The mGage Marketing Team looks at how brands can use mobile messaging creatively to engage with and inspire consumers this holiday season. 

The holiday season will look a little different this year, and many brands are seeking out creative ways to engage with customers.

The stats below illustrate how crucial mobile was to holiday shopping last year, and we can only expect mobile marketing to play an even bigger role this year.

In 2019:

• Smartphones accounted for 84 per cent of the holiday season’s e-commerce growth.
• 67 per cent of all visits and 48 per cent of revenue on Christmas Day came from smartphone.
• 2019 saw a 34 per cent increase in revenue from smartphones on Christmas Day.
• Smartphone shoppers spent $2.9 billion during Black Friday and $3 billion on Cyber Monday. (All stats, source: Adobe’s 2019 Holiday Recap.) 

In 2020:

• Nearly 70 per cent of consumers anticipating increasing online purchases this year. (Source: Clicksz.)
• 39 per cent purchased from some online stores for the first time during the peak of COVID-19. (Source: Criteo.)
• Salesforce predicts that because of COVID as much as 30 per cent of global retail sales will be done online this holiday season.

Despite the predicted blow to in-store traffic this year, statistics show that brands will likely generate more online traffic than ever. Mobile messaging will be a key strategy for supporting customers navigating holiday shopping and driving sales amid the new normal. Read on for some of our favourite text message marketing strategies to spread holiday cheer this year!

Click and Collect
How can customers get orders as quickly as possible without stepping into stores? Make it easy for customers to order online and use curbside pickup with SMS. Through SMS, you can alert customers when their order is ready and even enable them to text the store when they have arrived.

Digital Gift Guides
Even the best gift giver can get stumped. Help shoppers brainstorm by putting together holiday gift guides with ideas for parents, significant others, friends, kids, and anyone else who might be on the list this year. Using RCS, you can send suggested products as carousels and customers can check out the guides they’re most interested in.

Sweepstakes, Instant Win Giveaways, and Challenges
Using text messaging, you can prompt customers to text a keyword like “ENTER” to a short code to automatically enter your contest. Prizes could include discounts, gift cards, or physical items.

Generate Holiday Buzz
Boost last minute sales by adding a sense of urgency with an SMS alert that the deals are ending soon.

Sharing is Caring
Travelling to visit loved ones might not be an option for everyone this year, but you can help customers spread holiday cheer with mobile gift cards. Enable customers to quickly and easily send a digital gift card via text Message. With MMS and RCS, you can even include a dynamic, holiday-themed graphic or video!

Interested in trying something new this holiday season? This year, we’re making it easy for brands to easily manage their holiday campaigns with our Holiday Mobile Marketing Packages. To find out more get in touch with us today.