During the influx of new holiday shoppers, retailers see at least 21% who have low brand affinity and are either shopping for particular wish list items or because the holiday deals are too good to pass up. For marketers, getting these shoppers to make a purchase with their brand during the holidays is only half the battle. It is just as important to keep them engaged so that they continue to make purchases in the future.
One essential ingredient in the effort to convert infrequent shoppers into repeat purchasers is automating personalized emails and website transformations based on shoppers’ previous engagement with products, categories, brands and site search. Eighty-seven percent of shoppers admit to buying more when they receive personalized messages from brands and by having the four following campaigns in place, retailers can keep as much as 37% of the new shoppers engaged beyond the holidays.
Start with a post-purchase series to solicit reviews and recommend products
Post purchase campaigns are a low pressure way to bring new shoppers back to your website. Soliciting reviews for the product they purchased allow the shopper to share their opinions with other shoppers, and allow retailers to make sure customers are having meaningful interactions with the brand. It’s also a great way to identify if someone had a bad experience so you can help resolve the issue and encourage them to come back in the future. Another way to stay relevant and helpful to your new shoppers is to send a personalized email that includes recommendations of other products that complement the item they had originally purchased.
Introduce them to your brand with a nurture welcome series campaign
The holidays can be an overwhelming time for shoppers as they are inundated with promotions, offers and messages from numerous brands. After a new shopper has purchased something from your website during this busy time, marketers should hold off on deploying their typical long-form welcome series. Prioritize the above mentioned post purchase campaigns before activating the welcome series. Once you do activate a welcome series campaign, deploy fewer sends during the holidays and instead focus heavily on full personalization campaigns immediately following the busy season to show shoppers what your brand has to offer year-round.
Bring shoppers back with product catalog updates based on previous interactions
Due to excess inventory and additional sales at the end of the year, retailers should target customers who may have previously missed out. These campaigns include low inventory, price reduction and back-in-stock alerts based on catalog changes. During the holidays, let shoppers know when the products they missed out on are back in stock. Post-holiday season, let them know when items they’ve previously engaged with are now on sale.
Send alerts when new products are available that match their previous interests
In order to keep customers coming back after the holiday sales have ended, retailers should send emails with relevant and customized information based on the shopper’s previous behavior. When brands or categories shoppers have interacted with previously have new products, sending triggered emails to shoppers featuring these alerts can increase conversion and loyalty. In addition to these personalized recommendations, retailers can send shoppers alerts about new and trending products or products that are on sale.
The holidays bring more opportunity for retailers beyond sales growth within the season itself. With the influx of new and old shoppers alike offering massive amounts of behavioral data, retailers have the opportunity to capitalize on that data and put it to use to automate current and future personalization campaigns.
Kristen Hamerstadt is Director of Marketing at SmarterHQ