Cyber Monday Led in Holiday Email Conversions In 2017: Report

Cyber Monday emails generated an average conversion rate of 9.8%, higher than any other holiday emails, according to a study by Yes Lifecycle Marketing, the firm reported on Monday.

Over half of Cyber Monday-theme emails were sent on the day itself, but they drove a 12.7% conversion, the highest of any utilizing a Cyber Monday theme.

Conversions fell off in the days after Cyber Monday.

While Tuesday emails promoting day-after extensions drove a 16.2% open rate, conversions averaged only 2.7%. Yes Lifecycle Marketing attributes this largely to shopping fatigue. However, these accounted for only 8% of Cyber Monday emails.

Emails offering "percent off’"discounts achieved an average conversion rate of 18.1%. Those that didn’t resulted in a 3.8% rate.

In addition, holiday-themed emails were twice as effective in converting clicks to purchases as business-as-usual (BAU) emails on Cyber Monday. However, they generated a 12% engagement rate, 16% lower than BAU messages.

Green Monday was the least utilized campaign theme, deployed by 7.1% of marketers. However, emails with that message enjoyed the third-largest conversion rate and outperformed standard emails by 35%.

Black Friday emails sent on the prior Tuesday produced a 2.5% conversion rate, down from 9% in 2016.

For Thanksgiving emails, click rates topped out at 17.1% for those sent on Wednesday, while open rates hit a high of 18.3% on Tuesday. Many brands moved to send holiday emails on Thanksgiving Eve.

Christmas email open rates rose by 22%, but conversions fell by 30% from the prior year, possibly because brands left out offers in their subject lines.

"Shopping events like Cyber Monday have become table stakes for marketers looking to maximize revenue during the holiday season, but the competition for customer attention and share of wallet is stiffer than ever," states Jim Sturm, president of Yes Lifecycle Marketing.

 

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