[December 06, 2011] Responsys Reports on Promotional Email Marketing Volume During Thanksgiving Tweet Dec 07, 2011 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- Responsys, a provider of email and cross-channel marketing solutions, announced that promotional email marketing volume during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend hit an all-time high, helping to drive significant increases in online sales. "Over the five day holiday weekend, promotional email volume sent by major retailers was up 27 percent year-over-year, with Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday all seeing record email volumes," said Chad White, Research Director at Responsys, in a release. "Retailers are making email marketing central to their cross-channel marketing efforts this holiday season like never before, and the record online sales results speak for themselves." "This year's Black Friday email marketing campaigns were much more focused on buying online than in past years, with even large store-based retailers like J.C. Penney and Office Depot promoting their online sales just as prominently as their in-store sales. "Avoiding crowds and skipping lines were common messaging themes, which definitely foreshadowed a strong Cyber Monday. "Big box retailers opening their stores on Thanksgiving last year have very quickly turned the holiday into a highly promotional and hotly contested shopping day. "This shift has been further catalyzed by the rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets, which has made it much easier for consumers to shop online while visiting friends and family. While some may bemoan the creep of commercialism into the Thanksgiving holiday, there's no putting the genie back in the bottle at this point." Up from 77 percent last year, 87 percent of retailers sent at least one promotional email to subscribers on Cyber Monday, making it the largest email marketing day of the year for the fifth consecutive year. That email volume increase helped propel Cyber Monday online sales to a new all-time high, up 33 percent year-over-year and shattering last year's record of $1.03 billion, according to IBM Coremetrics. This year, 81 percent of retailers sent at least one promotional email campaign to their subscribers on Black Friday, making it the second busiest promotional email day on record behind this year's Cyber Monday. Last year, 69 percent of retailers sent email on Black Friday. That increase in email volume helped drive significant gains in online sales, which jumped 24.3 percent compared to Black Friday 2010, according to IBM Coremetrics. The Company said this year, 75 percent of retailers sent at least one promotional email campaign to their subscribers on Thanksgiving Day, up from 60 percent last year and only 45 percent in 2009. That increase supported a huge leap in online sales, which rose 39.3 percent compared to Thanksgiving Day 2010, according to IBM Coremetrics. Responsys is a provider of email and cross-channel marketing solutions. ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]