There are people out there who have all of their holiday shopping done already. We are not worried about these people. Let us shift our attention instead to the nearly 20% of American shoppers who wait until December 1st to start – and the one out of every two dozen people who really get down to the last minute and do all of their shopping after December 10th.

Email marketing is an ideal way to reach these last minute shoppers. Consider crafting a holiday e-card campaign to appeal to them. Take a few moments to think through their issues: they may need a number of gifts and they’re likely in a hurry. Many last minute shoppers are also price-sensitive, but saving money is not necessarily the top concern, especially in the final 24 hours.

Craft an offer that addresses these needs. You’ll want to focus on items your buyer can get immediately. This is not the time to talk about special orders, custom work, or anything that takes time. Last minute shoppers do not want to be slowed down by the need to make decisions. Present them with your best selling items, items with wide appeal, and where concerns about sizing, compatibility and other issues are kept to a minimum. If you offer a “Call ahead and we’ll have everything ready for you to pick up” service, now is the time to emphasize it. (If you don’t offer this service, now might be a great time to consider starting one!) Finally, this is an ideal opportunity to remind people that gift cards always make a great present.

Timing is everything when reaching your last minute shoppers. It’s a good idea to review your email marketing metrics to see when you enjoy the highest open rates; that being said, we know that the days from 12/20 to 12/24 are the most critical. Scheduling your emails to arrive first thing in the morning, at noon, or near the end of the workday are all valid options if you’re interested in generating sales.

If you need help creating and deploying an email marketing campaign to reach last minute holiday shoppers, you’ll want to know about the holiday special pricing on design packages available right now. It’s not too late to make this your best holiday season ever. But you need to act now – give us a call today!