The COVID-19 crisis is driving changes in email strategy as retailers try to stay in touch with their customers, judging by a flash survey conducted last week by SmarterHQ.
Indeed, 100% of the retail brands polled have adjusted their messaging strategy based on unique and changing behaviors during the pandemic.
For instance, 43.75% have prioritized sending messages in the two-week period ending last Thursday. Only 12.5% sent fewer personalized messages, an 43.75% stayed at the same.
This snapshot survey was conducted during a April 2 webinar titled Pivoting to eCommerce-Only Marketing During COVID-19.
SmarterHQ also found that 46.15% of retailers are using in-store shopping data to personalize messaging and encourage customers to shop online. But 38.46% plan to but are not yet there, and 15.38% are not doing so.
The biggest challenges going forward are:
- In-store sales loss — 53.85%
- Inventory management — 15.38%
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- Staffing and re-opening stores — 15.38%
- New customer acquisition — 7.69%
- Online customer retention — 7.69%
“While the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting every brand, we’re seeing a large percentage of digital marketers adapt their personalized messaging strategies to best resonate with their consumer base during these unprecedented times,” says Kara Holthaus, VP client services at SmarterHQ.
Holthaus says that “even though many brick-and-mortar stores have temporarily closed, marketers are leveraging that in-store data to send more meaningful and impactful email content.”
What’s more, “Since the majority of marketers we surveyed believe that the biggest challenge they’re confronted with is in-store sales loss, utilizing this data to offer more personalized experiences online that reflect a customer’s style, preferences, and history with the brand will better position these companies when the virus is behind us,” Holthaus concludes.
During the webinar, Holthaus noted these trends:
Holthaus also offered these tips: