Top 5 Flash Sales tips
Get ‘em while they last!
Top 5 Flash Sales tips
Get ‘em while they last!
Flash Sales are all the rage in email marketing right now — engaging customers more than most other types
of sales and promotions. The number of daily deal companies continues to increase and traffic to Flash Sales
websites increased more than 128 percent in June 2011 over June of last year according to Experian Hitwise.
Flash Sales are more than timely offers.
The Flash Sale is proving to be one of the hottest tools today to capture customers’ attention and foster ongoing
engagement. It also is a great tactic for single brands looking to compete with the various Group Buying sites.
Email is a key traffic driver for advertising Flash Sales. On average, traffic from email represents 18 percent of the
referrals to Flash Sales websites — higher than social (13 percent) and search (11 percent).
To uncover the trends and optimal strategies that email marketers need to know about Flash Sales,
Experian CheetahMail’s Strategic Services team analyzed the performance of Flash Sales compared to bulk
promotional campaigns from January 2010 through February 2011. For the purposes of this study, Flash Sales
were defined as sales lasting less than 24 hours. After analyzing the data, it is clear that there
is a recipe for Flash Sale success.
1
Flash Sales increase engagement
Fifty-six percent of businesses
have higher click-to-open
rates on their Flash Sale emails
compared to their yearly click-to
open rate. The metrics prove that
these sales promote deep, longterm customer engagement with
your email program.
Regardless of your industry, Flash Sales can be a great tool — for retailers to get
rid of excess inventory, for hotels to drive bookings in specific regions, for restaurants
to drive traffic on typically slow times of day, and so on.
2
A couple of hours may be all you need
Two hour Flash Sales
report the best click-toopen rates, which are
14 percent higher than
the average for the same
businesses. Three hour
Flash Sales have the best
transaction-to-click rates,
which are 59 percent higher,
as well as the highest
transaction rates (.14%).
If you’re goal is purely engagement, or re-engagement, shorter Flash Sales can be more effective.
3
Flash Sale emails have more than 2x the increase in
transaction rates compared to other offers
Overall, Flash Sales generate
a 35 percent lift in transaction
rates. This is noteworthy given
the fact that all mailings with
offers in subject lines have an
average lift in transaction rates
of 16 percent — less than half
of the increase Flash Sale
emails provide.
Flash Sales generate a 35% lift in transaction rates
0.12%
0.11%
0.10%
0.08%
0.08%
0.06%
0.04%
0.02%
0.00%
Transaction rates
All mailings same clients
Flash Sales (<24 hours)
Create a sense of urgency by
clearly mentioning the discount,
as well as the time limit of the
discount, in the subject line.
4
Flash Sales cause more actions and transactions
Seventy-four percent of mailers
have higher transaction-to-click
rates, and 67 percent have higher
transaction rates, on their
Flash Sales compared to their
yearly rate.
The best Flash Sales
have some combination of
strong offers (50% to 70% off)
and a selection of
desirable products.
5
Flash Sales perform well in the evening
Flash Sale emails sent after 3pm
tend to perform better than
mid-day or Lunchtime sales.
Evening Flash Sales have 9%
higher open rates than
Lunchtime sales, and
33% higher total click rates.
Transaction rates are
23% higher for evening Flash
Sales compared to Lunchtime
sales, and revenue per email is
30% higher in the evening.
Regardless of the reason for the
higher performance, testing time
of day can help your message
stand out.
Transaction rates and revenue per email
are higher in evening Flash Sales
$0.15
$0.12
$0.14
$0.11
0.12%
.10%
$0.09
0.10%
.08%
.06%
$0.06
.04%
$0.03
$0.00
.12%
.02%
Evening
Revenue per email
Lunchtime
Transaction rates
If you can’t test sending a Flash Sale later in the day, test sending a reminder to those that
opened and clicked but did not convert. The lack of inbox competition for the customer’s
attention later in the day, offers email marketers an opportunity to optimize Flash Sale
campaigns to improve ROI.
For more information on Flash Sales,
email StrategicServices@cheetahmail.com or
visit our blog at experian.com/MarketingFoward.
.00%
Experian Marketing Services
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Schaumburg, IL 60173
1 888 404 6911
www.experian.com/marketingservices
© 2011 Experian Information Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.
Experian and the Experian marks used herein are service marks or
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Other product and company names mentioned herein are the
property of their respective owners.
September 2011