Alex Wolk says, “For everybody, the holiday season is a time to come together and celebrate the close of another year. But for e-commerce businesses, the holidays are a time to really give business a boost. Follow these tips below to make sure that the stressful season doesn’t get the best of you.1. Do something to stand out.Every e-commerce site is working hard to up their game over the next couple of months, so you can’t just sit on your hands. Find a way that you can be different from the crowd, whether that’s by offering cool content (which we’ll take about later), incredible... [...]

Nikki Gilliland says, “If you’re struggling to find the perfect gift for that weird uncle you only see once a year – don’t worry.Many of the UK’s biggest retailers are currently promoting gift guides and finders, conveniently designed to help you discover the ideal present for all.But are these features really that helpful? Or are they just a way of fleshing out email editorial or pointing you towards the most expensive items online?(Forgive me – what’s Christmas without a healthy dose of cynicism.)Here’s how top retailers are using gift guides to inspire... [...]

Jayson Demers says, “We’re well into December, which means brands have had a few good weeks to warm up their holiday marketing strategies. If you haven’t yet developed your own brand’s holiday-specific marketing strategy, don’t worry — there’s still time before this year slips by.And, better yet, you can look at some of the best marketing campaigns out there to generate inspiration for your own creative, forward-thinking campaign.Take a look at these five brands doing holiday marketing right:1. John Lewis and “Buster the Boxer”Retailer John Lewis kicked... [...]

Lindsay Kolowich says, “Every year, as soon as Halloween is behind us, it seems like the floodgates open. Without warning, there are holiday marketing campaigns everywhere, with countless businesses rushing to cash in on a spending frenzy. There are holiday emails, social media posts, and TV ads — oh, my.It might seem like holiday marketing is out of control. But some brands do it very, very well.How? Well, these brands create campaigns that actually delight customers instead of adding to holiday “noise.” They evoke emotions and promote sharing, sometimes even connecting... [...]

Bart Mroz says, “The busiest month of the year is now upon us, and brands and retailers of all sizes have prepared for the massive surge in sales that takes place during this time.According to the National Retail Federation, the holiday season can represent as much as 30% of retailers’ annual sales.So for retail brands, there’s no more important time of year. What happens in December often determines whether yearly sales goals are missed or exceeded.Whatever your product offering is, holiday ecommerce is a multi-billion dollar opportunity for retailers.Hopefully your ecommerce business... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “Shopping ad growth continues to cannibalize text ad spend on desktop. Retail spend shifted significantly from paid search text ads to paid search shopping ads on desktop this Black Friday weekend compared to a year ago. That’s according to a report from paid search insights firm AdGooroo, a Kantar Media company, based on analysis of 2,500 top retail product keywords.From Black Friday through Cyber Monday, advertisers spent $8.9 million on Google desktop text ads across the keyword set analyzed in the US this year compared to $15.4 million in 2015. Product listing ad... [...]

SBT team says, “Holidays can be a trying time for any company. While some companies see increased profitability and patronage during this time of year, other businesses struggle with marketing, consumer interest and increasing labor costs. However, many of these issues can be eliminated by adapting your ecommerce platform to the mobile-centric nature of today’s online shoppers.How to Increase Mobile Sales During the HolidaysStart EarlyWhen it comes to offering steep holiday discounts, retailers are now starting their sales sooner than ever before. As such, it’s a good idea to begin... [...]

Nikki Gilliland says, “We’ve got an extra treat for you this week, in the form of a blockbuster Black Friday stats special.Don’t worry, there is also the usual roundup to come, but in the mean time here’s some interesting findings from the biggest shopping event of the year.Black Friday 2016 breaks US online sales recordsAdobe has revealed that this year’s Black Friday shopping frenzy broke online sales records in the US, with $3.34bn being spent online and a 17.7% increase on sales last year.It also found that retailers who invested in mobile, email and social saw 30% more sales... [...]

Olivia Dello Buono says, “We’re huge fans of using GIFs in email. And it seems you guys are, too: Last year’s GIF guide was one of our most popular posts of 2015. (Seriously – we received dozens of comments and tweets about how much you guys loved ‘em!)We didn’t want to keep you hanging this year. Our design team whipped up these exclusive creations (and threw in some old favorites) for you to use in your next holiday campaign. They’re even optimized for email and designed to play well with most email clients”.The 2016 Holiday GIF GuideAWeber [...]

Greg Sterling says, “According to data from Adobe, Cyber Monday became the largest day in US e-commerce history. Consumers spent roughly $3.4 billion online, which just beat Black Friday’s $3.34 billion. Cyber Monday generated somewhat less mobile commerce revenue at $1.19 billion vs. $1.2 billion on Black Friday.Nonetheless, smartphones and tablets drive more traffic than PCs yesterday. Adobe said that 44 percent of retail site traffic came from smartphones, while 9 percent was from tablets. More conversions happened on PCs however, driving 65 percent of online retail sales. Adobe reported... [...]