Based on the analysis of 170 clients across all industries between 2006 – 2009, Experian CheetahMail has made the following determinations about the week of Black Friday:

• Email volumes increased by 24 percent for the week of Thanksgiving 2009  as compared to the same week in 2008.
• The trend of emailing more leading up to Black Friday continued in 2009 just as it had in 2008. However, the volume totals for several of these days — the Sunday, Monday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving, along with Thanksgiving Day — were much higher in 2009 than last year.
• 50 percent of emails were sent prior to 8 am each day. Of the dates examined during this time period, Black Friday had the most even distribution of send time between midnight and noon.
• Black Friday itself saw almost identical email volumes as last year, dropping roughly 1% from 2008.

Meanwhile at Experian Hitwise, our source for consumer and competitive insight, we’ve seen how specialty websites focusing solely on Black Friday sales have played a significant role in driving traffic to retail sites. Comparing the week before Thanksgiving in 2009 vs. 2008, Hitwise saw the following:

• Visits to these specialty Black Friday sites are up 4 percent compared with the same week in 2008.
• Referral traffic from these specialty sites is up 14 percent compared to the same week of 2008, making them an increasingly important aspect of holiday retail promotions.
• Wal-Mart received the greatest share of referred traffic from Black Friday websites for last week with 13 percent, followed by Target and Best Buy with 4.12 percent and 4.04 percent, respectively.

And over at PriceGrabber.com, our sister company for comparison shopping, we saw the specific products that consumers were seeking on the day of Black Friday, as well as some indicators of the nation’s economic mood:

• The most sought-after products on Black Friday 2009 included Wii™ Console, nuvi® 265WT GPS and Apple iPod® touch 8GB.
• The down economy is forcing consumers to make do with what they have. With people holding on to critical items they already own such as cars, they’re researching ways to extend the life of what they are driving now. Searches for tires are up tremendously (118%) this year.
• Practical spending for the home saw a jump this year. Large home appliances such as freezers (104%), washers (50%), dryers (33%), refrigerators (30%), cooktops & ranges (23%) and dishwashers (21%) are seeing increases in traffic as consumers are researching aging appliances now that they are home more.

Every few weeks, we saddle up with our team of email marketing experts to check the pulse of the industry. This week, we are joined by Yvette Mitchell, who oversees a number of high profile email marketing accounts in the retail, financial/credit, and consumer packaged goods industries.

The financial fallout caused by the sub-prime mortgage market is on everybody’s mind these days. With high gas and energy prices adding more hardship to consumers this holiday season, what tactics have you seen retailers implementing to meet their holiday numbers?

Yvette: Well, many retailers were smart in the months leading up to their holiday planning — they saw a clear path to cutting costs by reducing wasteful print dollars. With printing costs on the rise, a number of retailers got ahead of the game by sending fewer print catalogs in the spring and summer months. Other retailers reduced their catalog mailing list size by incorporating ‘catalog preference’ options in their online preference centers so that only interested customers would receive them. 

In addition to cost-cutting measures, what have you seen marketers do to increase the relevance and revenue of their messages?

Yvette:  In preparation for the holiday season, retailers are sending email messages with short, embedded surveys about their holiday purchase needs and/or links to preference centers requesting that subscribers update their content interests. This allows marketers to send more dynamic, personalized content that aligns more precisely with user interests.

As a suggestion, I’d point out that the holidays are an ideal time to use integrated web analytics campaigns to send “category browse” emails (ReMarketing). If an opt-in subscriber is on your site looking at a particular product category, they will be more inclined to purchase based on their implied interest in that category. ReMarketing is a great tool for encouraging purchases when used in moderation.

Are you seeing anything unexpected this holiday season that is showing promise?

Yvette: Some companies are actually using the holiday season as an acquisition period, leveraging social networking sites by setting up Facebook pages that include holiday contests/sweepstakes/trends, etc. to acquire new subscribers. It’s a pretty clever concept that stands to yield some solid results.

But my personal feelings aside, the Email Experience Council’s latest Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season sheds a little light on what actually happens online immediately after Black Friday. Apparently, Cyber Monday has really caught on…with email marketers.

67% of the retailers tracked by the Retail Email Blog [sent] at least one promotional email on Nov. 26. That was up from 44% of retailers the year before. The jump made Cyber Monday the most popular retail email marketing day of the year, eclipsing the day after Christmas, which was the biggest retail email day in 2006.

Of course, higher email volumes didn’t translate into higher sales this past year, as the EEC points out in its findings. Yes, Cyber Monday may be an unofficial holiday accepted in the business world, but it’s more of a marketing holiday than a shopping one. Don’t despair too much, though, because the EEC has lots of strategic ideas for retailers to improve their holiday mailing performance, including special holiday email series and e-gift cards.

And in case you were wondering, Reve News has a handy list of last year’s top holiday online shopping days so you can witness the magic of  “Whopping Web Wednesday” for yourself.