Macys.com increases e-mail holiday program revenue 50%

Using an e-mail marketing application that combines web site analytics and personalization techniques, Macys.com increased revenue from e-mail marketing during the 2004 holiday shopping season by 50% over 2003, president Kent Anderson says.

Macy’s implemented an e-mail management application from Yesmail last year that lets it build e-mail marketing campaigns with multiple versions of e-mail promotions targeting separate segments of customers based on records of shopping behavior, Anderson says. “It allows us to do targeting and segment of e-mails with the same staff at no incremental cost,” he tells InternetRetailer.com.

Analytics and reporting tools built into the Yesmail system enable Macys.com to develop within hours segmented customer e-mail lists, and the retailer can also quickly insert product images into e-mail templates to develop multiple versions of e-mails each targeting a separate customer group, Anderson says. Macys.com is the online sister of Federated Department Stores Inc.’s Macy’s chain.

In campaigns Macys.com ran last holiday season, it developed an e-mail campaign broken out into four templates, each with six featured products. But depending on the interests of each group of targeted customers, an e-mail would feature one main product most prominently and include five other alternate products in smaller displays. “If a customer’s primary interest had been in fashion ready-to-wear, the e-mail might show a cashmere sweater as the lead item, and if her interest was also in beauty products, the e-mail would also show fragrances as well as handbags and tabletop gift items,” Anderson says.

Before using the Yesmail system, Macys.com found it more difficult to run segmented e-mail campaigns and measuring their effectiveness without adding costs, Anderson says. “Now we can send four versions of e-mails, adding complexity and segmentation for better business results, and measure response rates, but not have to add staff,” he says.

Yesmail, a unit of infoUSA, is based in San Carlos, CA.