25 Jun, 2015eCommerce Email Campaigns – Father`s Day
Omnichannel Father`s Day – Top 3 Emails – 2015 Recap
This article is from the weekly series of posts about eCommerce Email Marketing Best Practices.
This week we are changing our usual format in honor of father`s day. We will examine eCommerce email campaigns from some of the brands that we reviewed in the past and will select the best emails for Father`s Day. We will evaluate what we like about them and why.
Brief History of Father’s Day
According to Wikipedia (4), Father’s Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. Many countries celebrate it on the third Sunday of June, though it is also celebrated widely on other days by many other countries.
Father’s Day was inaugurated in the United States in the early 20th century to complement Mother’s Day in celebrating fathers and male parenting.
First observance
Grace Golden Clayton may have been inspired by Anna Jarvis’ work to establish Mother’s Day; two months prior, Jarvis had held a celebration for her dead mother in Grafton, West Virginia, a town about 15 miles (24 km) away from Fairmont.
After the success obtained by Anna Jarvis with the promotion of Mother’s Day in Grafton, West Virginia, the first observance of a “Father’s Day” was held on July 5, 1908, in Fairmont, West Virginia Grace Golden Clayton was mourning the loss of her father when, on December 1907, the Monongah Mining Disaster in nearby Monongah killed 361 men, 250 of them fathers, leaving around a thousand fatherless children. Clayton suggested her pastor Robert Thomas Webb to honor all those fathers.
A bill to accord national recognition of the holiday was introduced in Congress in 1913.
Americans resisted the holiday for its first few decades, viewing it as nothing more than an attempt by merchants to replicate the commercial success of Mother’s Day. It took few decades before it becomes a widely celebrated national holiday in the US. By the mid-1980s, the Father’s Council wrote that “(…) [Father’s Day] has become a Second Christmas for all the men’s gift-oriented industries.(4)
Father`s Day 2015 Facts (2)
- $12.7 billion expected spend on Father`s Day. (1)
- 75% of Americans plan to celebrate Father`s Day. (1)
- $116 average per person spending on Father`s Day. (1)
- Ecommerce composes $6 billion (2)
- Mobile purchases are $1.5 billion (2)
- Free shipping is crucial, over 50% of shoppers will only purchase if free shipping was offered. (2)
- 48% shoppers want a deal for the present and will be influenced by a sale (2)
- 18% shop 1 month in advance- 30% shop 2 weeks prior-25% 1 week prior (2)
- Only 11% buy last minute (2)
| Father’sDay Statistics (3) | Data |
|---|---|
| Total number of Dads in the U.S. | 67,800,000 |
| Number of cards purchased for Father’s Day | 110,000,000 |
| Number of people who dine out for Father’s Day | 50,000,000 |
| Number of stay-at-home dads | 196,000 |
| Number of single fathers | 1,700,000 |
| Amount less spent on Father’s Day than Mother’s Day | $5,900,000,000 |
| What Dads Want for Father’s Day | Percent |
| Gift Cards | 31.20% |
| Electronics | 29% |
| Something Homemade | 24.70% |
| Dinner | 24.70% |
| Greeting Card | 14% |
| Tools | 12.90% |
| Movies | 9.70% |
| Sporting Goods | 8.60% |
| Music | 6.50% |
| Books | 6.50% |
| Travel | 4.30% |
| Clothing | 3.20% |
| Appliances | 1.10% |
THIS WEEK WE ARE REVIEWING ECOMMERCE EMAILS FROM THE FOLLOWING RETAIL BRANDS: LOWES, CANADIAN TIRE AND MASTERMIND.
Rating
All emails will be rated from 1* to 5*, where 1 means poor and 5 is great.
We review on a weekly basis:
Design
- Colors – colors have good contrast, consistent
- Typography – fonts have readable size, clear titles
- Images – clear, visible, easy to understand
- Formatting – blocks follow each other in an easy to navigate pattern
- Mobile Optimized – all elements are visible and formatted correctly on the mobile phone
Content
- Subject line – signals urgency and clear main offer that will be found inside the email
- Clear offer – one main offer with clear call to action
- Urgency to purchase – time, stock, shipping that motivates the buyer to purchase
- Product highlights – clear description of the products to evoke the interest of the reader
Email 1: Lowes
Subject Line: Top 10 Gift Ideas for Dad
Design
- Colors: 4*
- Fonts: 4*
- Images: 4*
- Formatting: 4*
- Mobile Optimized: 4*
Content
- Subject line: 5*
- Clear offer: 4*
- Urgency to purchase: 3*
- Product highlights: 5*
Overall rating: 4.1* OVERALL WINNER
Conclusion – BUYING FACTOR: YES
Pros
- Layout and presentation are very festive and holiday oriented
- The product content includes reviews from real people which is extremely valuable
- Adding a gift card option in the email is not a bad idea to allow to capture even more shoppers
- Each product offer comes with two options either buy now or shop for all products in the category which will allow t bring awareness to other products in the category
Cons
- All items are from the same category-tools. What about the gardener dads or mechanics?
- Including products with 4.5 out of 5 rating in a 5-star rating promotion makes it look suspicious about the quality of the product
- Product grouping can be improved – the discounted products should have been grouped together
- Products with discount need a more prominent call out
Email 2: Canadian Tire
Subject Line: Find the perfect gift for Dad!
Design
- Colors: 3*
- Fonts: 4*
- Images: 4*
- Formatting:4*
- Mobile Optimized: 4 *
Content
- Subject line: 4*
- Clear offer: 4*
- Urgency to purchase: 3*
- Product highlights: 4*
Overall rating: 3.7*
Conclusion-BUYING FACTOR: MAYBE
Pros
Prominent calls to action allow finding the perfect gift for Dad easily
Cons
Items included in the email are not all for dad which makes the subject line of the email disconnected from the products found inside
Email 3: Mastermind Toys
Subject Line: Day with Dad To-Do List: Create, Play & Read!
Design
- Colors: 4*
- Fonts:3*
- Images:4*
- Formatting:3*
- Mobile Optimized:2*
Content
- Subject line:4*
- Clear offer:4*
- Urgency to purchase:3*
- Product highlights:4*
Overall rating: 3.4* INNOVATION WINNER
Conclusion- BUYING FACTOR: YES
Pros
- Extremely innovative idea to promote products for father’s day that are not traditionally associated with Father’ Day
- Incorporating the kids into the gift giving is brilliant since fathers are celebrated by kids
- Incorporates both daughters and sons
Cons
- The email is not mobile optimized and takes a long time to load
Just for Fun
Omni -Channel implementation example at its best. The email arrived on Saturday a day before father`s day. I could still avoid the crowds, get the best selection and pick up the gift on my way to see my Dad on father`s Day.
FINAL REMARKS
How to make the best Father`s day campaign in 2016!
- Start Early 1-1.5 month before
- Include gift card offer-dads love gift cards
- Make sure that your site is mobile optimized to allow for mobile shopping
- Embrace the Omnichannel experience that will enable you to get customers purchasing up to the last day
- Make sure that the offer appeals emotionally to consumers shopping for their fathers as 53% of shoppers are buying for dads vs. 29% buying for husbands
- Include discounts and sales with immediate urgency to make a purchase
- Incorporate products for every type of dad: outdoorsmen, handymen, biker, fixer, etc. The variety will allow to appeal to a wide range of audiences.
- Make sure to offer free shipping or store pickup
- Segment your list and send different offers based on the profile of your audience
- Send a happy father`s day email on father`s day just as a nice touch. It will evoke positive emotions for your store audience and might generate more sales in the future.
