The holiday season is all but wound down at this point. Congrats on what we hope was a successful season for your email program. Let’s review what happened in December and how it aligned with the predictions in our 2014 Email Marketing Holiday Calendar, and also look at what to expect in terms of holiday email messaging during January.

December Review

We predicted that major retailers would send their active subscribers 28 promotional emails during September. It was actually a little closer to 27, with our panel of more than 100 retailers sending each of their subscribers 27.4 emails on average last month.

Cyber Monday continues to overflow its namesake day of the week. After creeping into the Sunday before and the Tuesday after, this year there was a pronounced increase in the number of retailers running “Cyber Week” campaigns. For more details, check out Email Marketing Insights from Cyber Monday.

Meanwhile, Green Monday is emerging as the next significant branded shopping occasion during the holiday season, as Free Shipping Day withers. This year a higher percentage of emails mentioned Green Monday than did Free Shipping Day on their respective days. For all the details, check out Email Marketing Insights from Green Monday and Email Marketing Insights from Free Shipping Day.

January Preview

During January, we’re expecting retailers to send their active subscribers around 19 promotional emails each. Holiday messaging volume will be low, falling off quickly after the start of the New Year. Much of the holiday messaging in January will involve gift card redemptions, holiday décor storage, and upsells around accessories for popular holiday gifts.



For more on what to expect this month, check out the 2014 Email Marketing Holiday Calendar.