Here’s your guide to navigating this year’s summer holidays, plus how you can increase revenue and drive brand engagement using SMS marketing.

This summer, there are three important dates that should be on every retail and e-commerce marketer’s calendar: Father’s Day, Big Style Day (somewhat of a “mini” Amazon Prime Day), and Independence Day. With a potential $30 billion in revenue at stake, it’s important that marketers have a strong marketing strategy in place.

8 in 10 Americans are online shoppers, with half of those being mobile shoppers, and 90% of text messages are opened within three minutes. Mobile usage has been up by more than 50% over the past few months, making SMS marketing an even more effective way to get your message seen and acted on immediately.

Here are tips on how SMS marketing can help marketers engage mobile subscribers during each upcoming summer holiday:

‍

Father’s Day: Sunday, June 21

This year, NRF predicts consumers will spend $17 billion honoring the dads in their lives, and, according to 77% of consumers, celebrating Father’s Day this year is even more important given the current state of the coronavirus pandemic. While many will turn to virtual celebrations or special outings, 30% of customers are still looking at retailers for gift inspirations, including gift cards, electronics, tools, and clothing.

Whether your shoppers are celebrating Father’s Day or not, consider using SMS marketing as part of your summer holiday strategy. Send a text message to subscribers with a curated list of the best gift ideas for dads. Include a relevant image and a link to the gift list to make it even easier for shoppers to complete their Father’s Day purchases.

Additionally, give your text messaging subscribers a chance to get ahead of the shopping game by sending a “mobile exclusive” offer to shop before anyone else. This allows them to buy their Father’s Day gift early and avoid the stress of last-minute shopping. If your shoppers are caught last-minute shopping, help them get their gift before it’s too late by alerting them of any upcoming shipping deadlines.

‍

Big Style Sale: Monday, June 22

Since launching in 2015, Amazon’s Prime Day has evolved into one of the biggest sales days of the year, topping $7.16 billion last year. While this event usually occurs in July, this year Amazon has decided to push back its annual sale to early fall due to COVID-19. However, in its absence this summer, Amazon has announced the Big Style Sale, which will provide deals and special offers on a smaller scale more focused on fashion brands.

Since its inception in 2015, Prime Day has been used as the official start of Back-to-School shopping. Consumers have purchased items ranging from lunchboxes and headphones to pet supplies and toys. Since this event is postponed until sometime this fall, retail and e-commerce brands should take advantage of the opportunity to engage eager summer shoppers and drive traffic back to their own websites.

Use text messaging to reach shoppers and alert them of any style-related offers or limited-time deals. For example, Prime Day is known for offering lightning deals that usually only last a few hours, in addition to spotlight deals (deep discounts on popular items across Amazon’s site). You can alert text subscribers about limited-time promotions and offers that your brand is running to drive immediate action. These messages can include a graphic, like a timer alerting consumers of how much time is left in the offer. Your brand can also consider offering free shipping to match consumers’ expectations for the annual Prime Day.

‍

Independence Day: Saturday, July 4

Last year, consumers spent over $6.7 billion on Independence Day celebrations. Though this year’s celebration is shaping up to be a bit different due to social-distancing restrictions, the themes of unity and community will be more prevalent than ever.

In 2019, 48.9 million Americans traveled during Independence Day, an increase across the board for automobiles, planes, and trains when compared to 2018. While there will likely be fewer travel plans than last year, you can still expect some of your consumers to start to spend a bit more time outside as stay-at-home orders continue to be slowly lifted. AAA predicts that most travelers will opt for small family gatherings and local road trips this year.

Sending text messages is an effective way to reach shoppers who may be on-the-go and away from their computer screens. Drive engagement by sending a timely message to subscribers promoting relevant items or time-sensitive offers. Since many consumers will be spending the holidays with others (even if it’s smaller groups than usual), notify subscribers about any special deals on food, outdoor furniture, or BBQ items that they will need for their cookouts.

E-commerce revenue growth is up 68% year-over-year with 72% of consumers using their mobile devices to shop. It’s important that marketers shift their strategies to adapt to the changing consumer behaviors happening within the mobile channel. Request a demo to discover how text messaging can help brands increase revenue and drive engagement during the summer holidays and beyond.