July 4th, Back-to-School Boost Promotional Email Volume
Top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 2.7 promotional emails on average during the week ending July 30, 2010,
according to Chad White, research director at
Responsys and author of the Retail Email Blog. That’s down 3% week-over-week, up 2% from where it was four weeks ago, and up 9% year-over-year.
Promotional email volume followed a very uneven pattern in July 2010, compared to a much smoother progression during July 2009. The final rush of July 4th-themed promotional messages caused a notable spike in volume during the first week of July 2010, with an even more pronounced drop the following week.
The beginning of the back-to-school promotional season pushed volume the week of July 16 back to its July 2 level, with a more gradual decline in the two weeks following. In comparison, the fourth week of July 2009 featured that month's highest email volume.
Monday, Friday Leading Days for Promotional Email
Retail Email
Monday, July 26 and Friday, July 30 were the most popular days of the week for retailers to send promotional email in the last week of July 2010, with 45% of top online retailers doing so. This was closely followed by Tuesday, July 27 (43%) and Thursday, July 29 (41%). The fewest online retailers sent promotional email on Saturday, July 24 (12%).
July 4th Tails Off, Back-to-School Picks Up
Promotional emails mentioning the July Fourth holiday surged to 20% the first week of the month and quickly dropped to virtually none. Back-to-school emails, which are expected to peak in August, dramatically rose from less than 10% the week of July 16 to more than 15% the week of July 23, and are now on a steadier growth pattern.
A mid-month "Christmas in July" promotion run by a number of major national chain retailers (including Sears, Target and Toys R Us) created an unusual spike in holiday/Christmas-themed emails, which accounted for virtually no volume the week of July 9 but reached 5% by the week of July 23. They were back to close to 0% by the week of July 30 and should disappear again in August.
Promotional emails mentioning the Halloween holiday should start showing up in consumer inboxes in mid-August.
Moms Control Money, Read Email
A substantial majority of mothers living with children age 12 and younger read email regularly and look forward to email offers,
according to a recent study from digital advertising agency
Brunner
.
Brunner research indicates that mothers living with children 12 and younger control $4 billion in annual household spending. Virtually all members of this demographic, nearly 96%, check email at least once a day. Eighty percent say they look forward to checking email, and 80% want to receive offers from preferred brands via email.
