3 Creative SMS Ideas for Retailers This Holiday Shopping Season

Industry reports ranging from Retail Dive to Social Media Today are forecasting a longer holiday shopping season in 2020 than we’ve typically seen. Additionally, this year’s holiday shopping season is anticipated to start earlier than ever before, kicked off by Amazon Prime Day in mid-October, 2020.

Is your retail business prepared to capitalize on all of that increased store traffic? Here are three creative SMS ideas for retailers looking to maximize 2020 ROI and start 2021 on a high note.

Start collecting phone numbers

During this unprecedented year, consumers have adapted their shopping habits resulting in retailers following suit. Despite the volatility throughout 2020, holiday retail sales are still anticipated to grow this year.

Whether your business has just started launching SMS as a new marketing channel or you’ve been texting for years, make sure you’re disciplined in capturing customer phone numbers throughout these upcoming holiday months. Phone numbers can be collected at point of sale in-store, during the online checkout process, or anywhere in between. Make sure you don’t miss out on the opportunity to capitalize on increased store traffic by collecting phone numbers during the holiday shopping season.

Hit the ground running in 2021 with your holiday-enhanced customer list. Now that you’ve captured so many new phone numbers, you can re-engage these customers with personalized recommendations for the rest of the new year (more on this piece later).

Make opting in to text a no-brainer

According to TCPA guidelines, simply entering a mobile phone number does not automatically constitute a compliant opt-in. Make sure your opt-in process is clear, easy to follow, and compliant. But how can you make your customers want to opt in?

Many of our retail clients offer incentives like discount codes or rewards to encourage text message opt-ins. This tactic is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of during the holiday season while you’re experiencing increased traffic from both new and existing customers. By offering an incentive, consumers see the immediate value of opting in to your business’s text marketing communication channel.

To make the opting in to text even easier for consumers, Voxie offers the ability to opt in through a QR code or link. By scanning a QR code in-store or clicking a link on your website, your customers will be automatically directed to a newly drafted text message where all they have to do is hit “Send” to opt in. This process ensures compliance through the double opt-in method of scanning/clicking and sending written consent.

Remember: your customer list from the holidays doesn’t become valuable until they’ve actually opted in.

Reward your most loyal customers

Just like you want to incentivize new customers to sign up for text messages, you also want to reward your most loyal customers for their repeat business. While this could also take the form of sending discounts, there are a number of other creative ways to re-engage your most loyal customers.

For example, you could text your customers personalized recommendations based on their past purchase history, which can all be tagged and stored within the Voxie platform. Prompt them to come back in-stores over the holiday shopping season with a customized message.

You could also segment your highest-value customers and alert them of special upcoming deals or product restocks before anyone else. Plus, use conversational SMS marketing to provide easily accessible white glove service to your VIP customers. There are so many ways to deliver value and personalization to your loyal customers through text message beyond the bulk SMS promotional blast.

Boost your holiday sales with SMS

To wrap things up (no pun intended), the 2020 holiday shopping season might look different than we’ve seen before. Use SMS to boost your sales and get a head start on 2021 growth by:

1. Collecting phone numbers this holiday season

2. Making the opt-in process as easy and enticing as possible

3. Rewarding your most loyal customers