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Boost holiday sales with SMS marketing for retail

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Todd Kamp

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29 Nov 2022
5 min read

Retail marketing solutions: How to boost holiday sales with SMS

With the 2022 holiday season fully underway, time is running out for retailers to attract more customers and land more sales before the new year hits. Plus, with the competition getting fiercer every year, customers are being pulled in more directions than ever before. This means companies need to up their digital communication game if they want to cut through all the noise and remain top-of-mind.

And to do just that, companies are looking beyond traditional marketing channels and focusing on the biggest retail game-changer: SMS marketing.

Retail SMS messages for the modern shopper

Customizable to each brand, offering pre-built templates for quick deployment, delivering high deliverability rates, and gift-wrapped in a personalized approach that outperforms email, SMS text messaging is the perfect solution for increasing holiday sales.

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Best of all? Integrating SMS into your retail marketing strategy is easy to do with the right platform and the right tactics. 

Marketing for retailers – made easy

Brick-and-mortar retail marketing has always been a matter of ‘first come, first served’ – especially when it comes to giving consumers the best bang for their buck. And when it comes to digital retail marketing, there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel. Instead, it’s a matter of creating a more efficient buyer’s journey; one that reaches consumers quicker than ever, speaks to their unique needs, and offers a seamless experience from initial interest to final purchase.

Here are some tips for maximizing the potential of future SMS marketing campaigns:

⬜ Create time-sensitive offers and promotions

An easy way to boost conversions is by using retail SMS to promote a limited-time deal that must be completed within a predetermined timeframe. This is ideal for clearing up inventory when space has become limited. And while it’s tempting to give subscribers a quick deadline, you should give them at least 24 hours or until the end of the business day to maximize interest from those unable to make the purchase right away.

⬜ Boost your marketing efforts with location-based outreach

Gone are the days of heading to a store in the dead of winter and trying to navigate large crowds. Instead, consumers want to be able to purchase holiday gifts straight from the comfort of their digital devices - hence the overwhelming popularity of Cyber Monday. However, retail SMS marketing can be a great way to bring shoppers back in-store if it means alerting them to a nearby clearance sale, an ‘in-store’ only deal, extended store hours, or when announcing that a new location has been opened.

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⬜ Personalize your messaging for better customer service

With 77% of consumers having a positive perception of companies that use SMS, it’s more important than ever to offer personalized messaging that speaks to a consumer’s unique needs – whether it’s a supplementary item from a previous purchase or a suggested item based on viewing history. No matter how a subsequent purchase is pitched to the consumer, it’s best practice to use the recipient’s name when addressing them – be it via SMS marketing messages, email marketing, social, or otherwise.

⬜ Retail businesses can reach more customers with bulk SMS

While personalization is the name of the game when it comes to higher engagement, sometimes companies need to cast a wide net to increase brand exposure and move inventory before the new year – and we’re not just talking about a handful of contacts. With a communications platform like Whispir, individual retail stores can upload an entire contact database, then create unique distribution lists that allow them to reach out with specific SMS messages that are most likely to convert their demographic.

⬜ Send out reminders for positive re-engagement

When consumers are on the fence, sending an abandoned cart reminder can help struggling retailers salvage what was once considered a lost sale. Shopify reports that 88% of online shopping carts are abandoned, but by sending reminders (in this case, via email), companies can earn back 3–14% of lost sales, with an average revenue per recipient of $5.81. Now, with SMS’s 98% open rates (compared to just 20% for email) there’s no reason this practice can’t do wonders for modern retailers.

⬜ Don’t forget to focus on loyalty (and new subscribers)

When trust has been established - thanks to the personal approach that text messaging provides - asking recipients to subscribe to future newsletters, special offers, and SMS campaigns can be an effective way to gain lead information as well as establish a loyal base of brand advocates. And for retail business owners, brand awareness can make or break a holiday season's worth of sales.

Whispir makes this an easy process by allowing companies to retain loyal customers and reach potential customers through branded microsites they can link to via text message. Here, visitors can fill out forms, see more products, view FAQs, find social media pages, and more.

⬜ Convenient retail marketing solutions

When items are in short supply, roads are congested, and work is busier than ever, time is the most important gift that companies can give back to their consumers. This is especially true as time runs out to have items shipped and delivered to consumer homes on time.

So, whether you’re promoting a digital doorbuster or asking visitors to subscribe to exclusive deals delivered to their mobile phones, you’ll want to make clicking and converting as seamless as possible. This way, there’s no room for another offer to slide in and you lessen the risk of providing a clunky user experience that often feels disconnected when delivered via email. Aka, right time, right place.

Let Whispir work for you during the holidays

For a retail marketing solution that delivers unmatched consumer engagement, there’s no question that SMS is the best path forward. Yet, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. From mass texting capabilities to tone-of-voice assistance, simple mobile payments with Pay by Text, pre-designed templates, and smart reporting, Whispir makes SMS marketing for retail the most wonderful tactic of the year. 

PS. Looking for even more ways to increase customer engagement, boost conversion rates, and make sure your retail marketing strategy is in tip-top shape for the new year? We recommend checking out our 2023 SMS Marketing Report & Buyer’s Guide.

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