Despite viruses, Bluefly says its e-mail-generated sales surged in August

Although the deluge of spam in August from a rash of e-mail viruses made things more challenging, apparel fashions discount retailer Bluefly.com reports that its gross sales generated by e-mail campaigns reached 20% in August, compared to the usual 11-15%. "We’re having the best month we’ve ever had in e-mail marketing," Jonathan Morris, executive vice president, tells InternetRetailer.com. "Our e-mail is generating more business now than it ever has before."

Morris notes that while spam from the SoBig and Blaster viruses in recent weeks has added to the amount of time spent maintaining its e-mail programs, Bluefly didn’t take any new steps to overcome the viruses. He adds that he has not been able to detect any slowdown in e-mail response rates, even during the height of recent spam disruptions. "Our delivery rate has been constant, and if anything has improved recently," he says. He notes that Bluefly has also maintained strong performance levels in other metrics, including number of clicks per e-mail message, the conversion of e-mail messages to orders, and the average amount of orders.

Morris notes that some of the pick-up in August e-mail-generated sales undoubtedly stems from some aggressive promotions, including up to 90% discounts on some merchandise, but he also attributes Bluefly’s success to a program started earlier this year to strengthen its e-mail marketing programs, including sending only opt-in messages and making sure its messages carry the proper terms in "from" and "subject" headings to avoid bulk mail filters.

"The spam issue has made our job more difficult, but the encouraging thing is that if you devote the time and the right people to work on it, it can be overcome," he says.