BFCM 2024: How email and omnichannel communications drove holiday success
Email is still the top choice for Black Friday communications, with consumers preferring it for both promotional and transactional messages. So, did brands meet consumer expectations this BFCM? Check out Sinch’s data to discover.
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Black Friday and Cyber Monday represent peak email sending periods that can make or break retailers' holiday success. During November 2024, these shopping events generated $118.2 billion in revenue, with $10.8 billion on Black Friday alone, according to Adobe.
For brands, delivering critical emails during this period isn't just about sending promotions – it's about ensuring every purchase confirmation, shipping update, and customer service message reaches the inbox when it matters most.
Email is the top choice for consumers when it comes to connecting with businesses during the holiday season. But, did brands meet their expectations during this critical period? We’ve looked at our internal data to tell you the full story.
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BFCM 2024 in numbers: The email perspective
Earlier this year, we surveyed 1,200 consumers about their Black Friday communication preferences. Just like last year, the results were clear: Email remains the preferred channel for both promotional and transactional messages.
To understand how effectively brands delivered during this critical period, we analyzed the billions of emails sent through Sinch Mailgun and Sinch Mailjet's email platforms throughout November. By comparing consumer preferences with actual sending data, we've uncovered important insights about businesses email communication strategies during the holiday season.
Here are the top highlights:
Email continues to play a key role during the holiday period
Our BFCM 2024 pre-holiday consumer survey highlighted email's popularity for holiday communications, with 61.3% of consumers selecting it as their preferred channel for promotional messages and 75.1% choosing it for transactional communications.
And it looks like consumer expectations actually match businesses preferences. Sinch Mailgun and Sinch Mailjet’s send data shows that email volumes continue to grow as we enter the holiday season, with the number of emails sent during November steadily growing all the way up to Cyber Week, with promotions taking center stage ahead of the big sales dates.
Our data also shows the importance of email as a channel to deliver transactional notifications. Sinch Mailgun and Sinch Mailjet saw a 33% increase in email volumes on Black Friday and another 33% increase on Cyber Monday, a peak sending period for these types of messages as shoppers make their purchases.
But with so many emails landing in recipients’ inboxes, do they really get noticed? Well, our data show similar levels of engagement to those seen at other points throughout the year, which proves that consumers are actually looking for relevant deals and promotions during the BFCM period.
Excluding bot activity, open rates on Black Friday and Cyber Monday were slightly higher than those reported in 2023. Black Friday averaged 13%, with Cyber Monday open rates reaching 15% - a strong feat considering it was the highest sending day. It’s one thing to send a campaign and quite another to have it land in the inbox and garner engagement. Following email deliverability best practices and sending relevant emails that provide value are even more important during such a competitive period.
This data underscores the critical role of email during peak retail periods and the importance of having an email infrastructure that can scale and offers world-class delivery rates under pressure.
Finding the right email partner: During Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023, Sinch’s email solutions had a 100% uptime. Sinch Mailgun and Sinch Mailjet processed over 95,000 messages per second and 4.4 million per minute at peak.
Big retail moments require an omnichannel approach
Email alone isn’t enough during the biggest shopping event of the year. Our BFCM 2024 Consumer survey showed that 78% of people expect to hear from brands via multiple channels, and it seems like businesses are taking note. On Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024, Sinch delivered an impressive 7.68 billion interactions across SMS, MMS, RCS, WhatsApp, and email.
SMS remained a key channel during Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024. On Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Sinch delivered a total of 1.8 billion SMS worldwide, proving the importance and efficiency of the channel for last-minute deals and promotional reminders.
Mobile messaging channels also saw a significant boost, as volumes rose by 14% during Cyber Week compared to an average week in the year. More and more, brands are turning to these channels to make the most of their interactive and conversational capabilities.
WhatsApp, a key channel in regions like Brazil, India, and Germany, saw a 68% increase in traffic on Black Friday compared to a typical Friday, with strong read rates of 76%. And RCS proved to be the rising star of the holiday season, with an impressive 111% growth across Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024 compared to 2023 and read rates of 53%.
A strong finish to 2024: Preparing for future high-volume sending
We may be nearing the end of 2024, but the peak sending season is far from over – there are still some key moments on the horizon and consumers have high expectations.
While BFCM 2024 set new records, the holiday season continues to present both opportunities and challenges for email senders. Success during this period requires a combination of the right sending partner, excellent email expertise, and a close eye on performance.
At Sinch Mailgun, we’re proud to offer the support you need to ensure your emails hit the inbox. Our reliable email infrastructure allows brands to confidently send both marketing campaigns and time-sensitive transactional messages during the busiest sending period of the year – whether you're sending thousands or billions of messages – and our deliverability tools help businesses navigate inbox placement challenges.
Want to learn more about optimizing your email program for high-volume periods? Check out our guide to peak season sending or contact our deliverability experts.
