Post on 25-May-2015
Email Marketing Practices of the Top
Online Retailers
June 15, 2011
@LorenMcDonald
@Silverpop
+ 130
more
retailers that
did not make
the Top 500
ranking
Silverpop Analyzed Email Programs of …
How does your company stack up against other Top Retailers?
Opt-in
Processes
Welcome
Emails
Cart
Abandonment
Social Sharing Links
Opt-out
AlternativesStudy Aspects
Looked at Today
So let’s dive in…
1. Opt-in Process
47% hide opt-in at the bottom
36% highlight opt-in at the top
18% go for mid-page opt-in
92%84%
8%16%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Top 500 Remaining Retailers
Yes
No
Majority Feature Opt-in Prominently
Throughout Website
28%
33% 33%
14%
23%21%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
2008 2009 2010
Top 500
Remaining Retailers
1/3 of Retailers Offering Options at Opt-in
56%
35%
33%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Shopping Preferences
Channel Preferences
Frequency Preferences
All Retailers
Types of Preferences Offered by
Companies Who Gave Subscribers Options
Tips
AdsPoint
OfPurchase
Billboards
SMS Text to Email Opt-in
2. Use of Welcome Emails
Welcome emails may be the most important
email your company sends.
But 32% of you are sending this...
Zippo.Not much of a welcome, is it?
Tips
Single Email Welcome Email Series
Welcome to the Tafford Community
Tafford #1
Three Reasons You Will Love Tafford + A Special Offer
Tafford #2
Personalize Your Tafford Experience
Tafford #3
Sample Welcome Series Indexed Results…
The Future
“Welcome” programs evolve
into “Onboarding”
3. Use of Cart Abandonment Emails
60% - 70% of Shopping Carts are Abandoned
“How much money are YOU leaving on the table?”
17%(only)
Of Top 500deploy cart recovery email
programs
76%
20%
4%
1 Email
2 Emails
3 Emails
# of Emails in Cart Aband. Campaigns
76% use
a single
51%49%
Yes
No
1/2 Offer Incentives in
Cart Recovery Emails
Abandoned
Cart Emails
All
Promotional
EmailsComparison
Open Rate 37% 8% 4.6x
Click-through
rate
41% 14% 2.9x
Conversion
rate
20% 5% 4.0x
Sales/email $7.46 $.08 97x
Sample Results: CAR vs Promotional
Emails
Abandon Cart Emails
0.3%
Promotional Emails99.7%
Relative VolumeAbandon
Cart Emails18.6%
Promotional Emails81.4%
Relative Sales
0.3% Volume but 18.6% of Email Revenue
4. Social Links
Transition: Share>Find>Follow>Like
60%
78%
43%
54%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
2009 2010
Top 500
Remaining Retailers
78% Including Social Links in Emails
11%
71%
18%
Social Sharing Only
Like/Follow Only
Both
More Than 2/3 Include Like/Follow
Promote Likes/Follows
Make It Shareworthy
5. Opt-out Alternatives
2/3 Offer Some Variation of this
UGH!
31%
40%
34%
23% 24%22%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
2008 2009 2010
Top 500
Remaining Retailers
1/3 Offer Preferences at Opt-out
Alternatives
Frequency
Format
ChangeEmail
Profile/Preferences
Channel
OtherEmails
So What are the Alternatives?
Often 20-30% of subscribers presented
with alternatives to unsubscribing stay!
Promote Alternatives In the Email
Optimize Opt-in
Processes
Turn Welcome
Into “Onboarding”
Cart
Abandonment
Just Do It!
Use Email to Promote Social
Provide Opt-out
Alternatives
Takeaways
Q & A / Contact Info
• Loren McDonald
• lmcdonald@silverpop.com
• Twitter: @LorenMcDonald
www.silverpop.com
Twitter: @Silverpop
www.slideshare.net/silverpop
Stop by Booth # 608 for study report