Black Friday Is Just The Beginning For Retailers

Retailers
acquire as many as 40% more customers on Black Friday than an average shopping day, according to a study by machine-intelligence platform Rubikloud.

The company analyzed sales data from last
year’s 2015 Black Friday shopping spree, pinpointing how 14% of customers made their first purchase with a retailer on the eCommerce holiday.  

The problem, however, is that
retailers aren’t keeping the customers they newly acquire. Forty-four percent of new customers never purchased from the retailer again after Black Friday 2015, according to Rubikloud’s
analysis. 

How can marketers plug this loss while capitalizing on newly engaged customers? What lessons do Black Friday and Cyber Monday offer for email marketers looking to grow this
holiday season? 

Continue Promotions 

“Even in today's promotional retail environment, cheap shoes and site-wide discounts still move the needle,”
says Jared Blank, senior vice president of data at Bluecore.

Blank says many retailers expanded their promotional days this year to capture the intention of discount-minded customers.

“For the past several years we've seen retailers start the Black Friday promotions earlier into November, says Blank. ”This year retailers sensed an opportunity in moving
Cyber Monday promotions earlier, starting them on Saturday and Sunday — creating a solid wall of promotions from a few days before Thanksgiving through to Monday, without the lull
we've seen on Saturday and Sunday on past years.” 

Easy Click-To-Purchase Is Key

Nick Manzo, global omnichannel lead for 1WorldSync, credits a
streamlined and engaging ecommerce experience for driving Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.

“As consumers have moved online, retailers are making major investments in providing a
streamlined and immersive shopping experience that is consistent across every channel,” notes Manzo. “Those that have done so will continue to see an uptick in online sales throughout the
holiday season.”

Brian Marvin, COO and co-founder of Bringhub, believes the record-breaking Cyber Monday sales are a testament to the tech investments that retailers and marketers have
made in streamlining user experiences.  

“In the next couple of years, I expect Cyber Monday to expand to a wider variety of channels, reaching consumers with enticing deals
directly through shop-able content and shop-able digital advertisements,” says Marvin. “As consumers continue to look for easy and convenient methods to purchase items, retailers and
brands will need to invest in technology that enables them to offer these experiences if they want to stay competitive.”

Go Mobile

More than $1 billion was spent on a
mobile device on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, per Adobe Digital Insights, illustrating the increasing role of mobile in the retail industry.

Consumers are not just looking for
discounts, speed and flexibility during the holiday season, so it would be worthwhile for marketers to invest in offering an ideal digital experience to customers all-year round. 

In
fact, 73% retail emails are now opened on a mobile device, according to a third-quarter consumer device preference report by Movable Ink, and 66% of all apparel-related conversions occur on a mobile device as
well.