother's Day is May 8. Shop gifts under $50.
Orvis, 4/22 — Discover our best gifts for Mom, plus FREE shipping!‏
Art.com, 4/24 — Something Special for MOM inside!
Ann Taylor, 4/22 — MUST-HAVE TREND: A Pop Of Coral + Ends Tomorrow: 40% Off EVERYTHING!‏
Bluefly, 4/23 — Step In The Name Of Love: NEW Matt Bernson, L.A.M.B., Stuart Weitzman (+ Last Chance! Designers Gone Wild Sale)‏
Drs. Foster & Smith, 4/24 — Read Our Newest Kids Story "Aubrey's Grandfather's Dog"
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Week-End Trends: Late Easter dampens Mother's Day messaging

Email activity and seasonal trends during the past week:

The Retail Email Index: The top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 3.3 promotional emails on average during the week ending Apr. 22, 2011. That’s up 2% week-over-week, up 1% from where it was four weeks ago, and up 20% year-over-year.



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



The Retail Email Seasonality Meter: Earth Day and Mother’s Day messaging peaked last week. Because of competition from the late Easter, Mother’s Day messaging is down by 33% compared to 2009. But this week and next, Mother’s Day messaging should rebound, appearing in more than 30% of retail emails.



Selling Seasons on the Horizon:
Mother’s Day (5/8): 2010 Season Finale
Father’s Day (6/19): 2010 Season Finale
Graduation (May-June): 2010 Season Finale
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Ping Time: Mobile email, channel preference for discounts, etc.

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

>>Tweet of the Week: @asmartbear: Behave as if every email cost $1 to send. That is all.

>>MarketingProfs reports on ExactTarget research showing that email is becoming more immediate thanks to the proliferation of smartphones. >>Follow the ping

>>EMarketer shares research showing that consumers dramatically prefer to receive discounts and promotions via email rather than through other channels like social. >>Follow the discounts

>>Christine Borgia of Return Path provides tips on how to respond to new changes in filtering at Hotmail and Gmail. >>Follow the ping

>>Email marketing consultant Jordie van Rijn provides advice on how to grow your email list via Twitter. >>Follow the ping

>>Adam Sutton of MarketingSherpa discusses how email content can be used for content marketing efforts to increase search traffic. >>Follow the ping
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AM Inbox: QR code in-store Easter egg hunt

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

Old Navy, 4/21 — This Saturday Only: TONS of Stuff $6 & Under!
In past years, retailers have run “Easter egg hunts” on their websites, revealing discounts when shoppers browse certain pages or a certain number of pages. This year Old Navy is bringing the concept into stores using QR codes. They’ve place 15 QR codes around their stores, presumably to highlight certain merchandise, and are doling out discounts and rewards for each code a shopper scans with their smartphone. This is the first time I’ve seen a major retailer mention QR codes in their emails in any way.



PC Connection, 4/21 — PC Connection Express Has Changed Our Email Address!
Changing your sender address can cause major upheaval in your email program, messing up your email metrics and potentially causing deliverability or inbox placement issues. PC Connection warns their subscribers of their sender address change in this dedicated email. The subject line is very clear, but they missed a clear opportunity to use HTML text for their primary message copy. One of my favorite examples of sender address change messaging is from Ralph Lauren, which deftly used HTML text and an absence of alt text to encourage whitelisting and image enabling (see July 19, 2010 AM Inbox).



Target, 4/21 — Coupons to feed the family and feel the savings.
Target occasionally deviates from their usual email template to signal that the content is different (see Aug. 16, 2010 AM Inbox and Apr. 5 AM Inbox). This email is another example of them using that tactic. Focused on a singular message of grocery coupons, the email is devoid of secondary messaging. Even the footer copy is very succinct. As with the PC Connection email above, Target also misses an opportunity to use HTML text to make this email shine with images are off.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Cooking.com, 4/21 — Top 10 Easter Egg Recipes + More‏
Walgreens, 4/21 — Last Chance: Buy 25 Prints Get 25 Free + $10 OFF Photo Gifts for Easter & Mother's Day‏
Bed Bath & Beyond, 4/21 — Free shipping offer. Mom's earned more than a card.‏
Diamond.com, 4/21 — Surprise Mom with a Diamond Gift‏
Sam’s Club, 4/21 — Brighten Mom's day for less. Shipping included on all floral!
Ross-Simons, 4/21 — Find the Perfect Mother's Day Gift + Free Gift Coupon‏
Barnes & Noble, 4/21 — Up to 50% Off the Perfect Gifts for Mom‏
Buy.com, 4/21 — Mother's Day is almost here and Buy.com has deals your Mom is sure to love! Mother's Day is May 8th.
Williams-Sonoma, 4/21 — New Design Revolutionizes Outdoor Cooking‏
Orvis, 4/21 — Linen, a summertime essential - FREE shipping.
Saks Fifth Avenue, 4/21 — Men's denim: isn't it time for a new pair of jeans?
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AM Inbox: Mix-and-match animated gif

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

Urban Outfitters, 4/20 — No shorts, no shirt?
This inventive Urban Outfitters email uses an animated gif to show how different combinations of tops and bottoms work together. It inspires subscribers to mix and match, and the right and left arrows convey a “click here” message.



Sony, 4/20 — Earth Day Offer: Trade in Old Electronics for Sony Credit + More Deals‏
For the rest of the week and into the weekend, retailers will be pushing eco-friendly products but another element of Earth Day campaigns will be recycling, as in this Sony email. A few retailers will also likely talk about energy-efficiency changes that they’ve made within their organizations.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Lillian Vernon, 4/20 — Celebrate Earth Day with our Environment-Friendly FREE Gift to you!
Neiman Marcus, 4/20 — Mother may I? A MIDDAY DASH just in time for Mom‏
Saks Fifth Avenue, 4/20 — What would Mom love? Shop our Gift Guide‏
ShopNBC, 4/20 — Today only! Just for Mom Event‏
HSN, 4/20 — Mother's Day is May 8...Shop Early & Save
SmartBargains, 4/20 — Email Exclusive | The "Something For Mom" Sale + More
Orvis, 4/20 — Free Shipping - Find the perfect gift for Mom.‏
Fingerhut, 4/20 — Fingerhut: Shop Our Personalized Gifts for Moms and Grads – Order Now!
Walgreens, 4/20 — Vote for the Walgreens Mobile App: Nominated for 3 Webby Awards‏
Williams-Sonoma, 4/20 — 3 Reasons to Buy Wine With Us + Gift With Purchase Offer‏
Backcountry.com, 4/20 — 2011 Newest Camp Tech‏
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AM Inbox: Cascading message blocks

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

Bluefly, 4/19 — Go Pro! Cubicle-Chic Staples from Cynthia Steffe, Ali Ro, BCBGMAXAZRIA...
Most subscribers only open about a third of your emails. Bluefly acknowledges this in their email strategy by routinely repeating the primary message of one email as a secondary message in the next email. You can see this tactic at work in this email, which has the “cubical chic” message in the primary message block…



Bluefly, 4/19 — 10 Hours Only! Extra 15% off HANDBAGS (now up to 55% off!)
That message then becomes the secondary message in this email, which went out later in the day. This tactic doubles the chance that subscribers will see that particular message, while still keeping the primary message fresh.



Bed Bath & Beyond, 4/19 — You're invited to see our invitations‏
Here’s another solid example of how to use an animated gif to great effect from the smart folks at Bed Bath & Beyond. The animation is high in the email, so it grabs subscribers’ attention in the preview pane. Plus, they wisely repeated the last frame of the animation as the first frame, so if the animation is blocked the message on the last frame is visible.



And here’s the animated portion of the email:



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Overstock.com, 4/19 — Your Dream Vacation is Now Available at Overstock.com Vacations‏
Victoria’s Secret, 4/19 — Meet Our Newest Angel...
1-800-Flowers.com, 4/19 — Free Shipping Upgrade ends at Noon Tomorrow - Better get hoppin'!
JCPenney, 4/19 — Mom Rocks! Save On Gifts She'll Love + Free Shipping‏
Saks Fifth Avenue, 4/19 — Great swimwear for him from Penguin, Sundek & more‏
Nordstrom, 4/19 — Cute, Comfortable Sandals Skip into Summer‏
Brookstone, 4/19 — FREE SHIPPING—Shop Our New Outdoor Collection‏
The Company Store, 4/19 — Trend Alert: Color Blocking‏
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Season Finale: St. Patrick's Day 2011

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

Start to finish: The first reference to St. Patrick’s Day was on Feb. 1. The final reference was on Mar. 18.

The biggest day for St. Patrick’s Day emails was St. Patrick’s Day itself, Thursday, Mar. 17. Retailers sent the majority of their St. Patrick’s Day-themed emails after Mar. 15.



Most interesting emails: On Mar. 16, J&R sent an email with the subject line “Are You Magically Dealicious? A Very Special Facebook Offer‏” that provided a new twist to the usual social sharing sweepstakes. While other retailers have incentivized subscribers to share messages with their friends and family members on social networks before, J&R’s execution (1) offers a baseline reward, in addition to a bigger sweepstakes reward, and (2) shows subscribers in the email what the Facebook post will look like. Plus, they do all of this in a nice, tidy package.



Standout subject lines:
Oriental Trading, 2/4 — Save on everything under the rainbow. Shipping is free‏
Victoria’s Secret, 3/5 — This St. Patrick's Day, Get Lucky...
NFLshop, 3/6 — Go Green - Get New York Giants St. Patrick's Day Gear!‏

Read previous St. Patrick’s Day Season Finales: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007

Explore St. Patrick’s Day tag.
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AM Inbox: Staples launches tech newsletter

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

Staples, 4/18 — $10 OFF HP ink. Plus, BlackBerry PlayBook is here!
Staples has launched a new “Technology Newsletter” that has a substantially different look from their usual emails, which may mean that a major template design revamp is in the works. While the new design keeps their typical email’s wide stance at 720 pixels wide, it reduces the space taken up by the preheader text, header and navigation bar, decreasing it by 50 pixels to just 110 pixels tall. That allows more of the primary message to appear above the fold. As part of that change, they drop their logo down into the primary message block a little. The new design is considerably less boxy than their usual design. One problem area is that the link colors in the footer make the link text almost impossible to read in spots. If this is indeed going to be a regularly recurring newsletter, it would have been wise for Staples to have told subscribers how often they’d received them and whether they could opt-out of the newsletter.

Here’s the new newsletter (left) and an Apr. 15 email for the purpose of comparing designs:



The Company Store, 4/18 — Tax Relief-15% Off Today Only‏
Retailer put less emphasis on Tax Day this year, with only 8% of retail emails on Monday mentioning taxes. That’s down from nearly 13% last year. One possible explanation for the dip is the close proximity of Easter this year. In addition to the campaigns mentioned inyesterday’s AM Inbox, Banana Republic, Musician’s Friend and the Company Store also sent campaigns mentioning Tax Day. This Company Store email was the only one that actually mentioned when Tax Day was, which is interesting since this year it was three days later than usual thanks to a holiday in DC.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Banana Republic, 4/18 — Tax time incentive: 30% off + FREE Shipping Every Day
JCPenney, 4/18 — Facebook Love Story Contest. Win a Modern Bride diamond ring!‏
Blair, 4/18 — Clearance eggs-travaganza! Pick your price and save.‏
Cooking.com, 4/18 — Recipes for Easter Cookies, Brunch + Cakes‏
Tiffany & Co., 4/18 — A Touch of Tiffany for Mother’s Day
Kmart, 4/18 — Up to 70% OFF jewelry; make Mom's eye sparkle. Plus, save on shoes.
Sam’s Club, 4/18 — Give your patio a spring makeover‏
Fingerhut, 4/18 — Fingerhut: Ready for Spring Clean Up? Find Helpful Yard Care Products Today!
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AM Inbox: Tax Day tactics preview

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

TigerDirect, 4/15 — Tiger Tax Relief: Over $2300 in REAL Coupon Savings on Parts, PCs, TVs & More‏
TigerDirect’s Tax Day campaign was to provide some “tax relief” through savings.



Newegg, 4/15 — TAX IS ON US! Use our Tax Day coupons to get 10% OFF hardware, HDTVs & more‏
Newegg’s campaign takes the approach of providing a discount to negate sales tax “and then some.”



Kmart, 4/17 — Save up to 20% on kmart.com. Put that refund to good use.
Kmart’s approach was to make it appealing for subscribers to spend their refunds, with a strong call-to-action in the subject line.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Oriental Trading, 4/15 — Feeling Taxed? Treat yourself to tropical fun & FREE shipping‏
Barnes & Noble, 4/15 — Go Green - and Save Green - for Earth Day‏
Petco, 4/17 — SAVE for Earth Day - FREE Shipping on $49 Including Dog & Cat Food!
Harry & David, 4/15 — Last day for Easter arrival by free standard delivery.
1-800-Flowers.com, 4/16 — Free Shipping/No Service Charge - Hop to it!
Walgreens, 4/17 — Buy 25 Prints Get 25 Free + $10 OFF Photo Gifts for Easter & Mother's Day‏
Cabela’s, 4/15 — Mother's Day is near. We have that perfect gift.‏
Williams-Sonoma, 4/16 — Just in Time for Mother’s Day: New Essential Oils Fragrance‏
NFLshop, 4/17 — New York Giants Gear Makes The Perfect Gift For Mom - Mother's Day: May 8th‏
OfficeMax, 4/15 — Preview our April 17 Ad + Get Your BlackBerry(R) PlayBook(TM) tablet‏
Buy.com, 4/15 — A Royal Romance: William & Kate (DVD) $9.49, Timberland 15.6" Laptop Backpack $29.99, Bulova Ladies Diamond Dial Watch $129.99,..‏
Lands’ End, 4/15 — Swim season starts here! Take $20 off $75 + free shipping‏
Cooking.com, 4/15 — Warmer's Weather is Coming! Brush Up on Your Grilling‏
Crutchfield, 4/17 — Windows down, volume up. Great offers on Kicker gear for your ride.‏
ShopNBC, 4/15 — Premiere! NBA licensed merchandise‏
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Week-End Trends: Easter messaging set to peak

Email activity and seasonal trends during the past week:

The Retail Email Index: The top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 3.2 promotional emails on average during the week ending Apr. 15, 2011. That’s down 1% week-over-week, up 2% from where it was four weeks ago, and up 23% year-over-year.



The Retail Email Participation Rate: Thursday was the most popular day to send retail emails last week. I had expected a bit more of a spike on Friday, Apr. 15, which is traditionally Tax Day.



The Retail Email Seasonality Meter: This week we’ll see the peak of Easter messaging at around 10% of overall messages. While this week will again have lots of competing seasonal messaging, the following weeks will be dominated by Mother’s Day.



Selling Seasons on the Horizon:
Earth Day (4/22): 2010 Season Finale
Easter (4/24): 2010 Season Finale
Mother’s Day (5/8): 2010 Season Finale
Father’s Day (6/19): 2010 Season Finale
Graduation (May-June): 2010 Season Finale
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Ping Time: Daily deal emails, subject lines, Commercial Privacy Bill, etc.

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

>>Tweet of the Week: @alexcwilliams: If you have a website, take a good hard look at your thank you page. Biggest missed opportunity on the internet IM http://twitpic.com/4ksqus

>>Sharing research from Yahoo and Ipsos, eMarketer shows that there’s great enthusiasm for daily deal emails. >>Follow the ping

>>Alex Williams of Trendline Interactive provides a framework for writing subject lines. >>Follow the C-U-R-V-E

>>PC World talks about what’s missing from the newly proposed Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights bill. (Looks like the eventual data privacy law will have as much teeth as the CAN-SPAM law does.) >>Follow the ping

>>Lonny Paul shares an upsell email from Amazon where the accessories pitched are actually competing products. >>Follow the ping

>>In Responsys’ latest Email Insider column, Alex Madison and Lisa Harmon share some summer messaging and tactics advice. >>Follow the ping
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AM Inbox: HP makes big improvements in email 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:

HP, 4/14 — See Things in a Whole New Way‏
HP has redesigned their email template, making a number of improvements that make their emails easier to read, especially on mobile devices. First, they narrowed their email width to 570 pixels, down from 600, making their emails among the slimmest and more mobile-friendly in the retail industry. Second, as part of that narrowing, they reduced their number of navigation bar links to seven from nine. Third, they not only started using HTML text for key body copy, but they also made it significantly larger than the graphical text size they had been using. That will make their emails not only more effective when images are blocked, but will make their emails easier to read. Fourth, while they reduced their nav bar links, they added a recovery module at the bottom of the body copy that makes site navigation easy. Fifth, the increased HTML font size is carried right through into the footer, which has historically been dominated by small, low-contrast type. Some bold subheads would make the footer easier to navigate, especially when there are so many promotional footnotes, but the text is still much more readable. The only other fault here is that the header and navigation bar are 170 pixels tall in the new design versus 120 in the previous design, so HP is pushing another 50 pixels of the primary message below the fold now.

Here’s the new design (left) and the previous design from an Apr. 11 email:



Cooking.com, 4/14 — Our Top Cookies + Dessert Bars Recipes‏
In this email, Cooking.com looks to engage subscribers with a matching game than reminds me a lot of this Uncommon Goods Halloween email. It’s a fun, unconventional way of presenting information that should generate outsized click-to-open metrics.



Sports Authority, 4/14 — Don't Miss This Exclusive Savings Offer - Be On Your Way To 20% Off‏
Sports Authority tries their hand at the progressive couponing scheme perfected by Overstock.com, which introduced it in 2009 (see Mar. 17, 2009 AM Inbox).



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Barnes & Noble, 4/14 — Feeling Taxed? Enjoy 20% Savings on One Item‏
Harry & David, 4/14 — Hop to It: Only 2 days left for Standard Delivery + Offer inside.
Williams-Sonoma, 4/14 — The Best Easter Dinner: Maple-Bourbon Glazed Ham – Save 15%
Hallmark, 4/14 — Fill baskets with Easter surprises + Mother's Day ideas‏
eBags, 4/14 — It's Time to Spoil Mom. Save on Stylish Mother's Day Gifts + Free Shipping!
Diamond.com, 4/14 — Diamond Premiere: Our Mother's Day Collection is Here!
Victoria’s Secret, 4/14 — Yours, All Ways...
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AM Inbox: Window shopping in the inbox

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, 4/13 — Mother's Day: Handbags Mom would absolutely love‏
I was admiring an email from Etsy that a colleague shared with me the other day and the best way to describe their emails is that they try to replicate window shopping. The focus is almost entirely on the product image, with very little supporting text like brand names and pricing. For certain products and certain brands, that supporting information isn’t critical to determining initial interest. Saks adopts this approach in this Mother’s Day email, highlighting six handbags with big images arranged in an S-curve. There’s brand information, but it’s small. The assumption is if one of the bags catches your eye, then you’ll click through and learn more. An added bonus is that designs like this with large product images and little text tend to be more mobile-friendly because they stand up well when scaled down to fit smaller screens.



Toys “R” Us, 4/13 — Deals of the Day: Free $10 Gift Card Offer Plus Save on ALL Air Hogs Flight & More, Thurs., April 14‏
Toys “R” Us joins Sears, Coach, Nordstrom, J&R and many other retailers in offering in-store pickup for online orders. In-store pickup messaging is most popular right before major holidays, most especially Christmas.



Frederick’s of Hollywood, 4/13 — An extra 50% off Clearance. 25% off Swim. How can you resist?
Frederick’s of Hollywood has launched a new bridal blog, Oh Yes I Do, soft launching it in their emails by adding a reference down by their primary blog starting with a Mar. 21 email.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Linens ’n Things, 4/12 — Go Green and Save 20%
Lillian Vernon, 4/13 — 15% Off Wicker Easter Baskets, 48 Hours Only!
Kohl’s, 4/12 — Gifts Mom Will Love: Under $15, $25, $35 or $50.
Musician’s Friend, 4/12 — Record Store Day - Huge Savings and Live Events‏
Williams-Sonoma, 4/12 — Enjoy the Great Outdoors: Stylish New Furniture + Entertaining Accessories‏
Cabela’s, 4/13 — Ready for summer? Cabela's has warm-weather gear for you!
Lands’ End, 4/12 — Tune in to The Oprah Winfrey Show on Thursday to see our legendary Tote.
JC Whitney, 4/12 — Keep Safe - Replace Worn Out Parts | Free Shipping‏
Williams-Sonoma, 4/13 — Tools for Fresh Herbs Make Ordinary Meals Superb‏
Bluefly, 4/13 — You Mean Business: NEW Cubicle-Chic Styles | Final Hours! SHOE SALE (Now Up To 70% Off)
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Season Finale: Valentine's Day 2011

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

Start to finish: The first reference to Valentine’s Day was on Jan. 3. The final reference was on Feb. 15. The biggest day for Valentine’s Day emails was the day itself, Monday, Feb. 14, followed by Wednesday, Feb. 9. Retailers sent the majority of their Valentine’s Day-themed emails after Feb. 3.



Most interesting emails: In a Feb. 2 email with the subject line “Everything you want for Valentine’s, from the inside out.‏”, Frederick’s of Hollywood does a nice job of coupling dresses with intimate apparel to create a complete Valentine’s Day look.



In a Feb. 7 email, Urban Outfitters promoted their “Modern Love” contest, which asks subscribers to tweet Valentine-inspired images. It didn’t require much work on the part of customers and played to Urban Outfitters’ photography brand image. Here’s the banner from the email…



…and here’s the landing page:



In a Jan. 15 email, 1-800-Flowers pairs a “join us on Facebook” message with two submessages—one that speaks to men and the other that speaks to women. The second asks women to like 1-800-Flowers.com products so they appear on their Facebook walls as a hint to the man in their life. The landing page succinctly explained how it works and presented nine products. It was a great secondary message to pair with their community-building primary message.



In a Feb. 12 email, Sephora promotes real gifts delivered via Facebook as a last-minute gift option, just as the‏y did in the waning days before Christmas.



Standout subject lines:
Frederick’s of Hollywood, 1/21 — What’s better than flowers or candy for Valentine’s Day?
Frederick’s of Hollywood, 1/24 — How hot do you like it on Valentine's Day?‏
Victoria’s Secret, 2/9 — What's Even Better Than Valentine's Candy? (Hint: It's Sexier, Too.)
Victoria’s Secret, 2/14 — Just One Little Question...
Brookstone, 2/7 — Wrap your sweetie in this on Valentine’s Day…
Urban Outfitters, 2/14 — We Love You (Find out how much...!)‏
The Company Store, 1/26 — Snuggling isn't the only way to keep warm this Valentine's Day‏
Sephora, 1/29 — XOXO, Sephora‏
eBags, 2/14 — Dear eBags Insider, a 25% Off coupon for you. XOXO, eBags‏
Urban Outfitters, 1/31 — XOUO‏
Norm Thompson, 2/14 — Cupid made us do it - 14% OFF EVERYTHING! Just today.

Subject lines that stand out for the wrong reasons:
Victoria’s Secret, 2/8 — Go Ahead...Make My (Valentine's) Day!‏
The famous catchphrase from Sudden Impact seems like a pretty dark reference for a romantic occasion like Valentine’s Day.

JCPenney, 2/4 — Don't Be A Stupid Cupid!
Calling customers stupid if they don’t buy from you or take your gift advice seems a bit hostile and off-brand for JCPenney.

Victoria’s Secret, 1/25 — V-Day is Me Day at PINK! Fall in Love with Limited Edition Bras & Panties.‏
V-Day has a number of meanings and associations, generally violent. Email marketers are always looking to trim characters from their subject lines, but this may not be the best way to shorten “Valentine’s Day.”

Read previous Valentine’s Day Season Finales: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007

Explore Valentine’s Day tag.
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