100%

80%

90%

60%

70%

40%

50%

IWork

CyberMonday

Black Friday

�anksgiving Day

77.8%

67.6%

�anksgiving,Black Friday+Cyber Monday

Cart Abandonment EmailsAmong retailers sending promotionalemail on Cyber Monday

While there are plenty of online deals to be had, Black Friday is still the national holiday for in-store bargains. On high-mobility days like Black Friday, it’s especially critical to send emails that are mobile-friendly—whether it’s mobile-aware design or more sophisticated responsive design—as smartphone users respond very negatively to desktop-centric email designs.

November 27-29(Among 105 retailers)

vs.

In Early October(Among 107 retailers)

Email Insights and Trendsfrom

Inbox ParticipationPercentage of retailers sending at least 1 promotional email

The Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend includes some of the busiest email marketing days of the year, but consumer behavior over this 5-day

stretch is a moving target, which means retailers have to adjust their tactics from day to day. Based on our anonymous tracking of nearly110 major online retailers, we found that there continue to be great opportunities for retailers that get ahead of the curve and address

consumer needs and expectations before their competitors.

Email volume spikes on Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, which has been the busiest email marketing day of the year for many years now. While Thanksgiving has only recently become an unfettered commercial holiday, its influence continues to grow

rapidly, as evidenced by the increase in email volume on Thanksgiving Eve this year.

Thanksgiving is a day divided. Early in the day, retailers’ emails seek to engage consumers hanging out at grandma’s with ‘couchbuster’ deals, while later in the day

their emails are aimed at driving shoppers to stores for Black Friday doorbusters. This is evident in the send times used by retailers, where an early wave of

Thanksgiving messaging is followed by an evening wave of Black Friday messaging.

Mid

nigh

t1

am2

am3

am4

am5

am6

am7

am8

am9

am10

am

11 a

mNo

on1

pm2

pm3

pm4

pm5

pm6

pm7

pm8

pm9

pm10

pm

11 p

m

Mobile Friendlinessof EmailsPercentage of retailers using mobile-friendlydesign (responsive or mobile-aware) ormobile-unfriendly design (desktop-centric)for their promotional emails

Service-oriented triggered email messaging is never more vital than on Cyber Monday, which is the biggest ecommerce day of the year. For instance, emails that reengage shoppers who abandoned online shopping carts often mean the difference between a completed sale and a lost sale on this high-value shopping day.

The holiday season has clearly inspired retailers to embrace the new mobile consumer more fully. Plus, most of the increase in

mobile-friendly emails was from higher use of responsive design, which is much more sophisticated than mobile-aware design.

21% sent email in response within 3 days to a subscriber abandoninga shopping cart worth $100+

50% of those sending a cart abandonment email sent it within 24 hours of abandonment

10% of those sending a cart abandonment email sent a series of them

Source: All data based on observational researchperformed by ExactTarget involving more than100 retailers using anonymous email accounts

For more holiday insights and advice from ExactTarget,check out our Holiday Marketing blog posts and reports.

13% responsive

10% mobile-aware

77% desktop-centric

21% responsive

11% mobile-aware

68% desktop-centric

Time of Email DeliveryPercentage of promotional emails sent by retailers on Thanksgiving Day

9.6

%

0.9

%

0%

1.7

% 2.6

% 4.3

%

3.5

%

6.1

%

6.1

%

5.2

%

5.2

%

5.2

%

5.2

% 7.0

%

3.5

%

3.5

%

2.6

%

0.9

%

0.9

%

1.7

% 2.6

%4.3

%

9.6

%

7.8

%

Nov 27 Nov 28Thanksgiving

Nov 26 Nov 29Black Friday

Nov 30 Dec 1 Dec 2Cyber Monday

Dec 3

57.4%

70.4%

81.5%

69.4% 69.4%

88.0%

�anksgiving,Black Friday+Cyber Monday