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May 26, 2025 4 mins

What's really working in digital marketing for retailers today? In this eye-opening discussion, we dive into surprising findings from Listrack's annual cross-channel benchmarking report that challenges conventional wisdom about effective marketing tactics.

The data reveals a fascinating paradox: while email marketing volume increased by 43% over the previous year, declining click-through rates suggest consumers are experiencing message fatigue. 

Meanwhile, SMS marketing emerges as an unexpected powerhouse, generating six times the revenue per send compared to email campaigns. This compelling stat transforms what many consider a supplementary channel into a critical marketing tool worth serious investment.

Trigger-based campaigns stand out for their exceptional performance. Shopping cart abandonment emails, welcome messages, and post-purchase communications deliver conversion rates described as "off the charts," regardless of whether they arrive via email or text. 

Equally impressive are the results from loyalty programs, which saw explosive 15X growth in send volume, powered by AI-driven product recommendations that doubled click-through rates compared to the previous year.

Perhaps most surprising is the continued relevance of what some might consider outdated technology. Email and SMS remain marketing mainstays, but their application continues evolving through innovative tactics and improved targeting. 

For anyone in retail—whether you're a marketer, merchant, or play another role—understanding these channels and their effectiveness remains crucial for business success. How is your organization adapting to these shifting trends in digital marketing?

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hi everyone.
You know, one of the thingsI've been thinking about as a
merchant is the rapid pace ofchange that my marketing
colleagues within the retailcommunity have really been going
through, particularly theselast few years, and I came
across a report from the nicefolks at Listrack, and they
published their annualcross-channel benchmarking

(00:25):
report that talks a lot aboutsome of the best practices and
some of the benchmark data thatthey have within digital
marketing, and I found someinteresting things and thought
I'd share.
First of all, one of the thingsthat we merchants tend to hear
is that maybe email isn't asproductive of a digital
marketing tactic as it used tobe, and the fact is is that
maybe email isn't as productiveof a digital marketing tactic as

(00:46):
it used to be, and the fact isis that, according to this
report, email volume surged lastyear 43% over the prior year
but that, in some cases, emailclick-through rates were not as
productive as they had been,significantly showing that

(01:08):
perhaps too many emails arebeing sent and consumers are not
clicking through them.
I thought that was interesting.
One of the other interestingthings, though, is SMS or text
messaging.
Text promotions areparticularly effective, and, in
fact, they produce six times therevenue per send of an email

(01:31):
according to this report.
So that's kind of neat and itfeels like SMS is very
complimentary or a supplementchannel for marketers, not some
kind of edge case or somethingthat isn't productive is in fact
, very productive.
Now, trigger campaigns, whetherthey come through email or

(01:53):
through text messaging, areparticularly productive.
Shopping cart abandonmentemails, for example, had
conversion rates that were upsignificantly and the revenue
per send metrics also really offthe charts.
Also, welcome messages orpost-purchase messages, whether

(02:15):
they again come by email or bytext, are really really very
productive.
And then one of the otherthings I thought was interesting
about this report, and that wasis that loyalty and
personalization are particularlyvaluable contact methods for
marketers.

(02:35):
Loyalty programs saw explosivegrowth according to this report,
and 15X increase in send volumeand really high performance
because of the impact that AI ishaving on really high quality,
highly productive productrecommendations and click

(02:58):
through rates on productrecommendation modules were up
2x versus the year prior.
So that really says that thattactic is really, really
productive.
The fact is that how marketersengage and produce results
through the digital marketingcampaigns is a continually

(03:21):
evolving story is a continuallyevolving story but what some
people would consider prettydated technology.
Email and SMS text messagingare, in fact, still mainstays of
digital marketing, butmarketers are making them more
effective in the tactics theyuse every day, and I think,
whether you are a marketer, amerchant or you play some other

(03:43):
role within the ecosystem ofretail, at least having a
working understanding of howthose tactics are working and
how your marketing partnersemploy them in your business is
pretty important stuff, andthat's what I've been thinking
about.
I'm Scott Benedict.
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