Cyber Week 2024: Insights and Best Practices for Retail Success

The most intense sales period for retail is approaching, a Cyber Week, what includes Black Friday and Cyber Monday. With the pressure to maximize sales during this period, it is vital for companies to prepare to offer personalized and high-quality experiences to customers. Recently, we organized a preparation webinar for Cyber Week 2024 with Twilio experts, Shopify and Klaviyo, in order to discuss the best practices for succeeding during this peak sales period

It was a pleasure to talk with one of our most innovative clients when it comes to customer engagement and their communication strategies during Cyber Week, and that is why we summarize here some of the main insights and tips on digital engagement and strategic investments that we discovered during this webinar. The speakers emphasized the astonishing scale of communication that took place during Cyber Week 2023, showing how platforms like Twilio, Shopify and Klaviyo support large volumes of interactions during this time. Last year, Twilio sent 68 billion emails and messages, while Klaviyo users sent more than 11,6 million messages per minute during peak hours, generating almost $60 million in value attributed to Klaviyo per hour

A Shopify, which represents more than 10% of total e-commerce in the US, registered 61 million consumers worldwide shopping from stores hosted on Shopify during Cyber Week 2023. These impressive numbers highlight the importance of robust communication strategies during this period

Best Practices for CyberWeek for success

Given the scale of the volumes sent during Cyber Week, preparation is the key to success. Here are some best practices to consider

1. Start preparing early – The success of Cyber Week depends on preparation throughout the year. As Kiersti Esparza said, from Klaviyo: "Preparation for the next Cyber Week will begin the day after this ends".To make sure you are ready, start planning your strategies, campaigns and operational processes as early as possible
2. Ensure deliverability – The delivery capacity is crucial for Cyber Week. High volumes of messages make delivery issues even riskier, with the potential to appear on spam block lists or to limit messages. Make sure to send only to engaged customers who have given explicit consent to receive your communications. Chris Borgia, do Shopify, highlighted the importance of maintaining the hygiene of lists and validating them using tools like SendGrid's email validation API
3. Target audiences – Personalization is the key to driving success. In the last Cyber Week, almost 47% of the purchases made by Klaviyo customers came from repeat buyers. Leverage segmentation and targeting based on customer behavior – as order frequency, average spending or engagement metrics – can help increase repeat purchases and strengthen customer loyalty. Targeting the right audience with personalized messages on preferred channels ensures that your campaigns are relevant and engaging
4. Maintain compliance and monitor metrics – Compliance requirements have evolved and best practices are now necessary standards. To avoid blacklists and penalties, keep your complaint rates below 0,1% and, for messages (for example, SMS, always obtain documented consent. Shopify emphasized the use of metrics such as delivery rate, open rates and conversion rates to assess performance. The key is not just the volume of messages sent, but the effectiveness of these messages in driving action

Overcoming challenges: stability, delivery capacity and customer expectations

The webinar also addressed common challenges during Cyber Week, how the stability of the platform, delivery capacity issues and the rise of consumer expectations. Both Klaviyo and Shopify emphasized the importance of "observability", or constant monitoring of systems and communication metrics to ensure that everything runs smoothly

Chris Borgia, do Shopify, observed that, although the concerns about delivery capacity during Cyber Week are similar to those at any other time of the year, the risks are much greater. With more risks, there is less room for mistakes. Therefore, companies need to consistently monitor performance metrics, how the positioning in the inbox and complaint rates, to mitigate the problems before they escalate

The importance of multichannel strategies

Another important point discussed was the power of using multichannel communication strategies. At least 75% of consumers are open to receiving text messages from brands they are interested in and 91% of consumers expect brands to communicate through their preferred channels. This highlights a significant opportunity for retailers to increase satisfaction, increase brand loyalty and, ultimately, will generate more conversions through the integrated use of channels, like email, SMS and push notifications

Top Recommendations for Cyber SuccessWeek

1. Focus on quality over quantity– As tempting as it is to increase the volume of messages during Cyber Week, the speakers reiterated that success lies in the effectiveness of their communication – and not just in the quantity that you send. Many times, less can mean more if the messages are personalized and relevant
2. Monitor engagement – Keep an eye on engagement metrics, such as click rates, opening rates and conversion rates. These metrics indicate whether your messages are reaching and resonating with your audience
3. Compliance is non-negotiable – Following compliance regulations is essential, regardless of the communication channel you are using. Make sure to have documented consent and comply with federal compliance requirements, regional or relevant supplier.