Report Finds Black Friday Email Open Rates Highest On Monday & Tuesday Before Thanksgiving

Yesmail says retailers are sending Black Friday emails too late, with majority of campaigns happening on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

Chat with MarTechBot

black-friday1-ss-1920

Going on last year’s campaign results, Yesmail says retailers are waiting too late to send their Black Friday-themed emails and Facebook posts.

According to a report from the email marketing provider, open rates for Black Friday emails were the highest on the Monday and Tuesday preceding Black Friday, but the majority of email campaigns — 33 percent — were sent on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

2014 Open Rates For Black Friday-Themed Emails

yesmail black friday email report 2015

Yesmail notes the Monday prior to Black Friday also saw the highest deletion rates: “While Monday before Black Friday saw the highest open rates for Black Friday-themed emails, it also saw the highest delete after open rates — 6.6 percent.”

Looking at social posts, Yesmail’s report revealed the same trends on Facebook, with the majority of retailer Facebook posts happening on Black Friday, while Facebook engagement around Black Friday-themed posts was highest on the Sunday before Black Friday.

2014 Facebook Engagement Rates for Black Friday Themed Posts

yesmail black friday report 2015 Facebook engagement

Twitter results were slightly different with the majority of engagement for Black Friday-themed tweets happening closer to Black Friday.

For the last two years, Yesmail says Twitter engagement for Black Friday-themed tweets has been highest on Thanksgiving Day, although the majority of Black Friday tweets last year – 40.1 percent – happened on the Tuesday before Black Friday.

Yesmail’s report analyzed email and social campaigns sent by retailers November 23 through November 28, 2014, and compared results to the same time period in 2013. While Yesmail’s study was confined to only 50 retailers, the firm says a number of major brands were included, such as Macy’s, Target, Best Buy, Toys R Us and Nordstrom.

The full report from Yesmail can be downloaded at: Social Media and Email Best Practices for Week-Of Black Friday Promotions.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Amy Gesenhues
Contributor
Amy Gesenhues was a senior editor for Third Door Media, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land, Search Engine Land and MarTech Today. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs, SoftwareCEO, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy's articles.

Get the must-read newsletter for marketers.