NOTE: The above number was a calculation based on the number ofbusiness emails sent daily (128.8 billion) X the 8% increase of emails sent per day during the holidays X the average number of days between Thanksgiving and Christmas (26 – 32).

Regardless of your religious practice, the holiday season is an immense opportunity to impact your bottom line. The holidays are a critical sales opportunity for brands in almost every industry, especially retail, CPG, DTC, and travel. The National Retail Federation expects holiday retail sales during November and December to total between $727.9 and $730.7 billion.

Email is a significant driver of holiday sales, providing the opportunity to reach out to your current audience. Here are a few quick stats on the value of holiday emails:

Holiday Email Best Practices

We hope to help you get your share of holiday sales and make the most of your emails with these holiday email best practices.

Make Your Relevance Clear
While email technology has improved, shopper patience is lower during the busy holiday season. Make sure your message is instantly clear and highlights your brand’s functional or emotional benefit (ideally both via text and visuals). Make sure your subject line is compelling, too.

Craft an Irresistible Offer
By offer, we don’t necessarily mean discounts (although some audiences have come to expect this during the holidays). Be sure you offer a compelling reason to purchase and support this with a reason to believe (RTB). If you provide a discount, make it a powerful incentive as deals abound during the holiday season.

Think Mobile First
While the holidays are a busy time for all of us, mobile shopping has become faster and more convenient, resulting in more revenue for brands selling online. Optimize your email for selling on mobile (going beyond the absolute requirement that all emails be mobile responsive).

Close the Sale
It’s the time of giving, but don’t be afraid to ask for the sale. Using a call-to-action button versus just text has been shown to increase click-through by as much as 28%. Make sure there is suitable contrast between the Buy Now button and the background to help drive sales.

Share The Gift
The holidays are a time of sharing and giving. Creating a reason to share your offer with family and friends not only increases the virality of an email but also helps build your mailing list for the coming year, too. Who wouldn’t want the gift of more leads this holiday season?

Time to Get in the Holiday Spirit
Savvy marketers will leverage this most wonderful time of year as a unique opportunity to connect with their customers. Using our holiday email best practices is a powerful way to drive the holiday spirit for both brands and shoppers. Now, get ready to light the candles and turn on the holiday decorations.