Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, meaning eCommerce retailers must come up with awesome Valentine’s Day email marketing ideas to boost conversions and compete to win the hearts of their visitors. And, if you’re not convinced that this holiday is not worthy of the hype, just consider that according to the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics, consumers allocated $25.9 billion for Valentine’s Day expenditures in 2023, marking an increase from the $23.9 billion spent in 2022.
That’s right. Valentine’s Day is a multi-billion-dollar holiday celebrated by over 50% of consumers, worldwide! And, online shopping is trending more than ever. In 2018, 40% of shoppers planned to buy Valentine’s Day gifts for their loved ones online, with only 32% opting to purchase at a brick and mortar. Furthermore, each year consumers are increasing their spending average online for Valentine’s Day with 29.1% of shoppers spending over $100 online in 2018. Overall, retail sales increased by $1.4 billion in 2018 from 2017.
What does all of this mean for eCommerce brands in 2024? As previous trends illustrate, Valentine’s Day promises a lot this year— if you get your holiday eCommerce marketing strategy in order and come up with some stellar Valentine’s Day email marketing ideas! Now, that should get your heart fluttering with joy!
So, how do you as an eCommerce retailer avoid getting your heart broken (no one wants that!) this Valentine’s Day? Don’t worry. You’re not alone on this V-day! In this post, we’ll share with you the latest marketing tips on what you need to do to “romance” your visitors and create the most super lovable Valentine’s Day email marketing ideas ever!
Make’em fall for you with the best Valentine’s Day email marketing ideas
Valentine’s Day in eCommerce is much more than simply sending off a bulk, non-personalized email to your mailing list and hope that they will check the “yes” box when asked, “Will you be mine?” You need to center every idea, strategy or tactic you employ around driving business, thus, boosting profits. Sounds simple enough, however, many marketers miss out on these minimal marketing tactics that every brand should execute for success this Valentine’s Day:
- Plan your marketing strategy ahead of time
- Do some awesome V-Day Ads
- Engage your brand on social media
- Create a powerful super lovable email campaign that steals the hearts of all who receive it!
Loving Valentine’s Day email marketing ideas to plan your perfect strategy
No matter what products or services you sell in your eCommerce shop, finding a starting point for setting up the perfect Valentine’s day marketing strategy can feel overwhelming. That’s why the pigeons are showing some extra love this time of year and letting every marketing manager in on our game-changing tips!
Let’s begin at the beginning — where do you start designing your marketing strategy? A good starting point would be to check the previous year’s data to see what was the most successful or most wanted product or service on last year’s Valentine’s Day.
After you have pinpointed this information, add these products or services to your campaign. It’s that simple! Now, you’re on your way! Your visitors not only will be happy to see what you offer but their hearts will skip a beat with excitement, as you might have just saved them the stress and frustration of deciding what to buy their loved ones with your suggestions.
7 Super lovable Valentine’s Day email marketing ideas
Of course, as we’ve discussed above, there are a lot of actions that eCommerce managers must take behind the scenes to ensure that their Valentine’s Day email marketing ideas are executed successfully. Our lovable pigeon’s gift of giving has just begun! Get ready…you are about to receive the best Valentine’s ever! We’ll walk you through 7 Super Lovable Valentine’s Day Email Marketing Ideas:
1. Segment your mailing list…like a box of chocolates!
- Consider segmenting lists according to Web behavior: Never Purchased, Frequent Buyers, High-Value Spenders, Price Sensitive (Deal seekers), Recent Purchases, etc.
- Segmentation can be used for various demographics. For example: Men buying presents for women; Women buying presents for men; Retailers selling only gender-specific products can also adopt a campaign for a “special treat for yourself this Valentine’s Day”
- Don’t forget to also segment by age. For example, a couple in their 50s are likely to have a very different set of plans and gifts than teenagers will for this holiday
- If you have details on customer’s birthday/anniversary dates, it’s a great opportunity to combine these special offers along with Valentine’s!
Not sure about the interest of your shopper? You can craft the email campaign in a way that helps you with data collection. In the example from American Apparel, the gift guide lays out the options for the recipient to choose from. Make sure you capture which links the recipient clicks into, and use that as a basis for a more interest-targeted campaign next time!
Tip: ContactPigeon’s dynamic segmentation tool gives you cutting-edge list-building features to develop customer profiles and deliver personalized messages in your marketing campaigns to different segments.
Thirsty for more Valentine’s marketing tips for the retail industry?
Get inspired from our Retail Best Practices for Valentine’s Day article to replicate the most effective marketing tactics we’ve spotted.
2. Just like a proper Valentine’s date…Be on time!
Timing is everything in sending out your newsletters and promotions to your mailing list, especially since not all of your recipients operate on the same routine or even the same time zone.
You wouldn’t leave planning your Valentine’s Day date to the last minute, would you? Of course not. The same goes for your holiday drip marketing strategy. Planning and scheduling your email campaign way in advance has many benefits. First off, you’ll be first and foremost on the minds of buyers looking to get some early gift perspectives. Also, the earlier you start promoting your sales, the more visibility and sales opportunities you’ll have. Lastly, you can help your customers avoid messing up their Valentine’s Day gift-giving by offering early delivery ahead of the big day!
Valentine’s Day email marketing ideas to make their hearts flutter
When is the right time to send your email campaign? What is the ideal time before this special event to send the first mailer? Is it optimal to send a repetition of reminder emails before Valentine’s Day?
We are certain that most of you will be asking these questions and luckily for you, our pigeons have the answers!
Research shows that the heaviest search volume for Valentine’s Day campaigns is on the 6th, 8th & 12th of February. We suggest preparing your clients a bit earlier, ideally, the last week of January. You can do this by first sending an introduction to let them in on all of the super romantic deals and surprises they are in for this Valentine’s Day season from your brand!
Tip: Utilizing optimized email campaign delivery platforms with predictive opens will ensure your Valentine’s Day marketing campaign delivers at the correct time, for higher opens. All you are left to do is schedule your email campaign, and let a predictive email delivery model figure out the best time to deliver it to each of your recipients’ inboxes!
3. Offering up some alluring presents on Valentine’s Day? Ooohhh la la!
Freebies and special Valentine’s Day promotions are one way to be sure that your subscribers fall in love at first sight! In fact, traditional gift cards, or e-gift cards, are an extremely popular option in the U.S., according to Deloitte which shows 43% of Americans appreciate a gift card option when it comes to Valentine’s Day. Research shows that adding a compelling offer to your campaign can do wonders to increase your conversion rates. Let’s go over the top giveaways for you to offer your customers. Think: free, gifts and love! Here are some ideas for you to try:
- Give loyal customers free gifts!
- BOGO deals! Ex: One for You, One for Your Valentine!
- Give subscribers an early sweet treat for Valentine’s…maybe a $50 gift card?
- ? is in the air! Ex: Offer FREE Samples!
- Free Shipping is always appreciated!(Not to mention, free shipping boosts conversion rates and revenue per email!)
- Providing a gift return option without any additional costs will win over the hearts of your customers
- Give your customers the option to Add a personal message — special notes or wishes — for free, of course!
- Free gift wrapping gives your brand a special touch
4. Channel Cupid and come up with some unique Valentine’s Day subject lines
What’s the use of sending emails if no one actually opens them? The majority of email recipients decide on whether to open an email purely based on the subject line, so, you need to personalize subject lines as much as possible.
How do you add a touch of personalization to your Valentine’s Day email campaigns? Easy peasy! All you need to do is refer to customers by their name, and try adding words like “sweet, ideas for you”. Even emojis can help personalize the buyer’s journey (not to mention they are cute, loveable, and extremely popular these days!).
Don’t forget that the subject lines you create need to be clear and actionable. Once, you’ve got that down, create vivid, unique content that compliments your colorful holiday template. Lastly, add your emojis and gif images to bring your mailer some sugar and spice…and, send!
Tip: Keep in mind that subject lines expressing urgency drove some of the strongest open rates in 2021.
Here are some examples of eye-catching and attention-grabbing holiday email subject lines to inspire you this Valentine’s Day:
- 15% Off All ? – Drop a Hint this Valentine’s!
- You Forgot It Was Valentine’s Day. Now What?
- We’ve got a crush on you!
- Hurry! Cupid is counting down!
- Love at first sight?
- Take 30% Off Select Styles for Valentine’s Day!
- It’s Cupid’s Last Call – Don’t Forget Your Valentine!
- Don’t Mess It Up – Last Day To Ship Valentine’s Day Gifts
- PSST…TODAY Is Valentine’s Day
- It’s not too late: gift inspiration for Valentine’s Day
- Will You Be Our Valentine?
- Better Than Roses: 40% off!
- What to wear for Valentine’s Day? Valentine Sale 50% Off EVERYTHING!
6. Sweet deals: Use marketing automation to boost your conversions
Using marketing automation, you move beyond mass emails to a system that allows you to segment, retarget, track, analyze, and make corrections. All you need to do is use your unique Valentine’s Day subject lines, address your customer by name, implement our tips below — and do a happy dance — because you have created a stellar automated marketing campaign! Here you go:
- Design Valentine’s Day-themed Exit Intent Pop-Ups and pop-ups to capture emails/promote your seasonal offers
- Modify your Cart Abandonment automation emails with relevant Valentine’s Day copy (Cart abandonment is a major driver of lost revenue for holiday sales)
- To get the most out of web push notifications this Valentine’s Day, track topics visitors show interest in while browsing on your site, follow up by sending relevant content to keep them engaged, and get them to click and convert!.
- Repurchase reminders: suggest products based on last Valentine’s purchase for returning customers, plus offer an additional incentive for returning customers.
7. Bonus tip: Do as Cupid would…Drop a Hint
Additional Valentine’s Day email marketing ideas include helping visitors get their loved ones exactly what their heart desires by adding a “Drop a Hint” option. This holiday eCommerce marketing idea bonus tip isn’t directly email marketing focused, however, it is a top-notch strategy for your Valentine’s Day campaigns that we just couldn’t resist sharing!
All you need is a dynamic platform such as ContactPigeon to add a “Drop a Hint” option for consumers as they are shopping online where they can mention items they like to their significant other.
Other insightful Valentine’s Day marketing resources for a retailer
- Valentine’s Day Statistics: Get Informed On This Romantic Day [Infographic]
- The 25 Best Valentine’s Day Campaigns We Have Ever Seen
- Lovely Valentine’s Day Promotion Ideas for Retail
- Romantic Valentine’s Day Email Subject Lines to Steal
- 8 Heart-Warming Valentine’s Day Email Templates
Get ready in 2024 with the best Valentine’s Day email marketing ideas
Love is in the air this time of year and no one wants to be alone in Valentine’s Day! Give our Valentine’s Day email marketing ideas a try when creating your super lovable Valentine’s Day Email Marketing campaign to be sure to guide Cupid’s arrow to hit the bullseye with some sweet conversions.
Remember: the success of your holiday eCommerce campaign relies greatly on implementing an email marketing strategy. You must utilize marketing automation to help create relevant, targeted and personalized content that is triggered in timely and effective emails to keep your customers engaged with your brand. Be sure that you are prepared for the Valentine’s holiday with our cutting-edge platform that puts all the latest tools at your fingertips that you will fall in love with this Valentine’s Day.
Wishing you love and success this V-Day!
