June 28, 2012
Whether you're trying to find out if your favorite store has that sweater in your size or if you're wondering if that box of cigars will arrive in time for your father's birthday, don't count on emails to solve your problems STELLAService data measuring the quality of email responses shows that the largest online retailers answer emails completely just 54% of the time.
June 15, 2012
Smart retailers are already planning their email marketing strategies for the holidays, according to Jim Davidson, manager of marketing research at Bronto, who spoke at the email marketing firm's breakfast event in New York City on June 12. At the event, which was part of the multicity Revenue Revolution Tour, Bronto distributed a whitepaper titled The Top 12 Marketing Tips for the 2012 Holiday Season. In part two of this series, tips seven through 12 are provided. To check out tips one through six, click here for part one.
June 15, 2012
Google's Project Glass, a wearable computer that provides an augmented reality experience, has created a buzz about how its futuristic capabilities will transform daily experiences. Among these, Google is changing the way consumers interact with retailers, bringing a new wave of mobile devices to the commercial space.
June 15, 2012
A few surprises showed up when my company analyzed the email marketing practices of Internet Retailer's Top 500 online retailers this year. On the up side, more retailers are cross-pollinating their email and social channels for greater growth and engagement. They're also emailing more often in the critical first 30 days after opt-in. But the study also found that fewer marketers offer new subscribers options either to customize their email program or to avoid unsubscribing later on.
June 1, 2012
Despite all the buzz around social media, mobile apps, tablets and "the cloud," email is arguably the king of the online marketing mountain. Since around 1993, email has demonstrated a unique ability to connect with both new and current customers in a way no other channel can. In fact, according to ExactTarget, more than 93 percent of online consumers have provided their email address to at least one company or brand.
June 1, 2012
Don't make the user confirm. If you do, you'll lose more than 40 percent to 60 percent of your sign-ups on average, sometimes more 
depending on your category and/or your target demographics.
May 23, 2012
As a follow-up to my previous blog post, I continued to monitor the Gmail inbox placement for ProFlowers over the past two months. What I saw was a remarkable turnaround from the struggles the floral retailer had in February and March, when it bottomed out at 26.1 percent around Valentine's Day. ProFlowers’ proactive approach to restoring sender reputation with Gmail customers seems to have worked as planned.
May 10, 2012
In eMarketing + Commerce’s new (and FREE) podcast series Email Talk, sponsored by Silverpop, email experts Andrew Kordek, co-founder and chief strategist, Trendline Interactive, and DJ Waldow, founder/CEO, Waldow Social, will entertain you while at the same time offering insights, actionable tips and best practices around email marketing that you can take back to your desk!
May 9, 2012
We picked 23 of Internet Retailer's top 25 companies (from the IR 500) and looked at 50 brands that these companies own to find the best overall inbox delivery and open rates over the last 90 days. Piperlime.com, with 99 percent inbox delivery, and Banana Republic and iTunes at 98 percent, were at the absolute top of the inbox delivery range. Kmart, HP, Gap, Netflix, Old Navy, Best Buy and Bath & Body Works all follow closely behind with delivery in the 97th percentile.
March 29, 2012
Brands such as ProFlowers, Red Envelope and 1-800-Flowers make their promotional email push two or three weeks before Valentine's Day comes around. These campaigns usually do very well, with higher than average open rates, that is, when customers actually receive the emails.
