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'T is the season to be jolly - and to be working hard on supporting your customers during the peak shopping season of the year! Engaging your customers during the holidays is an effective way to help boost your peak season sales, but you're not the only one competing for attention. Every eCommerce and retail business wants to get in on the holiday craze and sell, sell, sell. The inboxes of your customers are bursting at the seams with what most will call 'spam', so how can you make your business and your messages stand out?
Customer engagement is only successful when you employ the right communication channels - and what better place to engage customers then on their own mobile phones, where they already are. Let's explore 5 essential conversational messaging use cases for the holidays, and how they help you stand out from your competition.
1. Send Deals and Offers
Hi {First Name} {Last Name}!
Happy Holidays! The jolly season is coming up, and we have some sweet holiday deals for you! Save up to 10% on all purchases and gifts for your loved ones and celebrate with style! Shop now! {Shopping Link}
{Company Name}
Sending your promotions and deals to your customers can be a very effective way to entice your audience - especially when you add some great discounts or attractive rewards for loyal customers. But what conversational channel is best for this use case?
SMS is a simple and familiar channel for customers to use. It consists of plain text and has a character limit, but what it may lack in 'wow-factor', it makes up for in reach. Every mobile phone has SMS built-in, so the infrastructure for receiving the messages is hard-wired into all mobile phones worldwide. And with 8.9 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide as of 2023, your branded messages are bound to reach your target audience.
Read more about how to use SMS during Black Friday >
Do you want to send promotional messages that look fancier than just plain text, with images, video messages, brand colors and all that pizzazz? Then WhatsApp Business Platform and RCS are the channels for you! Both channels are similar in what they offer - rich media, conversational messaging, and enticing customer engagement features like product catalogs and suggested responses that will give your branded messages some additional holiday charm.
WhatsApp has approximately 2 billion active monthly users worldwide, outranking both WeChat (1.3 million) and Facebook Messenger (930 million) in terms of global users. It's a great channel to use during peak sales periods! RCS has 1 billion active monthly users, but this is predicted to rise after the release of RCS on iOS 18 and up. What channel would best suit your business depends on your target audience and use case, but you can check out our WhatsApp vs RCS blog below to explore both channels and make an informed decision.
Read more about WhatsApp vs RCS and which channel would best fit your business >
2. Advertise and Engage
Hello!
So you're interested in {Product Listed in Advertisement}? Then we've got some exciting news- an additional 10% discount just for you! Tell us your size and favorite color and we'll help you find the perfect fit for the upcoming festive season.
{Company Name}
Advertising your brand is of course par for the course during the festive season, but how do you make sure your campaigns have that little extra sparkle that will draw in customers? The secret ingredient is direct engagement! WhatsApp Business Platform offers ads that click to WhatsApp, making it easier for potential customers to contact you directly via WhatsApp when they are interested in your advertisement. This immediate engagement with just a single click can offer valuable information or guidance to a consumer that can help seal the (purchase) deal!
3. Keep Customers Informed
Hi {First Name},
We have some special holiday offers for all our loyal subscribers - 20% off all our Christmas products! And guess what? Your favorite {Product Name} is also eligible for this discount. Don't miss out!
{Company Name}
Newsletters are no longer exclusive to email - they can be sent via conversational channels! Send your audience exclusive and personal discounts, or tailor these offers to special events - like the holidays!
Email newsletters are often a wall of text in an already full inbox, while newsletters over conversational channels look more like a flow of short messages - like conversation. Customers can click buttons or answer suggestions in the newsletter to engage with the content, which creates an interactive experience and opens the door for deeper customer communications after the newsletter is consumed.
WhatsApp Business offers a newsletter feature within its platform, allowing you to send personalized and tailored messages to your customers as an alternative to traditional email marketing newsletters. The benefit of newsletters over WhatsApp? The graph below will make that clear.
4. Assist the Buying Journey
Hi {First Name},
Thank you for reaching out! Based on your previous purchases and favorite items, I would recommend {Product Name} for you. It is one of our fastest selling items in {Product Category} at the moment. We can offer you a one-time 5% discount to get you into the festive spirit! {Purchase Link}
Some customers are more risk-averse than others when it comes to making a purchase. When shopping online , right before pressing the 'confirm payment' button, that little voice in the back of their head can rear itself - Is this really the right product? They have remaining questions and doubts, and if these are not resolved, this cart may be abandoned.
Digital-assisted selling can make a huge difference in converting hesitant customers. When used in the right way, it allows you to successfully close a sale by giving advice or taking away any doubts right at the point of sale. In fact, 88% of consumers say that they're more likely to invest in a product when they're given a hand during the buying process or receive recommendations from store employees, so it’s vitally important for you to be there when that moment arrives. Place a click-to-channel button at your check-out page and make sure that you can respond to incoming queries immediately - either via live agent contact or a chatbot.
5. Recover Abandoned Carts
Hi {First Name} {Last Name}
It looks like you left {Product Name} in your online shopping cart. They are one of our most popular items this season, so get one now if you want to have it under your Christmas tree! {Buy Now Link}
Complex checkout pages, technical errors or last-minute doubts can lead to abandoned carts. In fact, 41 different studies have found that the global average cart abandonment rate is just under 70 percent, making them a constant headache for online retail businesses across the world. Sending abandoned cart reminders can help close the deal.
You can send these reminders through any channel you'd like, but you'll make more impact with channels that will reach your customers where they spend a lot, if not most of their time - on their phones.
Join the Holiday Cheer
The holiday season is a time of joy, connection, and opportunity—for both shoppers and businesses. As we've explored, leveraging conversational messaging across channels like SMS, WhatsApp Business, and RCS can transform your holiday sales strategy into a powerful tool for engaging customers where they are most active: their mobile phones.
From personalized deals to engaging advertisements, interactive newsletters, and tailored buying assistance, the right approach can help you stand out in a sea of holiday promotions. And don’t forget the importance of abandoned cart recovery to secure those last-minute sales. Deliver a seamless and memorable shopping experience that keeps customers coming back - long after the season ends.
This holiday season, make your messages more than just another notification. Make it a meaningful part of your customer’s journey. Here's to spreading joy—and boosting sales—this festive season!
