The uses of emailing in the retail sector

This sector is one of the main victims of the current crisis. In the coming weeks, messages will have to be adapted according to the situation and the level of anxiety. This is an opportunity to take a look at this sector and to take stock of current practices.

First, a few figures to give you an idea of where you stand

Comparing yourself to others (and especially to the competition) is inevitably important when you're putting a lot of energy (and money) into your business. strategic marketing actions. It's always good to know where you stand and whether you can do better.

Getting reliable figures on email marketing is not necessarily an easy task. Here, however, the email benchmarks we follow closely at Badsender (if you have others, please let us know in the comments, thank you!) The benchmark I like to look at to dissect performance by industry is the one fromIBM Watson. It is based on the results of their clients in more than 40 countries with a distinction on 18 different sectors of activity. In this benchmark, we find averages, but also the median and the 1st and 4th quartile figures. This should allow you to really situate yourself in relation to the market.

• 23.4% average opening rate for commercial emailings and editorial newsletters. And we move on to 44.7% of average opens for automated emails.
• 3% average click-through rate for commercial emailings and editorial newsletters. IBM Watson distinguishes between vacation and non-holiday periods:
  • 2.8% average click-through rate during vacation periods
  • 3.4% average click-through rate during non-holiday periods
  • Increased to 8.8% clicks for automated emails.
• 53.7% average openings on mobile
• 56.9% of emails are read for more than 8 seconds (which is already long in emailing)
• 0.31% average hard bounce rate
• 0.11% average churn rate

The challenges of the sector

The retail sector is facing a very strong competition, which makes its customer acquisition cost high. Adopting a loyalty strategy allows you to develop your sales and make this cost profitable.

• Make your acquisition investments profitable
• Develop your sales per customer
• Generate traffic at the point of sale? and on the website
• Encourage repurchase
• Propose the right products taking into account the interests of the contacts and the local needs (stock) of the store
• Avoiding the erosion of the customer database?

What types of segmentations should be implemented?

Here are some interesting segmentations to implement:

• According to the customer life cycle and its potential :
  • The prospects Contacts with opt-in email addresses but who have not yet made a purchase. The objective will be to 'seduce' them by introducing them to your company, your values, your product range... (welcome scenario)
  • New customers : contacts who have just made their first purchase. We must ensure their satisfaction and encourage the 2nd act of purchase. (post-purchase scenario)
  • Occasional customers The objective will be to increase their average shopping basket and number of visits in order to move them to the next segment, based on their RFM status, for example.
  • Regular / VIP customers We can send them loyalty messages, a sponsorship scenario, ask their opinion...
  • Ex-clients The objective will be to reactivate them by making them discover your new products and by sending them stronger discounts for example.

• According to the declared or detected interests. The brands that really maximize their clicks and satisfaction are those that target their campaigns according to the interests of their contacts. The challenge is to qualify the base in terms of interests. The center of interest can be determined by a combination of :
  • of past purchases
  • of opens and clicks in emailings/newsletters
  • by asking directly for the centers of interest in an email with a collection form placed in the scenarios
  • of the last viewed pages of the website

• According to the store of attachment If the customer does not have a loyalty card, the connection can be made according to the postal address/postal code entered.

• Depending on the family situation The notion of home, the number and age of children... information that can be interesting in the toy, textile and childcare sectors...

• According to his shopping habits The content of the campaign can be varied according to the type of customer: web-only, store-only or mixed customers? We can vary the contents according to the animations in point of sale and the traffic generation mechanisms. A bar code to print for store only customers and a promo code for web only customers.

What customizations? (or how to offer the right products to each contact, taking into account local needs)

Know how to highlight for each contact the products that are most appropriate to his or her buying path and interests. Your goal is to stand out from your competitors while developing consumer engagement. Customers interested in your messages open them more and more. You enter a virtuous circle.

• Personalization can be done from the sender with the name of the store to which it belongs. Example : " Kiabi - Englos ".
• In the header you will be able to have, the number of loyalty points, its customer status.
• In the body of the emailThe products will be highlighted:
  • according to local sales needs
  • depending on available stocks
  • according to the interests / preferences of the contact
• In the footer of the email, we will have the coordinates of the store, the opening hours of the store, the name of the store manager...

How to animate your contact base? (or what to put in your mailing schedule)

Your sending schedule (also called editorial schedule or chestnut, in short your excel table where you list your campaigns to be sent over the next few months) must be composed at 50% of promotional emails and 50% of editorial newsletters. If you only send promotional emails, your contacts will get bored and will end up unsubscribing. If you only send editorial newsletters (composed of articles around the use of your products, tips, advice, animations in point of sale ...) your turnover will make the head 😉 So, the ideal is 50/50!?
You can even plan a different sender's wording for your editorial newsletters. For example: "The tribe by Electro-Dépôt?

And don't forget to categorize the opens and clicks of each email and newsletter to collect the interests of your contacts!

Which automated emails to set up?

Automate your communications. Automated emails get very good open and click rates, so take advantage of them! The objective of these scenarios will be to reinforce the relational side, to have a non-commercial approach, to reassure and to collect information along the way that will help you in your segmentation and personalization (such as interests! yes I know I insist but it really works!)

• The welcome scenario to welcome your contacts in the right way and establish your positioning and your values...
  • Don't limit yourself to one welcome email! You have a lot of things to say so you might as well do several emails. For example:
  • Email 1 : Thank you, welcome, transparency on your communications
  • Email 2 : Who are you ? presentation of your company, the creation, where you are today, your values, what drives you
  • Email 3: a survey on future needs, projects, desires and interests.
  • Email 4: a welcome offer? that will encourage the 1st act of purchase

• The post-purchase scenario? to thank, ensure satisfaction, highlight services, emails on the use/consumption of products purchased, and encourage repurchase via up/cross sell. Example:
  • Email 1 : Thank you, did everything go well?
  • Email 2 : Information on the use/consumption of the product: tips, advice, instructions, contact, FAQ?
  • Email 3 : information on how to recycle old products, the nearest waste disposal center, the second hand, the nearest collection point, donations to local associations?
  • Email 4 : an offer on cross sell?
• The consumable scenario. If you sell recurring products such as vacuum cleaner bags, diapers, ink cartridges... at some point these products will be consumed by your customers and they will need to restock. Setting up an automated email when you think they have run out can be a great revenue generator.
• Loyalty scenario with loyalty program. A series of emails to encourage the rise of a point level/threshold. But you can also imagine a loyalty scenario without a loyalty program that rewards your customers according to their engagement: customers who order often? customers who spend a lot? Customers who buy from you for a long time? Customers who open and click on your communications often?
• The scenario to reactivate your customers who no longer buy. It targets customers whose buying behavior is decreasing. This can be translated by a spacing out of web visits, openings, clicks, and/or by the decrease of the average basket.
• And then the classic scenario to celebrate the birthday or even the anniversary of his client

Retargeting emails or how to be reactive?  

Reactivity is a daily marketing necessity, because your hottest customers may buy elsewhere if you don't contact them in time. These emails are also very lucrative.

• Shopping cart abandonment email
• Email retargeting after site visit web?
• Price alert
• News alert
• Stock availability alert

And then of course, the reactivation scenario for inactive email addresses to avoid deliverability problems. Ideas for this scenario here.

If you want to optimize your email campaigns and think about your strategy, do not hesitate to take advantage of our offers of distance learning/coaching.
If you would like to get an outside opinion on your email design, email strategy and get recommendations, we have offers from diagnosis/audit.