• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, October 13, 2021

Americans are lining up to do their holiday shopping. And guess which channel is their favorite for communications from retailers?

It’s email, judging by Holiday Shopping Communications survey, a study from Plivo Messaging, conducted in August by the Harris Poll.  

Of 1,222 U.S. consumers who plan to shop for the upcoming season, 93% welcome brand messages, 70% by email and 41% by text, from retailers they do business with — or want to. And of 2,000 shoppers surveyed overall, 87% would 66% put email at the top of the list of possible channels. 

Still, SMS gets a play. Of the holiday shoppers, 83% would opt in for texts, particularly for shipping and delivery notices and updates (54%) and coupons (52%). And, of all consumers, 74% would do so, including 45% for updates and 43% for coupons.  

People in the 18-44 age range are more likely than older consumers to opt in for SMS — 32% compared to 10%. 

Here’s another generational difference: holiday purchases age 65+ are less likely than those from 18-64 to opt in to curbside pickup notifications. 

Individuals aged 35+ are more open to direct mail from retailers they shop or want to shop with — 40% like it, versus 21% of those ages 18-34. But younger folks widely prefer in-app messaging.

Women are more likely than men to be shopping for holiday, by a margin of 61% to 54%.  

“With ongoing supply chain disruptions, shipping issues and shortages of key products such as microchips, holiday shopping is going to look pretty different this year,” says Anusha Venkat, product manager for Plivo Messaging. 

Venkat adds, “To help consumers cope with these changes, and prevent gift-givers from feeling stressed and frustrated, retailers need to be smart about how they communicate with customers — reaching out to them at the right time, with the right message, via the right channel.”