7 Ways to Prepare Your Email Marketing for the Holidays

Believe it or not, the holiday season is right around the corner. This year’s holiday season is projected to rake in $123 billion in online sales, a 15.3% growth over last year. Considering nearly 25% of Cyber Monday sales were driven by email marketing, it is imperative to have your holiday email marketing strategy well planned out. Before getting into ways to prepare your holiday email marketing strategy, let’s look at four trends from last year that I expect to continue.

4 Notable 2017 Trends That Will Continue:

1.  Thanksgiving Day generated $2.87 billion in online sales. This day keeps growing in importance for retailers. From my personal inbox, it was the fourth-highest email send day. Bronto reported it was their third-highest email send day. Expect this trend to continue this year.

2. Black Friday drove nearly $1.9 billion in mobile revenue. That made up nearly 37% of all of Black Friday’s online revenue. It is 2018. If you’re not mobile optimized, you’re not optimized.

3. Cyber Monday became the first day ever to reach $2 billion in mobile revenue, setting a new mobile record. Remember that thing I said about being mobile optimized?

4. Gray November, a month-long series of discounting, is a mainstay. In 2017, every day in November drove $1 billion in online sales for the first time. In total, 58 of 61 days of the holiday season crossed this figure. The holidays are not black or white. Like the clouds in the Northeast this time of year, they are very much gray.

With these trends expected to continue how, as retailers, should you prepare your email marketing for success in 2018? While I don’t have enough time to lay out all the potential ways, here are seven important steps to jumpstart your holiday season planning.

7 Ways to Prepare Your Email Marketing for the Holidays

1. Preach your differentiators

Not only will you have your regular customers shop with you, but you will also have seasonal or first-time buyers shopping. Remind or inform them why they should choose to shop with you and not elsewhere. Do you offer extended return policies, gift wrapping, price guarantees, satisfaction guarantees, or other value-adds? If so, shout them from the rooftops. This is especially critical if your brand does not discount.

2. Entice with email design

During the season, the majority of the emails will begin to look like one another. They tend to lack creative design that engages email subscribers. Design your emails to draw attention with the use of flow, color, creative designs, or anything else to break from generic email design. Just as important, design for mobile-first. Last year 46% of all holiday website traffic was from smartphones. This is the new norm.

3. Determine your promotional strategy

Plan which discounts to offer and when (think Gray November). With so many discount options to choose from, you can determine which will have the most benefit and best protect margins. Three trends from last year included retailers offering category-specific sales, free gifts with purchases, and in-store only discounts. These tactics help keep people opening emails throughout the season, allow retailers to sell add-on items with greater margins, and drive in-store traffic. These trends are all likely win-wins for retailers.

Just as importantly, have a promotional contingency plan and prepare backup promotions or variations in advance. Be sure to have the email creative completed and have the promo codes set in your ecommerce platform and email provider in advance. This will eliminate any last-minute scrambling on your email team.

4. Create exclusivity

I saw several retailers offering “exclusive” early access to deals as being a subscriber of the email program. Lulus even asked subscribers to confirm interest by submitting a simple form to gain access. Exclusive access not only reinforces the value of your email program but can also be publicly advertised in advance as a means of growing your email list.

5. Product recommendations

The trend of self-gifting has been rising over the past several years. In fact, it is reported that 25% of holiday purchases are a self-gift. While emails with gift guides and top gifts for the season make sense, they ignore the actual email recipient. In many cases, that person is also a customer. Using intuitive and personalized product recommendations inside of your emails and on your website is a great way to encourage self-gifting while promoting gift sales at the same time.

6. Optimize transactional messages

Be sure to optimize these highly-read messages with product recommendations, upsells, cross-sells, sister brand promotions, prominent customer service info, brand differentiators, and even email subscription callouts. These messages can not only reinforce the value of your brand but help drive sales. I once had a client who drove nearly 20% of their yearly email revenue directly from transactional messages.

7. Adapt life-cycle messaging.

Finally, look at your lifecycle messages and determine tweaks that should be made to account for holiday shoppers. For instance, as more people use their shopping carts as wish lists and do comparison shopping, how might that impact your cart abandonment strategy? Consider adding a fourth message, alter your discount structure, or decreasing time between messages. These can all be effective in recapturing sales.

For a welcome series, promoting top gifts for the season, or focusing the messaging on the season may prove to convert new email subscribers at a higher rate. Be sure to tout differentiators here! If you have a purchase anniversary email sending, consider turning it off for the holiday season. Last year I was greeted with one of these messages. The message we sent during their seasonal 50% off sale. The incentive in the email message was far less and was received on the same day two 50% emails from the brand came through. This message did not provide value.

While not a complete list, they provide some starting points to begin planning for holiday success. With an expected 15% growth for ecommerce sales this holiday season, the question becomes clear. How much of that 15% are you prepared to capture?

Are Your Competitive Differentiators Really Differentiating?

What are your competitive differentiators? When I was consulting, I would ask this question of my clients during our very first meeting. While it may seem like a simple question, answers were often hard to come by. Many times, what a retailer thought was their differentiator was the viewpoint of the employee—not necessarily that of the customer.

In today’s competitive retail environment, differentiation is more important than ever. Yet, as I surf from retailer website to retailer website and endlessly click on hundreds of marketing emails in my inbox, I am struck by one thing: Very few retailers are communicating to me what makes them different from the next guy. This got me thinking: Why is this the case, and what can retailers do to change this?

Who Communicates Differentiators?

Amazon has evolved from the online bookstore it once was by doing things differently to grow their business. They focused on being customer-centric. They provide(d) great customer service and free shipping, and now offer a litany of benefits associated with Prime. They are continuously adding perks that consumers want. And guess what? They want you to know. They promote it at every stage on the shopping experience.

If a non-Prime member navigates to the site they will see the “Try Prime” image in the upper left corner of the screen. When viewing a product, they will see a Prime callout under the pricing touting fast, free shipping. Above the “Add to Cart” button they again see a checkbox asking if the user wants “FREE Two-Day Shipping” by trying Prime. During checkout I am again presenting with the free shipping callout with a trial of Prime. They even offer Prime-Only products. Prime is their differentiator and they constantly reinforce the value of Prime to shoppers.

Looking at one of Amazon’s biggest competitors, Walmart, we know their differentiator is/was selection and low prices. Consumers recognize this but resting on these laurels in today’s age is not good enough. Walmart’s website constantly reinforces free 2-day shipping with no membership fees. As I move through the shopping cart I am again reminded of this. If you look at Walmart’s emails, every one of them has a banner above the main image advertising, “No membership fees with free 2-day shipping.” This is a direct counter to Amazon’s paid Prime service. While their primary differentiator has always been low prices, they know constant reinforcement is one way to attract or retain customers.

But those are both examples of very large companies. Let’s look at a different brand: TOMS. They differentiated through their One for One model, where with each purchase a product donation is made to those in need around the world. Other retailers have also taken to this model, as younger consumers demonstrate their desire to be socially conscious. Upon going to TOMS website, I see a plethora of callouts to this program, including in the navigation and as I scroll down the page. With every email from TOMS this program is again reinforced within their messaging. TOMS is constantly demonstrating to consumers what makes them stand out.

While your company may not be Amazon or Walmart, you likely compete with them. Now, include the smaller competitors into the mix and the market becomes very tight, very quickly. So, how do you differentiate your brand from your competitors and influence consumers to purchase from you?

How Do You Differentiate?

There are many ways to differentiate, including price, shipping speed, return policies, customer service, product quality, product selection, location, in-store experience, rewards programs, consumable content (e.g. how-to videos), technology (e.g. mobile apps), and social causes. Think about ways you can reinforce your brand differentiators at every step of customer engagement. Here are some things to consider:

Website: While this might seem obvious, does your site visibly do this? Visit yours and two of your competitor’s sites. Is there anything on the homepage of these sites that would tell a consumer what differentiates the brands from one another? Don’t let your most valuable asset sit idly by.

Email: Look at reinforcing these in every one of your messages but start with your welcome messaging. I just looked at the last 30 welcome emails I received and only three—I repeat three—of them included any mention of what makes them or their products different. These emails go to brand new email subscribers! This is a prime opportunity to influence a customer. If nothing else, it might make them pause before pulling the trigger with your competitor. Don’t waste this golden opportunity.

Beyond the welcome, look for areas in your promotional emails to reinforce what makes you different. This could be secondary banner callouts or added content to your headers. Cart and browse abandonment messages are often overlooked places to include your differentiators. Remember, these messages are sent to consumers who did not buy. Reinforcing what makes you stand out can overcome the obstacles to conversion.

And yes, personalization can be a differentiator. Always consider using intuitive product recommendations in both your emails and on your website.

Social Media: Be proactive, respond to and engage with your social followers. This is your opportunity to establish a personal connection with consumers. If a consumer knows your brand is receptive and available, it can build consumer confidence. Remember, by publicly communicating with one person, everyone else can also see that. While the immediate focus is on this one person, that exchange will transcend to others.

Customer Service: Customer service is a differentiator all by itself, and, I would argue, more important than ever. If you excel at customer service, shout it from the hilltops. This shows you are customer-centric and care about them. People like shopping with companies knowing they will be taken care of if something goes amiss. Remember that your customer service is an extension of your sales team. One bad experience can cost you a customer for life. Great experiences can keep them shopping for life. Be sure to train them well.

In a retail environment where the consumer has more shopping choices than ever, differentiation is arguably more critical than ever. You need to communicate this to consumers at every step of the customer lifecycle. But before doing so, you need to really think about why someone would purchase from you and not someone else. So, let me ask you: What are your competitive differentiators?

4 Ways to Produce More Authentic Brand Images

Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, email marketing, website images – we live in an image-rich online world. And now that everyone has a camera on hand 24/7, brands can no longer get by with boring, same-old-same-old photos. Thanks to a rise in social influencers and user-generated content (UGC), those old images are losing their effectiveness. Consumers expect more authenticity.

While retailers are beginning to re-evaluate how they use photography to engage customers, they can’t rely on customers to generate all of that authentic imagery for them. Here are four ways to find a good balance.

Include your customers

One reason retailers love UGC is it showcases customers telling their own stories. It is authentic. Unfortunately, most professional lifestyle photos are void of customers, so look for ways to change that. You might include customers browsing products in-store, engaging with a sales rep, purchasing or just using the product in a social way. You know, real people doing real things!

Focus on the story

Whether you’re selling a trendy pair of boots or dental implants, think of the story you’re trying to tell with your imagery and find ways to reinforce it. You might overlay a customer quote on a specific image to better bring that story to life. You could use an image of an end result and ask your audience to caption it. Only when an image has meaning beyond a smiling face will it tell a story.

Set the mood

Images are meant to enhance or showcase emotion. Consider the mood of the images you’re using. While the natural tendency is for every picture to showcase a smile, there may be times where you want to convey a different mood. It could be sassy, defeated, frustration or even shock, to name a few. Capture images of varying moods through change in facial expressions, background and lighting, and use them when communicating your story. That way, if a social media specialist or email marketer needs an image of someone in shock to promote something new and exciting, you’ll have images to compliment the story.

Think of the end game

Is the goal of the image of someone sitting on a futon to drive an immediate sale, seek out more information on a product, digest a piece of content, grow your social following or create community engagement? By thinking through the end goal of the image, your photo shoots can become more strategic. Creating conversation around the gorgeous throw pillow on the futon may generate better sales results than focusing on the futon itself, while focusing on the futon may generate more social conversation. Create imagery that relates to the moment and the goal you’re seeking.

As I discussed in a recent episode of The Commerce Marketer Podcast, finding your brand’s voice and telling a story through authentic images has never been more critical for retailers. The goal is to take and use your photographs in a more strategic and engaging manner. Remember: Just because the photo isn’t a selfie doesn’t mean it can’t still be authentic.

How Customer Service Can Increase Sales and Build Brand Loyalty

Have a question about a product? Need help with an order? Trying to find an item in your local store? Where do you turn? Customer service. Regardless of the reason or the channel you choose, one thing remains clear. At that moment, the customer service representative can make or break the experience and have a significant impact on your overall perception of the brand.

According to CMO Council, 47% of consumers stop doing business with a brand that continues to frustrate them. And a 2017 Blackhawk Network report found that 94% of consumers are loyal to brands that deliver a consistently good customer experience – 73% are loyal because of good customer service. In most cases, you can’t have one without the other.

At a time when customer service is becoming even more important to consumers, why does it seem like companies aren’t investing in making these employees valuable assets as opposed to potential liabilities?

These days, where consumer choice is limitless, retailers who provide excellent customer service can easily separate themselves from the pack. They should focus on how their employees engage with customers at all levels because with good customer service comes consumer trust. And while obtaining that trust is critical and takes effort, losing it requires none.

Arm In-Store Employees With the Right Tools

In an effort to provide a better customer experience, many retailers are looking at offering more technology to in-store shoppers, from smart mirrors to product-less stores. But shouldn’t the same hold true for staff as well?

Think about it. If I call a customer service department, the associate is sitting in front of a computer and able to look up product and order info. They are there to assist me. But why isn’t the interaction in a store the same? Typically, I either have to hope they know the information off the top of their head, or they have to walk me to the customer service desk. And chances are I’ve already tried to find the info on my phone before seeking help. Is that a good customer experience? I might as well have stayed home and shopped online, maybe even with another company.

The time has come for retailers to provide in-store shoppers with all of the conveniences of online shopping, including an informed staff. They need to arm their associates with the tools to assist customers. In an age where every retailer is trying to compete with Amazon – and their customer service – this is one area where brick-and-mortar retailers have an advantage … at least for now. So make the most of it!

Invest in Training and Onboarding

A key part of making customer service associates an extension of your sales team is your training and onboarding process. You must invest time in training them on not only company policies but also how to take a customer-first approach to sales and service. Associates must be friendly and helpful, but they must also be able to assist customers and recommend alternate or add-on products. In instances where a customer’s experience is not going well, such as with returns or damaged items, they must be empathetic as well as helpful.

One challenge many retailers face is the associates’ lack of investment in the company’s well-being. Maybe they’re temporary or seasonal employees. Perhaps it’s “just a job” to them, such as with high-school or college students. Maybe the company work environment just isn’t that friendly. The individual situation doesn’t really matter. In that role, they’re the face of the company. They are extremely important to the success of your business. So creating buy-in is essential in having them provide the level of service you want. This is where onboarding comes into play.

Take a look at your training process, and redefine it in a way that not only empowers the employee but results in happy customers. Do you offer attainable bonuses to these employees for sales or positive review scores? Are they cross-trained on other areas of the company that would be helpful for them? Do they have visible and attainable advancement opportunities? If employees aren’t invested, there will be no consistency. And remember: 94% of consumers are loyal to those that provide consistency.

Earn Trust and Repeat Sales

Customers not only expect the customer service associate to resolve their current issue, but they also have a level of blind trust in them. They’re receptive to employee recommendations or feelings toward a product. And this becomes even more powerful if the employee is able to solve their initial request. The customer is then likely more willing to seek out, rather than simply receive, guidance from this employee, which can go a long way toward upsells or cross-sells.

The more knowledgeable an employee is, the better experience they can provide, and the more trust and satisfaction the consumer will have. This is how you build loyalty and create brand advocates!

Make it Easy for Consumers

Consumers are increasingly wanting more convenience when it comes to reaching customer service. Can you expand your current offerings? With so many ways to deliver support, think about the methods your customers may want, such as live chat, text, social media, phone or email, to name a few.

Live chat is rapidly becoming a favorable method, ranking just behind phone as the preferred method for contacting customer service, according to a 2018 Bizrate Insights report. Chat is a bit more informal and allows for a more conversational style of support, which can make it easier for employees to make product suggestions and guide a purchase decision. Don’t feel like you have to enable every channel for customers, but be sure to provide the methods they prefer, not the ones you prefer.

Customer service is the land of opportunity where retailers can compete, get ahead and build customer loyalty and brand advocates. People expect good customer service and experiences. Do your best to give them what they want. If you don’t, someone else will.

When Is the Best Time to Send Your Brand Emails?

When is the best time to send emails?

This question has been around as long as email marketing itself. If you do a quick search, you’ll find tons of different studies pointing to a variety of answers, leaving retailers just as confused as before. The common result: Brands are flooding consumers' inboxes with emails at seemingly random times throughout the day.

This over-saturation, especially when combined with a lack of relevant content, can quickly lead customers to unsubscribe or let unread promotions sink to the bottom of their inbox—never to be opened.

Let’s explore some of the nuances of the “best” email send times, debunk a few common myths, and review why you should be looking beyond the email open.

The Best Time of Day to Send Marketing Emails

Identifying the best time to send depends greatly on the products you sell and the makeup of your audience. For example, millennials and Gen Zers are digitally-native consumers. They have their mobile devices with them at all hours of the day and use them all the time. Assuming they’re only opening their emails somewhere around the 10 a.m. lull at work is a very misguided and antiquated notion. Sure, it might be true for some, but it’s not likely for both generational cohorts.

While millennials may be working, Gen Z consumers may be at school or just hanging out with their friends. The same principle holds true for evening sends. Does your target audience interact late in the evenings? For younger cohorts, the answer may be yes, but for baby boomers, it may be less likely. For me, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. is a marketing black hole. During that time, I’m eating dinner, playing with my children, and getting them ready for bed. Sending me an email at 6 p.m. is a wasted effort. But for households without children, it might be the perfect send time.

Another thing to consider when sending an email is the dreaded time zone. Even though you may want to reach your West Coast customers at 10 a.m., remember that means the same email will reach your East Coast fan base at 1 p.m. Always be sure to factor this into the equation, especially for particular messages. If you run a “lunchtime” flash sale and send the email just before noon West Coast time, your message may miss the mark for those in other time zones who are already well into the afternoon.

The Best Day of the Week to Send Marketing Emails

A very popular school of thought has been that Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were the best days to send, and weekends should be avoided. More on this in a moment. But this is another rule that has since gone by the wayside. Brands are sending more now than ever before, so focusing on one singular send day for your emails is not an option for most.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t find the optimal days for your customers. As I mentioned with determining the best email send times, when trying to find the ideal day, look at the products you sell, as well as your audience and their social lifestyle. Sure, some brands or products may not have much success on the weekends, but others may find that weekends are the best days. I have worked with companies on both ends of this spectrum. It’s all about understanding how your product appeals to your consumers and knowing how to engage with them.

Now, for those pesky weekends. Times have changed. People now have access to their email in their pocket 24/7. Are we really supposed to believe they don’t check it or shop on the weekends? Does Amazon not sell products on the weekend? Of course, people shop on the weekends! And with the ease and ability to shop whenever you want, there’s almost no reason to avoid sending on those days.

One more note: This shopping convenience has also given rise to the, let’s say, “tipsy” shopping phenomenon. This tendency to shop while feeling a little loose likely accelerates on Friday and Saturday nights. Based on your target audience, these days of the week may actually be quite powerful.

More on which days are the best to send your marketing emails here.

The Next Step

If you want to determine the best day and best time to send emails, testing and tools are critical. Use them to understand your audience. Using data analytics is a must. Take time to review your previous send data. Organize your email open and click-through results by the time and day when your brand emails were sent. But remember: If you’ve typically been sending on a particular day of the week, your data will be skewed and show that the best open rate comes from that day.

Begin by looking at the time of opens. You should see a relatively consistent pattern here, but try to look for patterns. For example, when sending an email, the majority of your opens will happen closest to the send time and decline accordingly. But if you routinely send emails at 9 a.m., but your opens spike at 1 p.m., this should tell you something.

Once you’ve determined your general baseline, formulate a testing plan for both send times and days of the week, but preferably not at the same time. Focus on one before the other. You can then optimize as you go along. Be sure to use the send time optimization tools your commerce marketing platform provides. This can help you maximize the effectiveness of your email send times.

Go Beyond the Email Open

While I’ve focused on the best days and times to send emails, the open rate is only a piece of the bigger email marketing puzzle. Of course, you want as many people to see the emails as possible, but if they don’t result in conversions, what good are they doing?

Finding the balance between improving open rates and conversion rates is critical. If you find your open rates increasing but conversions lagging, something is missing. We know that consumers today are predominantly checking their email on their mobile devices. Are your emails mobile-friendly? If not, you not only lose the potential sale, but the consumer may stop opening your emails altogether, knowing the experience will be lacking. Is the content of your emails relevant, helpful, and engaging?

Sending batch-and-blast messages is not meant to engage individuals. If you do send batch-and-blast messages, incorporate individual and engaging elements in them, such as intuitive, subscriber-specific product recommendations or user-generated content. If you’re sending an email about preparing for the snowstorm in the northeast to those who live in Miami, don’t expect strong conversions from that segment, even if they all open your email.

Final Thoughts

Connecting the right time to the best day to the right content will help you create a more consumer-friendly customer experience. Your goal is to refine your marketing programs, create unique customer journeys, and ultimately earn more revenue. Need help?

Email campaigns serve as a bridge between brands and consumers. When done correctly, they allow you to effectively communicate and interact with your customers. So don’t waste the opportunity. Adapt to the changing consumer behavior and look beyond the outdated “myths” to find the send time that’s right for you.

Is Marketing to Millennials Making Us Miss the Obvious?

My fellow Gen Xers and I are growing older with each passing day. And aging right along with us are two of the most talked about cohorts — millennials and Generation Z. If you work in marketing, you can’t go a day without hearing about them. After all, they currently make up over 40% of the U.S. population. And we all know their narrative. In addition to wielding lots of spending power, they’re unique and perplexing. They’re enigmas. They’re changing retail.

Maybe these characteristics are true, or maybe they’re just half-truths. Either way, these groups are much more than that. Dare I say it, they’re people.

Here’s a radical theory for you. Maybe generational differences don’t matter quite as much as we make them out to. As marketers, it would be foolish of us to ignore the unique characteristics of our consumer base. But some retailers focus so much on catering to certain generational cohorts that they ignore the common desires of all consumers, regardless of generation.

No consumer wants a bad experience. Doesn’t everyone want to receive their purchased products sooner than later? Wouldn’t everyone choose a more convenient shopping experience over an inconvenient one? Wouldn’t everyone prefer assistance from a friendly store associate rather than a rude one? Doesn’t everyone want to pay less, not more?

At the end of the day, consumers today want the same thing they’ve always wanted: a good experience. They want good customer service. They want a pleasant shopping experience. They want good value — a good product at a fair price. Of course, the term “fair” is relative. It doesn’t always mean cheapest but is based instead on all aspects of the product and buying process, such as overall quality, return policies, shipping speed and customer service, to name a few.

It’s up to the retailer to understand these basic consumer needs. Sure, you can focus on sending a mobile-optimized email, have a great social media presence and provide a frictionless checkout, but if your product breaks easily, can’t be returned and you can’t contact customer service except through a web form, the overall experience is still a poor one. And the customer won’t come back to buy again, no matter how many products were donated to the less fortunate thanks to that order. Amazon didn’t wait for millennials to tell them to provide a convenient shopping experience. They simply gave it to them.

Try improving all aspects of your business, regardless of the generational cohort you’re targeting. Make your email marketing as relevant, timely and mobile-optimized as possible. Streamline your website experience, have an engaged social media presence, create customer-centric shipping and return policies and offer exceptional customer service. Without these fundamental building blocks, meeting the expectations of today’s consumers will be next to impossible.

Now, I’m not saying these generations don’t have their differences. Of course they do. Gen Z are digital natives. Sending them an email that’s not optimized for mobile and asking them to print a copy of it to redeem a coupon in-store isn’t an effective strategy. And failing to provide friendly, convenient customer service, whether it be live chat or in-store associates, isn’t going to win over your millennial customer base.

But while each group has its own unique behaviors and preferences, the underlying principle is constant. Choosing to cater to those differences instead of improving the experience for all customers is a faulty strategy for retailers today.

Maybe it’s time to talk a little less about millennials and Generation Z and spend a little more time talking about people. After all, happy customers are happy people. And happy people are your best brand advocates.

Don’t You Know Me at All? The Importance of Relevant Recommendations

Imagine this scenario. You’re staying at a hotel, and you visit the concierge for a great dinner recommendation. You give him all sorts of information, including your craving for surf and turf. You tell him about the vintage red wine you like and your wife’s favorite chardonnay. You say you want a relaxed, romantic atmosphere – nothing too loud. After sharing all of those details, the concierge recommends the local sports bar. Wouldn’t you have expected more? Would you think less of the concierge and even the hotel chain as a whole? This same kind of interaction happens between retailers and consumers every day.

Such a disconnect can quickly turn consumers off and send them searching for other options. They are demanding personalized experiences and have come to expect relevant recommendations in exchange for sharing information about themselves. In fact, according to a Bronto-commissioned survey of U.S. consumers, 60% of millennials and 45% of Gen Xers expect retailers to make product recommendations based on their past purchases. Yet just 21% of millennials and 9% of Gen Xers are always satisfied with the recommendations they receive. What a major gap between expectation and reality.

When they’re done well, product recommendations are a powerful tool for connecting with consumers and making them feel like you truly understand them. They can be used in virtually any email, from day-to-day promotional emails and automated lifecycle messages, such as post-purchase and browse recovery, to order and shipping confirmations. They can even stand on their own as recommendation-only emails. And the best part is they don’t cause any additional strain for your likely lean email marketing team.

Let’s explore some of the dos and don’ts.

Make Your Product Recommendations Stand Out

Be specific to the individual. Recommendations are just that, recommendations. But showing me something my neighbor wants isn’t going to necessarily help me. Whenever possible, create recommendations that are subscriber-specific. “Listen” to the data. Email subscribers give you all sorts of digital cues – click activity, browse history, preference data and purchase behavior. This data allows you to generate more relevant results, which is particularly critical when using recommendations in a batch-and-blast message. By nature, these emails are often irrelevant to a majority of recipients. But including targeted recommendations based on individual data can often be enough to capture interest and inspire action.

Combine them with lifecycle messages. Lifecycle messages are already more relevant than standard messages because they’re based on consumer behavior. Recommendations will only take them to the next level. For example, I received a message last year reminding me that my son’s third birthday was coming up. It said finding the perfect toy for a three-year-old can be hard, but they were there to make it easier. It was a timely and engaging message by itself. But what made it even better was it included recommendations for gift ideas for three-year-old boys.

Target your purchase-related messages. Using recommendations in both transactional and post-purchase messages should be a no-brainer. You can offer specific recommendations to sell complementary items. Did a customer buy a pair of boots without waterproof spray or a hat and scarf without the matching gloves? This is the perfect place to cross-sell the customer.

Avoid These Potential Pitfalls

“Just for you” subject lines. Have you ever received a message that claims to be “Just for you?” Yet when you open the message, the results aren’t relevant to you and your behavior, and all credibility is lost? I know I have. If you were to receive another message from this brand containing that same subject line, would you open it? Doubtful. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice … you know the rest.

Static recommendations. Using static, non-intuitive recommendations can still benefit retailers if they’re done right. But be mindful of the language you use in your message. When including recommendations as a secondary or tertiary section of an email message, forego the “just for you” strategy for less specific language. Instead, go with something like top sellers, customer favorites, highest rated, new additions, picks of the month, most viewed or staff picks. This will set the right expectation for subscribers.

Recommendation-only messages. As I said earlier, sending a message with nothing but recommendations isn’t a bad thing. They can be great messages, but be wary of how you present the information. When recommendations are irrelevant, you’ll quickly lose your credibility. One such email I received suggested stylus pens and ladies jewelry, which didn’t really go along with the iPhone accessory I had purchased. For these messages, be sure the majority, if not all, of your recommendations are appropriate for the individual recipient. If not, heed my earlier advice and set the right expectations with your subject line and email copy.

Make Email Recommendations Work for You

When it comes to recommendations, ignoring your data is the worst thing you can do. Think of yourself as that concierge. When your customers offer you information, use it to meet their needs and expectations. If you don’t, they’ll begin to feel undervalued and lose faith in your brand. They trust you – don’t give them a reason to stop.

Are Loyalty Programs Still Doing Their Job?

It’s a pretty disloyal world out there, but can you really blame the consumer? Online shopping has never been easier, and stores have been stepping over each other to see who can offer the deepest discount. While discounting your way to a one-time purchase might work in the short term, at the end of the day, you need to aim for a higher prize: customer loyalty.

Many retailers attempt to accomplish this with an official loyalty program. There’s just one problem – they rarely work.

What’s Your Loyalty Program Really Worth?

Have you ever eaten at a terrible restaurant but continued to go back because of their loyalty program? Of course not! Seinfeld did an entire episode on this, so you know it’s worth questioning. These days, most loyalty programs have simply outgrown their usefulness – and they no longer create loyalty.

A while back, I was speaking with someone at Macy’s about the retail landscape. When I asked about their biggest competitor, he said it was Amazon. Is anyone shocked? Then we got onto the topic of loyalty programs. As he explained theirs, I was a bit puzzled. Here’s why.

First, you need a Macy’s credit card to be eligible, which eliminates many people right from the start – those who either don’t want another store credit card or aren’t yet loyal enough to Macy’s to want theirs. At a high level, If someone spends $500 in a year, they qualify for free shipping for the rest of the year. Is free shipping really a perk anymore, especially when the free shipping threshold on the site is only $25? These members are likely getting this “perk” anyway.

At $1,200, you earn 5% cash back on purchases, which equates to $60. Will that $60 be what prevents someone from shopping elsewhere? Remember: This person likely won’t even qualify for these perks from day one of the year, unless they buy some high-ticket items. That means they may only receive these benefits for part of the year. Come January 1, they’re back to square one.

I can’t help but think that a Macy’s credit card holder who spends $1,200 each year is already fairly loyal. And with Amazon as their biggest competitor, why should shoppers spend $500 to get free shipping when they can get the same perk for just $99?

Let’s look at another well-known brand: Starbucks. Everyone I know who drinks Starbucks coffee is pretty loyal to that brand, and it’s not because of their rewards program. It’s the customer experience. Of course, they have drive-through locations, which is convenient, but they also offer a great in-store experience. Their app allows you to order ahead, and they offer mobile payment options. Their baristas are friendly, and the store is inviting. Simplicity and convenience. Will people be more loyal to Starbucks because of the rewards program? I highly doubt it.

Bruegger’s Bagels offers a bottomless mug program, which is more or less a membership program. The price of the mug can vary by location. By my house, it’s $185 for 365 days of free refills on coffee, tea, or soda. The program is simple. One price, one benefit, for one year. At around $2 for a small coffee, frequent visitors can really rack up some savings.

But would a first-time or infrequent customer buy the bottomless cup? Not likely.

That’s a big investment for a casual visitor. While I do think it has the potential to bring an already frequent customer into the store slightly more often, I think they missed the mark of what I see as their true goal – selling food. I assume Bruegger’s is banking on customers ordering some food while waiting in line for their bottomless mug refill. But what would compel a person to make that extra purchase? I bet an incentive of 5-10% off food purchases (with cup in hand) would do the trick.

Amazon doesn’t even have a loyalty program. They have a membership program, yet people are still very loyal to them – including some Macy’s shoppers. The perks of membership, such as the convenience of quick, free delivery and access to streaming video, work to keep people shopping with them. Prime members spend roughly $1,300 a year on Amazon, almost double that of non-members. They also get cash back with an Amazon credit card (like Macy’s), but the card is not a requirement for membership. Their customer experience is why over 80 million U.S. households choose to pay for Prime membership.

What Does it all Mean?

Most loyalty programs don’t seem to generate loyalty anymore. Strong brands that provide consistently good experiences are the ones earning their customers’ loyalty. If Amazon had horrendous service and delivered a poor experience, shoppers wouldn’t keep going back to them time and time again.

Maybe we should just remove the term “loyalty program” from our lexicon altogether and refer to them as what they are: rewards programs. If done right, rewards programs can be used to create and foster customer engagement, which helps create that all-important emotional connection. Think beyond the traditional model of “buying products to accumulate points” and reward customers for interacting with your brand. Invite them to play a game or write a review to earn rewards.

If you’re banking on a loyalty program to keep customers from straying, you’ve already lost them. Take a hard look at your program. Could the time and effort of maintaining it be better spent engaging your audience with more personalized email, social media and other marketing strategies? At the end of the day, the success of your program is only as good as the success of your brand.

The Threat of Disappearing Brands in the Age of Voice Assistants

When you see a red and white can of soda or a Peter Pan silhouette on a jar, you see a brand. You know the product. But what happens when you don’t have those visual cues to draw you to certain items when you shop?

Brands used to rely on traditional advertising to embed their brand imagery in our minds and remain visible and relevant to their audience. But in today’s digital-first world, consumer attention is more fragmented. Television screen time is declining, while time spent on smartphones and other mediums is increasing. This has created challenges for brands trying to stay in front of consumers.

Voice assistants add an additional layer of uncertainty to the traditional means of keeping us brand loyal. With devices like Siri, Google Home, and Amazon’s Alexa-enabled options, consumers are relying more and more on browserless interactions. In fact, comScore predicts that 50% of all searches will be voice searches by 2020. That’s not that far away.

But while performing informational searches is one thing, the idea of searching for products and actually buying them via browserless commerce is quite another. This begs the question: if consumers are searching and buying via voice, will this erode the value of brands as we know them?

The Age of Voice Is Upon Us

Amazon claims it sold millions of Alexa devices over the Black Friday weekend and that the Echo Dot was the top-selling item on the website worldwide during the holiday season. That equates to a lot of people saying, “Hey Alexa, order me batteries.” In this scenario, the first result you get is for Amazon private-label batteries. So how do Duracell and Energizer compete with this? How do their branding efforts influence a consumer’s purchasing decision when those visual brand cues are no longer available? Are either of these two brands stronger than Amazon? Battery sales figures from Amazon indicate they’re not.

And what about those instances when Alexa fails to deliver the brand name you’re looking for and suggests you open a browser to find it? With convenience so in demand, you may opt to purchase the suggested non-branded product just to avoid spending one more second shopping for batteries. If you’re willing to take the extra step to switch devices just to make the purchase, you must really love the brand.

What Do Voice-Assisted Consumers Want?

There is no doubt that the post-Gen Z generation, often referred to as Generation Alpha, will have voice assistants as a part of their everyday life. Gen Z is coming of consumer age during this evolutionary period, and they have the spending power and skills to navigate technology. And what about millennials? According to eMarketer, thirty million were expected to use voice assistants monthly in 2017. So, what do these consumers want from the experience, and how can brands provide it?

Millennials are loyal to strong brands. And they’re drawn to both value and hyper-convenience. What does this have to do with browserless commerce? In a recent conversation with millennial marketing expert Jeff Fromm, he said this age group is loyal to brands when the brand is strong, but will trade down when it is weak. If you pair that idea with the millennial interest in value and convenience, you understand the magnitude of the challenge brands are facing. Voice assistants are the definition of hyper-convenience.

Millennials also appreciate value, which doesn’t always mean the lowest price. Think bang for the buck. It’s one reason millennials often mix brand names and private labels. If we use the Amazon battery example, Amazon hits the trifecta: a strong brand, value, and convenience. How can brand-name battery makers compete?

But millennials are just one example. Other generational groups share many of the same values. In a browserless era, brand-name paper towels, peanut butter, ketchup, underwear, mouthwash, or any other branded basic runs the risk of fading away without the visual cues that advertising built and in-person shopping enhanced.

What Can Marketers Do?

Focus on communicating your value in a way that gives consumers a reason to verbally request your brand. For example. I love Utz’s old-fashioned hard sourdough pretzels. Not pretzel rods, or small twists, but the big ones that crack my teeth! I need to convey to my wife, who does the majority of shopping, why she should specifically request that product and not settle for the recommended sourdough rods.

The same goes for when the household’s usual shopper isn’t the one ordering from the voice assistant. In the store, I might be able to recognize the laundry detergent we use by its color and logo. Without that visual, how do I choose the right one? My instinct might be to order the recommended product or the cheapest one. How you differentiate your product from generic brands is critical.

Voice assistants also change the SEO game. How we speak will become more important than the words we type into a search engine. As a non-SEO expert, I would optimize for voice by writing and producing web content in a conversational style. Consider what consumers might ask when searching for your product and how your product or content might help solve their needs. For example, I might ask, “Hey Google, what’s the best way to keep my toes warm in cold weather?” Would the content you produce or the way you write your sock’s product description be relevant enough to return a query result?

In an age of voice, the potential for brand erosion certainly exists. How far will it go? Frankly, we don’t know yet. This evolution should force existing brands to rethink how they target and interact with their audience. Staying top of mind at a time when consumers are constantly connected, value is weighted, price comparison is commonplace, and convenience is essential is difficult. And it’s especially true when the actual device returning the consumer’s request may be a direct competitor. Will brands as we currently know them be forever changed by this evolution?

In the age of voice, a familiar logo is no longer enough.

Millennials: From Punchline to Powerful Consumers

By now, you’ve heard the term “millennial” a million times over — and with good reason. They represent 25% of the US population and hold $1.3 trillion in spending power, which has turned them into quite a powerful consumer group.

Millennials have mostly been given the credit, for better or worse, for redefining consumer expectations. These expectations now go well beyond millennials, prompting retailers to change how they engage and market to consumers of all ages.

So, what do millennial consumers want? What do they care about? And how can retailers adapt?

It all starts with the smartphone. Thanks to the access these devices grant, millennials are consuming a lot of content. They read – and value – things like product reviews. They digest what’s happening on social media, both from brands and their peers. They watch videos. And yes, they communicate with their friends and family.

While content consumption is one thing, how brands drive action from them is another.

Building Millennial Loyalty

There is a notion that millennials are not loyal to brands, but this isn’t quite accurate. In fact, millennials are loyal to brands that clearly communicate a meaningful purpose and core values – and stand by them. They’re also more likely to stand behind a company that makes philanthropy part of its mission. They’re not going to go with a brand based on name alone, no matter how long the brand has been around.

For this generation, convenience is not only important, but it’s also essential. And ultimately, the consumer, not the company, defines convenience. Your brand may think four-day shipping serves its needs, but in this age of two-day, same-day, and even two-hour delivery, it may not be enough. To some consumers, four days can seem like an inconvenient eternity.

Millennial marketing expert Jeff Fromm takes it one step further and says it’s not convenience they care about, it’s hyper-convenience. As a retailer not named Amazon, you should think of ways to create customer experiences that make people want to engage with you and talk about your brand. After all, people don’t Google or ask Siri to find them an average restaurant or an average pair of shoes. To appeal to millennials, you need both a good product and good service. Here are a few ways to think about upping the experience you offer to millennial consumers.

Employees: Think about your frontline employees. Customer service representatives and store associates can help create an exceptional consumer experience. Train them to be advocates for the company. They are, after all, the face (or voice) of the business. If they’re unhelpful or treat people poorly, don’t expect repeat customers. In today’s age, news travels fast.

Content: The strategic focus here is to give consumers the information they desire when they go to look for it. Are your in-store product counts online accurate? Do you offer product reviews or how-to videos? Can I easily reach your customer service department to ask them a question? Providing easy-to-access content helps millennials navigate their customer journey.

Inspiration: Great brands inspire people to create great content. Does your brand inspire content creation, such as Instagram posts or product reviews? I don’t mean simply sending an email asking customers to review their purchase, but actually providing inspiration for doing so. Do you make consumers want to share with you on social media? Look at your messaging strategy – does it feel authentic or forced?

Email Marketing: Are your emails relevant and timely? Consumers, especially millennials, will quickly tune out generic batch-and-blast emails. Think of opportunities to send a more targeted email, such as browse recovery messaging, or adding product recommendations and user-generated content to your messages. In fact, according to one of our recent studies, 60% of US millennials fully expect stores to provide recommendations based on their past online purchases.

The customer journey today is more fragmented than ever before, especially for digitally native shoppers. Consumers today may still touch all four bases on a baseball field, but they may not do it in order. But if you can optimize your strategy and give them what they want at each stop, you’ll be a brand they remember and come back to time and time again.

For more information on marketing to millennials, check out episode 14 of the Commerce Marketer Podcast. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

Holiday Predictions Recap: Did I Hit the Mark or Shoot My Eye Out?

The holiday season exploded, much like a shot fired from a Red Rider carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle, with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time. Back in October, I laid out my predictions for the 2017 holiday season. Now it’s time to take aim at my predictions and see whether I had Black Bart in the crosshairs or ended up shooting my eye out.

Where I Hit the Mark

Prediction: More Mobile Sales

Last year, mobile accounted for 30% of all online sales. I predicted mobile sales would increase to roughly 35%.

Result: We all saw this coming. Mobile accounted for 40% of online purchases, 33% of online revenue, and 56% of traffic, according to Adobe. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times; if you’re not optimized for mobile, you’re not optimized.

Prediction: Early Sales

Online holiday sales will start in October.

Result: Seeing as every day in November drove $1 billion in online sales, we know people were shopping the deals early. From my personal inbox, the incentives offered by retailers during the final week in October were right in line with those offered in November.

Prediction: Exclusions Apply

You will see fewer “off everything” promotions and an increase in discounts on “select items.”

Result: I did notice an uptick in select categories of sale items, such as discounts on pajamas one day and sweaters the next. While I did see exclusionary sales, I think they were handled much better than last year. Last year, in many instances, I would cart items only to find out at checkout that they were not discounted. This year, I noticed the sales having their own sections on websites and emails clearly defining which categories of products were on sale.

Prediction: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

I predicted both days would drive over $1 billion in mobile commerce and that the promotions for these days would start on Sunday or Monday prior.

Result: Black Friday raked in nearly $1.9 billion in mobile revenue, nearly 37% of all of Black Friday’s online revenue. Cyber Monday became the first day ever to reach $2 billion in mobile revenue, setting a new mobile benchmark.

Black Friday wasn’t just a day – it was a week-long event. Even though Gray November was in full effect, many retailers started their Black Friday earlier that week. I made 92% of my purchases prior to Black Friday, and the other 8% on Black Friday itself. The deals were out early.

Prediction: Thanksgiving Day

I predicted that Thanksgiving Day would cross $2 billion in online sales for the first time ever.

Result: Online sales clocked in at $2.87 billion for the day. This day keeps growing as a critical online shopping day.

Prediction: Browserless Commerce

I predicted voice assistants would be the hottest sellers of the season, with Amazon devices being the No. 1 sellers in this group.

Result: Well, Apple’s HomePod was delayed until 2018, handing market share to Google and Amazon, and Google did not disclose how many devices were sold during the holidays.

But does it even matter? Amazon appears to be the big winner here. Amazon’s David Limp, head of devices, said that millions of Alexa-enabled devices were sold over Black Friday weekend. Amazon later said the Echo Dot was the top-selling item on the website worldwide during the holiday season, while the Fire TV Stick was runner-up. Can households claim Alexa as a dependent?

Prediction: Amazon’s Take

Amazon captured 38% of the online holiday sales in 2016, and I predicted this figure would inch up to the 45% mark.

Result: Amazon is king. GBH Insights estimated Amazon accounted for between 45% and 50% of online sales during the holidays. On Thanksgiving and Black Friday, Amazon accounted for 45% of online transactions among the 50 top retailers, according to Hitwise. Amazon also announced Cyber Monday was its best day ever, surpassing even Prime Day. Considering they were responsible for 44% of all online sales in 2017, this all sounds like just another day in Amazon-land.

A Few Half-Baked Holiday Results

Prediction: Even More Mobile Clicks

In Q4 2016, mobile accounted for nearly 57% of paid search clicks, with 47% coming from smartphones. I predicted we would see continued increases.

Result: At the time of writing, the data is not yet available. However, with 56% of holiday traffic coming from mobile, I would expect this prediction to be a successful one.

Prediction: In-Store Exclusives

In an attempt to drive in-store traffic, I predicted you might see a rise in brick-and-mortar retailers offering “off everything” or deeper discount sales for in-store only.

Result: There was a noticeable increase in retailers offering an additional discount, on top of the online discount, for shopping in-store. However, a relatively small number offered store-only discounts. In fact, I was astounded to see some omnichannel retailers make specific mention of the discounts being for online purchases only. Why would they not want their customers to come into the store? If anything, make it available in both places.

Prediction: Re-engineering the Brick-and-Mortar Experience

I predicted we’d see a lot of in-store-only Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, as well as some in-store price-matching.

Result: While there was a noticeable rise in extra in-store incentives, there seemed to be relatively few in-store-only sales for these signature days. This might be why Shopertrak reported that foot traffic to physical retail stores was down 1% on Black Friday.

And to no one’s surprise, Black Friday deals were widely available for the entire week (and weekend) of Thanksgiving. Looking at my own inbox, more than 20% of all email subject lines contained the term “Black Friday” on the Monday before.

And yes, price-matching was seemingly everywhere. Stores like Dick’s, Walmart, Best Buy, Sears, Newegg, and even Amazon, in some cases, all deployed price-matching strategies during the holidays.

Prediction: Email Marketing Will Continue to Dominate

Result: This one is still pending, as complete data is still being analyzed. Adobe did report that on Cyber Monday, email drove 24.9% of sales, closely followed by the 22.9% from paid search. My inbox was extremely busy. In November, I received almost 25% more emails this year than last year. Year over year, Bronto sent more than 25% more emails on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Email continues to be a highly effective marketing tool for retailers.

Where I Shot My Eye Out

Prediction: More Billion Dollar Days.

I predicted we’d see 60 of the 61 days in November and December rake in $1 billion in online sales, up from the 57 days in 2017.

Result: 58 of 61 days topped the $1 billion mark. Every day in November reached this milestone, further reinforcing Gray November as a mainstay, not a trend. While improving upon last year, December let me down. Come on, December!

Prediction: The largest online shopping day of the year

I predicted that for the first time, Black Friday – not Cyber Monday – would be the largest online shopping day of the year.

Result: Here’s the big one. I predicted Black Friday to be the online king of the year. My reasoning was based on the industry-accepted benchmark of 2016 Black Friday and Cyber Monday online sales of $3.34 and $3.45 billion, respectively. We have been seeing this gap seemingly close year over year. Inexplicably, when the 2016 baselines were referenced, these numbers were surprisingly different, at over $4.3 and $5.65 billion each day, respectively. What a difference! While the industry thought Black Friday was about to catch Cyber Monday in sales, these adjusted numbers show that this wasn’t quite the case.

All in all, this year’s Cyber Monday reportedly clocked in at $6.59 billion, and outperformed Black Friday by $1.5 billion. Although Cyber Monday has some breathing room as king of online sales, Black Friday, at over $5 billion, is no day to smirk at.

And What About My “Bold” Predictions?

Predictions:

• Starbucks will take flak over its holiday cup design. ‘Tis the season!

• I will once again purchase my tree on Black Friday.

• Fruitcake, while good in theory, will continue to be a poor party dessert.

Results: A little, yes, and yes!

The Starbucks cup design faced only minor controversy this year. Hey, someone has to complain, right?

I again purchased my tree on Black Friday, but not from the usual store. Upon arriving at my usual retailer, I was greeted with a ghost town. My local fire department’s tree lot was the winner this year. I absolutely loved my tree, and that usual retailer may have just lost my tree business forever.

And no, I did not serve fruitcake at my holiday party.

While not all of my predictions for 2017 hit the target, coming up with them is always fun. And by all accounts, this holiday season was great for consumers looking for a deal. Although retailer margins may have been squeezed, retailers certainly benefited from the high shopping turnout. This year, I look forward to seeing who Amazon acquires (I have my thoughts), how consumer behaviors will shift, and how retailers will adapt to meet their needs. These will, of course, all affect my predictions. Hopefully, next year, my predictions will be more like a Red Rider and less like pink bunny pajamas. Only time will tell.

Confessions of a Holiday Shopper: Why I Didn’t Wait Until Black Friday

This holiday season was predicted to be the best yet for online retailers – and it was. Fifty-eight out of 61 days drove over $1 billion in online sales, including every single day in November. Gray November, the month-long period of deep discounts, is now commonplace. But do people buy more or simply buy earlier?

This year, I wanted to find out how early discounts affected my own shopping behavior and see what lessons it might offer for retailers. So, I conducted a little experiment.

A Little Background

My yearly holiday shopping comes with a double whammy. See, my wife’s birthday falls one week before Christmas. After buying gifts for my wife and the kids, my digital wallet looks more like a countdown clock in an email message, getting smaller and smaller as the seconds tick away.

I traditionally draft my gift list a few days before Black Friday and then purchase over that weekend. But this year, I pivoted. Having tracked the Gray November phenomena over the past several years, I felt confident that the discounts would be just as strong prior to Black Friday weekend as during it.

You can’t write about holiday shopping (or conduct your own holiday shopping experiment) without addressing the elephant in the room – Amazon. Although I purchase from Amazon, I am not a Prime member. Am I allowed to say that? I guess the first step is admitting it. As a non-Prime member, here's what I was looking for in my shopping experience:

• Could other retailers compete with Amazon for my attention and wallet?

• Would I regret buying “early”

• Was Amazon the right retailer, or did someone else offer value or service that was better?

• In the end, how much wallet share would Amazon nab, and why?

Let the Purchasing Begin

Although my very first purchase took place on November 13, my primary shopping started on November 16. I completed 75% of my shopping prior to Thanksgiving Day and 92% prior to Black Friday.

To Amazon or Not to Amazon?

HitWise reported that Amazon accounted for 55% of Black Friday sales and 45% of Thanksgiving Day sales. For the holidays overall, GBH Insights estimates Amazon accounted for about a 50% share of online revenue.

For me, 33% of my purchases were made on Amazon, accounting for 11% of my wallet. However, my November 13 purchase was a one-time, big-ticket item. By removing this specialty purchase, the adjusted wallet share Amazon earned from me jumps to 29%. Even though money spent is money spent, I view this adjusted 29% as a more accurate number, as it's based on my typical gifting habits.

One of the main reasons I chose Amazon was the convenience of buying many diverse products in a single order at a price that was comparable to or better than a competitor’s. When the price was comparable, I mostly leaned toward Amazon for value-add reasons, such as my confidence in their customer service.

But Amazon certainly lost out on a few of my purchases. Twenty-five percent of the time, the price was higher. Another 25% of the time, I was concerned about the quality of the Amazon offerings (particularly the private-label offerings), and 17% of the time, Amazon didn’t carry what I was looking for.

My Black Friday purchases all came from Amazon. I purposely shopped for the items prior to Black Friday, placed them in my cart, and left them abandoned. The prices at this time were comparable to other sites, and I knew that come Black Friday, I’d get a deal somewhere. Interestingly enough, Amazon was the one that came through with the largest price drops.

Customer Service and the Consumer Experience

I had two notable customer service experiences while shopping. The first was from Amazon. For one purchase, I ordered a product that was fulfilled by Amazon. The product quantity showed there were six remaining. One full day after placing my order, I received an email from Amazon stating the item could not be fulfilled due to the product not being in stock. But the website still showed the product as in stock and ready to ship. Needless to say, I found this to be a very poor customer experience.

On November 18, I placed an order from a national omnichannel retailer. They had a 50% off sale on several items I was shopping for. However, one of the items on my list was not on sale. The question became: do I purchase now or wait to see if the other item goes on sale? I assessed the situation. Because they offered free shipping and free returns, I had nothing to lose. After all, if they discounted the item later, I could simply return the order and place a new one with all of the items on sale.

So I purchased, paying full price for the one item. The very next morning, the full-price item went on sale at 50% off. Because it was less than 24 hours since the order was placed, I emailed customer service asking if they would credit the difference. They declined to do so, instead instructing me to sign up for their emails so I don’t miss a future sale. Umm, OK. Instead, I let them incur the cost for not only shipping the new order but also processing the return. This incident reduces my chances of doing business with them in the future.

These two experiences highlight a lesson for retailers: Be sure the product counts on your website are accurate and that your customer service policies allow you to meet customer expectations. In both cases, I had a negative experience. For Amazon purchases, I’m skeptical of the value of paying for Prime. For the other retailer, knowing they won’t address a simple price adjustment gives me little confidence that they would satisfactorily address a more complex customer service issue.

Final Thoughts

I’m just one shopper, but I feel confident my buying behaviors are fairly representative – customer service and value trump price. Don’t leave the success of your business dependent on discounts. If you're a retailer, spend the next six months forging stronger relationships with your customers. Review your customer service policies. When issues arise, don’t just say you’re sorry. Go out of your way to make things right! Communicate value-adds that are meaningful for your customers.

When it comes to purchasing from you or a competitor, give shoppers a reason to choose you. If you rely on price alone, you’ll eventually lose.

Top Retail Trends for 2018: Industry Experts Share Their Predictions

(Intro by Daniela Forte) In 2017, we saw a tremendous number of changes happen in the retail industry. Artificial intelligence and virtual/augmented reality were just starting to take flight in terms of marketing to customers.

Amazon bought Whole Foods, changing how we thought about grocery as a whole. Voice ordering was all people could talk about as products like Amazon Echo and Google Home were changing the way people shop.

We saw Walmart take aim at Amazon with its checkout-less stores, its offer of free two-day shipping, testing in-home grocery delivery, and partnering with Google to make it possible for customers to voice order. The list goes on here.

We can expect to see more of the in-store and online battle as retailers push to win over customers by meeting them where it’s most convenient and catering to their needs and expectations.

Many in the industry called 2017 a “retail apocalypse,” and there were certainly strong elements of this. There were hundreds of store closings and several major bankruptcy filings as companies felt the ongoing pain of retail’s evolution. But the year ended on a high note with loads of anecdotal evidence of stronger-than-expected holiday sales; final figures will be in later this month.

Below, some industry experts provide their predictions on where retail and B2C commerce in general will be headed in 2018.

Greg Zakowicz

Amazon, Walmart and Winning Over Customers

Brick-and-mortar stores will continue trying to position themselves as a more customer-friendly shopping option. Meanwhile, online retailers will keep offering deep discounts to attract and retain customers. Consumers will continue to demand free and quick shipping, as that is the new standard. Brick-and-mortar, if done right, can use this to their advantage by enhancing their buy online, pickup in store (BOPIS) offerings.

One big battle will be in online grocery, where the likes of Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Kroger are all trying to find ways to win over customers in the at-home-delivery market. This will not be solved in 2018.

The most intriguing aspect to me is how voice will continue to develop. Amazon is already trying to figure out how ads can be delivered via this medium. For name brands, figuring out how they will be able to compete in this Amazon-driven environment will be critical to defining if they view the ecommerce leader as friend or foe.

Who will Amazon acquire next? From a retail standpoint, they’re making a move into the superstore-type format. This will not only help them sell more private label brands but also provide a location for BOPIS and returns, which in turn cuts shipping costs. I don’t think all the Target chatter makes sense. A store footprint the size of Kohl’s seems about right to me. Ultimately, I see the bigger news story with Amazon being in the business and entertainment space, not just in direct-to-consumer retail. I can see something that would overlap with Amazon Web Services, such as an ecommerce platform solution. I could also see a media creation/distribution company acquisition that would make them a much stronger player in not only acquiring new Prime customers, but also becoming a major over-the-top media provider.

2017 Email Marketing Report Card: Did Your Program Make the Grade?

As 2017 finds itself in your rearview mirror, ask yourself a question. What changes did I make to my email program in 2017 that had a significant impact? It’s a simple question, but I bet many of you won’t have a good answer. Some of you are likely doing the same thing now at the end of the year that you were at the start of it, possibly due to the rush of day-to-day execution or limited internal resources.

But email continues to be a powerful marketing tool. According to Econsultancy, 73% of in-house marketers worldwide said that email marketing provided a strong ROI, the most of any marketing channel. Yet, it’s too often overlooked or taken for granted.

While you may be planning to grow your email ROI in 2018, it will require some reflection and careful planning. Take a good hard look at where your program started and ended the year, and why you did or did not accomplish your goals.

Here’s a checklist to help you plan for 2018:

Review your previous goals. What were your 2017 email marketing initiatives? If you didn’t commit to any specific goals in 2017, keep reading. Now’s the time to start planning and setting goals for the coming year.

Document major accomplishments. Look at your program from the top down. What were your major accomplishments from this past year? Did you implement any new email programs, such as browse recovery? If so, how are they performing?

Optimize your messages. If you made an effort to optimize your messaging in 2017, how has it performed? Did the changes work as intended? If not, why? If so, how can you apply these principles to other messages in 2018? Don’t stop there. How can you further optimize your messages in 2018?

Assess incomplete goals. Which initiatives are left undone, and why? What roadblocks prevented you from accomplishing your goals, and how will you overcome them in 2018? And here’s another question. How much revenue did you leave on the table by not reaching these goals?

Plan for 2018. What key initiatives do you want to achieve in 2018? How much will each help your overall email program?

Analyze your resources. If you realize that you simply can’t get things done, ask for help. Find someone internally who can lend a hand. Look for partners, such as your email provider, who might be able to guide and assist you with executing your vision. Find outside third parties who may be able to help. There’s no shortage of help out here.

Don’t set it and forget it. Always look at the numbers and identify areas for improvement. If you don’t change the oil in your car, it will eventually stop working. The same goes for your automated messages. Consider editing subject lines, freshening up hero images, changing verbiage, updating template layouts, and split-testing multiple versions of your messages. What looked good two years ago may be stale and out of date today.

Don’t stop with best practices. Just because you implemented new programs this year doesn’t mean they can’t be improved. Remember: Best practices are not the endpoint, but rather the starting point. How can you make these messages more relevant for your subscribers?

Doing the same thing and hoping for better results is not only impractical, but it’s not a sustainable model for success, particularly now that consumers are more in control and expect more from retailers. If you haven’t done so yet, it’s time to come up with your roadmap for improvement. Perhaps you’ll focus on product recommendations, behavioral segmentation, optimized automated messages, user-generated content, or a combination of them all. I recently wrote about several strategies for doing just that.

With so much available out there to help you improve your email ROI, you should be asking yourself not “What can we do?” but “How much can we do?”

Why Amazon is trying to out‑Walmart Walmart

Cash is king. Well, actually, Amazon is king. And it certainly creates a lot of cash. Not only does Amazon continue to dominate e-commerce, but it also impacts almost every line of business—from supermarkets to web services. Now it’s even getting into pharmaceuticals.

The folks over at Amazon are not dumb. They test, and they try. Oftentimes, they even fail. But while they push the limits of getting to market, they’ve also proven to be patient. More importantly, they’re very calculated.

Walmart is trying to become Amazon. Ironically, though, I see Amazon as actually trying to become Walmart. Why? Because while e-commerce is growing, 92% of retail sales come from brick-and-mortar stores. Brick-and-mortar sales will continue to give up share to e-commerce, but e-commerce won’t replace it. People will continue to shop in-store, and Amazon knows that.

Here’s why I think it makes sense for Amazon to get into the supercenter game. I’m sure they’ll come up with a snazzier name, but let’s call it Amazon Life. Anyway, let’s explore this a bit, shall we?

Brick-and-Mortar: We all know Amazon is no longer an ecommerce pure-play. It has its own book stores, it now has Whole Foods (and is expanding pick-up lockers in some locations), it has stand-alone pickup lockers, and it’s also partnered with Kohl’s. This partnership makes Kohl’s a return hub for Amazon customers, as well as a place to purchase some Amazon products, such as the Echo. From what I can tell, the only reason Kohl’s agreed to this is that they believe in the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” philosophy. I don’t see this ending well for them.

I envision Amazon using Kohl’s as a testing ground to track how many returns are actually made at these locations. Are people willing to drive to a physical store to make returns? If so, how frequently? Will this additional flexibility increase the rate of return, or will it remain steady? I’ll bet Amazon is analyzing this very closely.

Kohl’s, on the other hand, is likely banking on the idea that when someone returns an item, notably clothing, they might stick around to shop for better-fitting replacement items. While this makes sense, it’s not sustainable. Amazon offers too many products for Kohl’s to bank on generating enough clothing returns and related sales to expand its market share. Amazon has over a dozen private labels in the clothing category alone and is showing no sign of slowing its expansion in this category. Why would Amazon want to potentially lose sales to Kohl’s, whose shoppers are the perfect demographic for some of its own product lines?

Shipping costs continue to rise and eat away at margins. Having a more central location where consumers could pick up orders, even same day, could cut these costs significantly. According to fulfillment software vendor Temando, 82% of shoppers said they want the option to buy online and pick up in-store. The cost of paying for returns would be significantly reduced as well. Much like the Kohl’s model, consumers would bring their returns to the store. And, oh yeah, as with the Kohl’s theory, people may want to shop for a new size or product to replace the return while they’re there. The good news here is that all the money would stay with Amazon.

Amazon’s private labels. They continue to be big sellers, and they’re constantly expanding. This includes the most recent launch of Amazon’s first two furniture lines. With over 30 private labels, there will be no shortage of products to display in-store, especially with the fashion lines. I’m going to guess that clothing makes up a large percentage of Amazon’s returns. And with the investment made in the Amazon Look [the version of Echo with a built-in camera], having a local store to assemble a wardrobe for try-on makes sense. It should also help reduce back-and-forth shipping costs under the current Prime Wardrobe subscription model.

The Whole Foods play. The chain is already a brick-and-mortar presence with over 400 stores, but they’re often cramped. Being able to buy groceries (even for pickup) while grabbing a new USB charger, a pair of socks, and your prescription refill all in one stop certainly sounds like a win-win for consumers. It has been for Walmart. This combination into a supercenter format should allow for a more streamlined distribution process.

Amazon pharmacies. While it doesn’t yet have the permits to operate an actual pharmacy, Amazon is certainly going to get there. Now, unless it purchases a drugstore chain (which is quite possible), it will have to either build out stand-alone drug stores (too costly), integrate them into an already cramped Whole Foods space (not likely), or simply be mail-order-only (least likely).

Amazon warehousing and fulfillment. Consolidation into storefronts could provide Amazon with even more leverage when dealing with brands to use its warehouse and fulfillment services. Knowing consumers could buy and pick up same-day would create some urgency for brands to want to keep their product both in stock in stores and for quick shipping online. Brands would likely need to pay for larger Amazon warehousing, increasing Amazon billings.

Showrooming. Of course, consumers love showrooming. Just ask Best Buy! This is especially true for larger purchases, such as TVs. Too bad Amazon doesn’t sell electronics. Oh, wait. You won’t need to visit a showroom and then check Amazon for its price.

Data suggests that millennials and Gen Zers actually like going into stores, but they’re also quite comfortable shopping online.  More importantly, they value time, convenience, and the experience. Many retailers lack a focus on the in-store customer experience. Amazon doesn’t—and won’t. You can bet that people walking into an Amazon Life (name not official) location would be greeted with convenience and excellent customer service.

Could This Change Prime Memberships?

Consider this. If all of this happened, Amazon might have the ability to differentiate Prime offerings, such as Prime Standard and Prime+. How would they differ?

Just hypothesizing, Prime Standard could be similar to what you have today. Free two-day shipping and free returns, as well as other media-type services. There would remain a charge for Prime Pantry deliveries; however, instead of offering same-day delivery for free, you would instead have access to same-day pickup at one of their locations.

Prime+ could be offered at a slightly higher price point and include the same-day delivery as an added option. You may even have the delivery charge for grocery orders waived one time each month. You could look for other added benefits to either program, such as tying in meal or fashion subscription services in some way.

So, while Walmart is chasing Amazon, I think Amazon quietly has its sights set on being more like Walmart. Being able to physically provide a customer-centric experience that Prime and non-Prime members alike have come to expect from Amazon can go a long way toward further cementing customer loyalty to the brand.

Brick-and-mortar isn’t dead. It just needs to be done better! And I bet Amazon will be just the one to prove it to us.

This was originally published by Internet Retailer.