October to January, otherwise known as Q4, is the most significant period in e-commerce. Therefore, it demands the highest quality strategy and creative.
Q4 includes events like Halloween, Black Friday, Christmas and the January sales. Generosity is high since there are so many celebrations. The number of promotional and incentivised emails should increase accordingly, to take advantage of this.
Black Friday is the biggest sale event of the period and it’s common for brands to go as high as 70% off with their reductions. However, this does not affect their profits as email sign-ups and traffic on their website increase simultaneously. Fashion e-commerce brands in particular use this period to their advantage.
Q4 offers a great opportunity for your brand to grow its:
- AOV – average order value. This the average amount spent per customer per transaction (revenue ÷ number of orders).
- CLV – customer lifetime value. This is the revenue generated by the average customer over the course of their entire relationship with the brand.
In this blog, we share 5 of our favourite Q4 email marketing campaign ideas to help you achieve the best results for this highly competitive period.
Layering Emails
Layering emails are a great way to promote multiple products designed to be used/worn together. These especially suit fashion brands moving into the colder months, when people are seeking to refresh their winter wardrobe. They can include a discount incentive, such as spend £85 get 10% off. An example could be a men’s clothing brand selling a tracksuit, t-shirt, and windbreaker as a bundle.
Layering emails can increase AOV if people go for the deal and make a large purchase. Even if they choose not to buy all the items in the offer, seeing a well-styled outfit might push a potential customer to buy at least one product from the range.
Bundles and Gift Boxes
Gift boxes and bundles work similarly to layering emails. However, they allow brands that also sell accessories, jewellry or cosmetics to promote these products for a discounted price. This can help remove old stock or just push more sales. Bundles can be premade or you can build your own if you use a website builder like our partner, Shopify, which allows you to make this an option.
Gift Boxes are great to promote near Christmas when people are looking for presents for friends and family. They make the perfect final email to round off December, suggesting a last-minute present idea for those who are in the midst of panic buying! You could even offer free next day delivery as an incentive…
Q4 Holiday-specific Emails
Holiday emails are a great way for marketers to have fun with content and design. Straying away from BAU campaigns offers the opportunity to connect with customers on a cultural and personal level.
Everyone sends emails for holidays like Halloween, Christmas and October half term, but why not look into more obscure options?
National smile day falls on October 1st – why not send an email in the morning to make your customers smile? October 3rd is National Grandparents Day. For brands that have an older customer base, this is a great opportunity to send an email that gives customers a new reason to purchase. In this case, making their grandparents feel special.
In a world of high email traffic, it’s important to put your own twist on email campaigns. Consider all the holidays and events that apply to your brand’s unique tone and audience. New Year’s Eve, Bonfire Night and Diwali are all less frequently promoted holidays that could help you stand out from other brands.
A Good Ol’ Q4 Discount
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Boxing Day Sales and January Sales will definitely drive traffic, resulting in an uptake of purchases. However, after the high volume of promotions and sales during the Christmas period, customers may need to be incentivised heavily with large discounts and offers in January.
Once the peak has already been and gone, activity starts to slow down. Discounts are very persuasive and can sway many consumers’ purchasing habits, but you also need to consider your brand’s profit margins.
Student discounts are a great promotion to run during the January slump. They offer relatively small discounts and students are likely to have a bit of Christmas cash in their pocket. Other offers that are great for customers and cost-effective for brands are free delivery, a discount when someone spends over a set amount, and buy 3 get 1 free on cosmetics/accessories.
VIP Only Offer
Segmentation allows you to choose who receives your emails. This means you can send your best customers their own ‘unique’ incentive by creating a VIP list. Making people feel special will increase loyalty and the likelihood of them returning to purchase again.
VIP offers can include free delivery for 6 months or one time only discounts. Sending a thank you with encouragement to purchase again in the future increases the chance of multiple purchases. You can also incorporate a portal to leave a review at the bottom of the email, to demonstrate your trustworthiness to other potential customers. If VIP offers are incorporated into holiday emails, it provides an extra incentive to buy as a gift, increasing your brand awareness reach.
If sending discounts in this way is not profitable for your company, you could offer VIPs a discount if they refer a friend, thereby doubling purchases before offering money off.
Q4 is your chance to finish the year with the best results all around for your business – increased revenue, traffic, email sign-ups, social media follows and return on ad spend. Emails collaborate well with other marketing channels to drive your overall holiday marketing strategy towards success.
These fashion e-commerce email ideas are just a small example of what you can do. If you want to know more about how to achieve a record-breaking Q4 for your brand, feel free to contact us, we’d be more than happy to help!
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