Cyber Week 2024: insights and best practices for retail success

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

Being able to talk to one of our most innovative customers when it comes to customer engagement and their communication strategies during Cyber Week was a pleasure, which is why we summarized here some of the key insights and tips of digital engagement and strategic investments that we discovered during this webinar. Speakers emphasized the amazing scale of communication that happened during Cyber Week 2023, showing how platforms like Twilio, Shopify and Klaviyo support large volumes of interactions at this time. Last year, Twilio sent 68 billion emails and messages, while KTPiyo users sent over 110 million peak messages per minute, UST1 million times of value per hour.

Shopify, which represents more than 10% of total U. S. ecommerce, has recorded 61 million consumers worldwide purchasing from Shopify-hosted stores during Cyber Week 2023.

Best Practices for a Cyber Week for success

Given the scale of 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 the preparation throughout the year. As Kiersti Esparza, from Klaviyo, said: “Preparation for the next Cyber Week will begin the day after the end of this.” To be sure you are ready, start planning your strategies, campaigns and operational processes as soon as possible;
2. Ensure delivery capacity DELIVERability is crucial for Cyber Week. High message volumes make delivery issues even riskier, with the potential to appear on spam block lists or limit messages.Make sure to send only to engaged customers who have given explicit consent to receive their communications. Chris Borgia of Shopify highlighted the importance of maintaining list hygiene and validating them using tools such as the SendGrid email validation API;
3. Segment audiences ''Customization is the key to driving success. In the last Cyber Week, almost 47% of purchases made by Klaviyo customers came from repeat buyers. Leveraging segmentation and targeting based on customer behavior 'such as order frequency, average spend or engagement metrics 'can help increase repeat purchases and strengthen customer loyalty. Targeting the right audience with personalized messages on preferred channels ensures your campaigns are relevant and engaging; and more
4. Maintain compliance and monitor metrics . Compliance requirements have evolved and best practices are now standards needed. To avoid block lists and penalties, keep your complaint rates below 0.1%, and for messages (e.g., SMS), always get documented consent. Shopify emphasized the use of metrics such as delivery rate, open rate, and conversion rates to evaluate performance. The key is not just the volume of messages sent, but the effectiveness of these messages in driving action.

Overcoming challenges: stability, deliverability and customer expectations

The webinar also addressed common challenges during Cyber Week, such as platform stability, deliverability issues, and rising consumer expectations. Both Klaviyo and Shopify emphasized the importance of “observability”, or constant monitoring of communication systems and metrics to ensure everything goes smoothly.

Chris Borgia of Shopify noted that while concerns about Cyber Week's deliverability are similar to those of any other time of year, the risks are much higher. With more risk, there is less room for error.

The importance of multi-channel strategies

Another important point discussed was the power of using multi-channel communication strategies.At least 75% of consumers are open to receiving text messages from brands that interest them 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 drive more conversions through the integrated use of channels such as email, SMS and push notifications.

Key recommendations for Cyber success Week

1. Focus on quality instead of 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 your communication 'NO and not just in the amount you send. Often, less can mean more if the messages are personalized and relevant;
2. Monitor engagement ^'Watch engagement metrics such as click-through rates, open rates, and conversion rates. These metrics indicate whether your messages are reaching and resonating with your audience; and
3. Compliance is non-negotiable ^^following compliance regulations is critical, regardless of the communication channel you are using. Ensure you have documented consent and comply with relevant federal, regional or vendor compliance requirements.