Thanksgiving is a day of reflection and gratitude. For eCommerce businesses, though, the official start of peak season isn’t a time to sit and rest – it’s a vital period to capture consumer demand and generate sales.
In this blog post, we will be taking a look at noteworthy Thanksgiving email marketing campaigns, and we’ll delve into why they work well.
Ready to be inspired for your next Thanksgiving campaign? Let’s get started.
Tip: click on the images to view full creatives.
1) Lovesac shares their gratitude
It’s always nice to feel appreciated. In this simple note from the CEO and co-founder, furniture store Lovesac expresses gratitude to their most loyal customers and wishes them a happy Thanksgiving day.
Source: Lovesac email
2) Laura Canada makes use of personalized product recommendations
In the Thanksgiving email example below, womenswear retailer Laura Canada includes personalized product recommendations in the section “We think you’ll also love”. This helpful content will aid customers in their Thanksgiving prep and help them avoid feeling overwhelmed by focusing in on what they need and want based on previous purchase and browse behavior.
Source: Laura email
3) Bed Bath & Beyond gives the gift of discounts
What better way to thank your loyal customers and wish them a Happy Thanksgiving than to give them a discount? Bed Bath & Beyond decided to take it to the next level by including multiple coupons in their Thanksgiving email below.
Source: Bed Bath & Beyond email
When using a discount code or coupon code in your email marketing campaign, whether it’s a Thanksgiving email or not, remember to make sure that the link in your emails takes the customer straight to the offer’s page.
Also, make sure you are only using coupons if that isn’t going to harm your financial margins, or harm your brand image. You can segment customers into bargain hunters versus high-value customers, and send coupons only to those who usually only buy when there’s a discount to be had – and not to those high-value customers, where it might cheapen your brand and affect your bottomline.
4) Fracture offers a Thanksgiving prize draw
Online photo printing company Fracture uses a gamification strategy, in which loyal customers can win a prize if they are opted in to their email marketing. This works as new customers are likely to subscribe for a chance to win a Thanksgiving gift or maybe a different prize in future email campaigns.
Source: Fracture email
5) Rover helps customers find local pet sitters
Maybe you’re traveling back to your parents’ home and they’re allergic to your pet. Or maybe it’s too far to travel for your furry friend. Either way, Rover knows you may need a sitter to look after your beloved pet.
They include a link to ‘search local sitters’ in their Thanksgiving emails, leading customers to their website that makes use of geotargeting. When customers search for pet sitters on their website, it automatically shows the nearest pet sitters based on the user’s geolocation.
Source: Rover email
Geotargeting also works well to drive footfall to the customer’s closest brick-and-mortar store, if you are a multi-channel retailer or travel agent. Or to recommend holidays that depart from the customer’s nearest airport. The options are endless, so we encourage you to be creative!
6) Card Factory eases purchase anxiety
Card Factory has lots of holiday season cards, and in this email they highlight their Thanksgiving day cards range. Crucially, they also include their high Feefo service and product rating at the bottom, so customers feel reassured that Card Factory is a trustworthy company to buy from.
Source: Card Factory email
7) Crate&Barrel spotlights their customers
In the Thanksgiving email below, furniture store Crate&Barrel makes use of user-generated content (UGC) by including a feed of images that were taken and posted by their customers on Instagram. Similarly to the customer ratings example above, this creates trust for new customers with the company, and shows gratitude to loyal customers.
They also include an opt-in option for SMS messaging, and include a 10% off incentive, allowing them to grow their database with highly engaged subscribers.
Finally, Crate&Barrel also make use of personalized product recommendations, showing shoppers products that are ‘loved by shoppers like you’. This technique works because customers are more likely to follow the wisdom of the crowd, and will therefore be more likely to convert.
Source: Crate&Barrel email
8) Framebridge helps customers get ready on time
In this email, Framebridge entices customers to buy their custom frames with this welcome email. They also let customers know the cut-off date should they need the products by Thanksgiving.
Source: Framebridge email
To increase urgency, you could add a dynamic countdown timer, counting down to the order cut-off date, to encourage shoppers to take action now.
Looking for even more inspiration?
You can find more Thanksgiving email marketing inspiration on our Pinterest board and for more peak season personalization tips, download our eBook: The eCommerce guide to peak season personalization.
Want to make sure customers keep coming back to you, even after peak season? Why not download our Ultimate Guide to Customer Loyalty.
Disclaimer
This blog post is for informational purposes only. Fresh Relevance is not claiming to provide its services to the companies and brand owners referred to in the blog post.
