Retailers’ sign-up practices Hit & Miss with Moms.

Even many of the top online retailers are missing significant opportunities to connect with moms when it comes to their newsletter subscription processes, according to a study by RetailEmail.Blogspot.

“Since moms have so much power to purchase or influence purchases – across virtually all retail categories – retailers can’t afford to alienate this powerful consumer segment during the newsletter sign-up process,” said Chad White, research and editorial director of RetailEmail.Blogspot.

For instance, the Retail Email Subscription Benchmark Study, which examined the subscription practices of 101 of the largest online retailers, found that 26% of them make it cumbersome or intrusive to sign up for their newsletters by requiring lots of personal information. This group includes the 13% that required the consumer to create an account to receive a newsletter and 11% that required a mailing address and/or phone number.

“This is a definite turnoff for busy moms,” said lucid Founder and President Kevin Burke. “Being convenient, concise and clear are vital to successful email marketing this group. Tell moms proudly who you are, make a compelling and relevant offer, and above all, respect their precious time.”

Moms are much more receptive to the one-click sign-up process offered by 50% of the top retailers, which allows customers to sign-up with just their email address from the retailer’s homepage.
Mothers also appreciate the personalization offered by the 24% that provide a menu of newsletters or product focuses from which to choose. On average, this group of retailers offered 9.5 such options.

The emerging best practice of offering subscribers some type of incentive or reward for signing up for a newsletter, like 10% off their next purchase, also gets a lot of traction with moms.
The study found that 27% of the top retailers offered subscribers some kind of incentive to subscribe or reward afterward.

“Moms respond very positively to discounts and coupons,” said Burke. “In fact, they are the reason why 87% of moms sign up for email newsletters.”

RetailEmail.Blogspot’s study found that the largest online retailers are also missing out on the opportunity to address the needs of moms-to-be through their email marketing campaigns. Only two of the retailers in the study, The Gap and Old Navy, asked their newsletter subscribers whether they are a mom-to-be. While both of those retailers sell maternity and baby clothing, there are obviously opportunities in capturing this information across numerous other merchandising categories.

“We find that knowing a child’s birth date and gender are very powerful data points for marketers in providing the ability to create customized and relevant messages for moms,” said Burke. “Likewise, a marketer should strive to understand the ages and genders of all kids in the household. For example, knowing there are babies as well as older children provides a great opportunity to present various appealing offers and messages to a mom.”

Since 29% of the retailers included in the study already asked for additional optional information, inquiring whether the subscriber will be having a baby soon is a minor addition that is not disruptive to their current subscription processes.

“Knowing the due date also allows retailers with gift registries to promote them in an attempt to capture baby shower purchases,” added White.

For more information at http://www.lucidmarketing.com