Summary
Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) consistently represent some of the highest email sending periods of the year for many businesses. During these peak events, email volumes typically surge by significant percentages compared to daily averages or previous years. While this increased volume indicates high marketing activity, it also poses unique deliverability challenges due to heightened competition for inbox space and increased scrutiny from mailbox providers. Understanding these trends is crucial for effective email marketing.
Key findings
- Massive Volume Spikes: Email volumes frequently surge by hundreds of percent over normal sending days. Some major providers report sending billions of emails during the BFCM period. Twilio SendGrid processed 11.7 billion emails on Cyber Monday 2024, showcasing the immense scale.
- Year-over-Year Growth: Many email service providers (ESPs) observe substantial annual growth in email volume for BFCM, indicating its continued importance in holiday sales strategies.
- Black Friday Dominance: While both days are high volume, Black Friday often sees the absolute highest number of emails sent globally.
- Regional Differences: Email sending patterns and volume increases can vary significantly by geographic region, such as between the US, EU, and Asian markets.
- Pre-Holiday Buildup: The 'Black Week' (the period preceding Black Friday) often sees an early surge in email volume as marketers start promotions sooner.
Key considerations
- Deliverability Challenges: High volume can strain infrastructure and lead to increased bounce rates or blocklistings if not properly managed.
- Inbox Saturation: Recipients' inboxes become crowded, potentially leading to lower engagement rates despite increased sending, making it harder for messages to stand out.
- Sender Reputation Impact: Maintaining a good sender reputation is critical to avoid filtering and ensure inbox placement during these peak times.
- Strategic Timing: Understanding optimal sending times (e.g., specific days or hours) can significantly optimize campaign performance.
- Audience Expectations: Consumers often expect to hear from brands about BFCM deals well in advance, influencing the start of promotional campaigns.
What email marketers say
Email marketers actively monitor and manage significant increases in email volume during Black Friday and Cyber Monday to capitalize on the holiday shopping rush. They frequently share direct observations about the scale of their campaigns and the challenges involved in ensuring messages reach the inbox amidst fierce competition.
Key opinions
- Record-Breaking Sends: Many marketers report sending hundreds of millions, and even billions, of emails across the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period.
- Significant Volume Growth: Year-over-year increases in email volume are a common observation for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, highlighting continued reliance on email marketing.
- Pre-Holiday Activity: The Black Week before the main events often sees increased email activity as promotions start earlier.
- Geographic Variations: Email volume trends can differ substantially between regions, with some areas showing more or less enthusiasm for the BFCM sales. Some countries even reject it.
- Cyber Monday vs. Black Friday: For some marketers, Cyber Monday email volume might not be as pronounced as Black Friday, depending on the client base and product type.
Key considerations
- Daily Volume Baseline: Marketers typically compare BFCM volume to their usual daily sending rates, noting significant percentage increases that demand careful management.
- Deliverability Focus: Despite the high volume, deliverability and compliance remain paramount concerns for marketers to ensure messages reach the inbox.
- Regional Market Nuances: Understanding cultural or market-specific trends (e.g., resistance to Black Friday in certain countries) can inform campaign strategy.
- Infrastructure Scaling: High email volumes require robust infrastructure to handle the load and ensure timely delivery, often needing significant preparation.
- Early Engagement: Consumers often expect communication about sales well in advance, leading to extended 'Black Week' campaigns that start earlier in November.
An email marketer from Email Geeks reports that Klaviyo sent over 700 million emails, highlighting the massive scale of holiday campaigns.
A marketer from Shopify highlights that Black Friday consistently sees the highest email volume of the entire year.
What the experts say
Deliverability experts recognize Black Friday and Cyber Monday as critical periods that rigorously test email infrastructure and sender reputation. They consistently emphasize proactive measures to manage the extraordinary volume and maintain inbox placement amidst heightened competition and scrutiny from mailbox providers.
Key opinions
- Unprecedented Scale: Leading email platforms handle billions of emails during BFCM, pushing the limits of their infrastructure and requiring robust systems.
- Traffic vs. Engagement: Increased email volume during Cyber Week does not automatically translate to higher open rates; in fact, open rates can decline due to inbox saturation.
- Impact on Deliverability: High volume can lead to increased chances of being flagged as spam or blocklisted if sender practices are not robust and optimized.
- Importance of Warm-up: For new or significantly altered sending patterns, proper IP warming is crucial before initiating such massive sending events.
- Monitoring is Key: Continuous monitoring of deliverability metrics (e.g., bounce rates, open rates, spam complaints) is vital during these peak periods.
Key considerations
- Infrastructure Preparedness: Ensuring that systems can handle massive spikes in email traffic (e.g., hundreds of millions per hour) is paramount to avoid delays or failures.
- Sender Reputation Management: Proactive management of sender reputation is essential to navigate increased mailbox provider scrutiny and avoid blacklists.
- Audience Fatigue: Despite high purchase intent, email fatigue can set in for recipients, leading to lower engagement for some campaigns.
- Strategic Adjustments: Experts advise adjusting sending strategies, such as timing and segmentation, to effectively cut through inbox crowding.
- Post-Holiday Impact: Deliverability issues encountered during BFCM can have lingering effects on sender reputation well after the holiday period.
An expert from Gleantap cautions that the extremely high email volume during holiday sales can lead to reduced open rates and an increased likelihood of emails being marked as spam, emphasizing the critical role of timing.
An expert from Salesforce highlights that despite increased sending, email open rates during Cyber Week decreased by 4.9% compared to preceding weeks, indicating that higher volume does not assure better engagement.
What the documentation says
Industry documentation and reports provide quantitative insights into the massive scale of email volume during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. These resources often detail observed trends, year-over-year growth, and the technical implications for email infrastructure and deliverability, offering a foundational understanding for marketers and deliverability professionals.
Key findings
- Record-breaking Volumes: Major ESPs officially report sending billions of emails on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, far exceeding their typical daily averages.
- Consistent Annual Growth: Email volumes for BFCM consistently show sustained year-over-year increases, indicating email marketing's growing reliance during these periods.
- Peak Sending Hours: Specific hours within Black Friday and Cyber Monday see peak email traffic, sometimes reaching hundreds of millions of emails sent per hour.
- Shift to 'Black Week': Data often suggests that the surge in email volume begins earlier, with significant increases observed in the week leading up to Black Friday.
- Engagement Rate Fluctuations: Despite increased sending, documented analytics show that open rates might decline during Cyber Week due to severe inbox saturation.
Key considerations
- Infrastructure Resilience: Documentation often highlights the need for robust email infrastructure to handle massive spikes without performance degradation or deliverability issues.
- Deliverability Impact: Reports confirm that high volume can stress deliverability systems, potentially leading to lower inbox placement rates if sender reputation is not meticulously managed.
- Data-Driven Strategy: Leveraging historical email volume data can inform future campaign planning and optimize resource allocation for these critical peak events.
- Consumer Behavior Changes: Documentation may reflect evolving consumer expectations, such as anticipating deals earlier, which influences marketing schedules and email frequency.
- Importance of Pre-Campaign Setup: Technical documentation implies that thorough preparation (e.g., proper IP warming and list segmentation) is crucial to avoid deliverability issues during high-volume periods.
Documentation from Mailgun reports a 33% surge in email volumes on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, identifying them as peak sending periods.
Official data from Twilio indicates that on Cyber Monday, their SendGrid platform processed 11.7 billion emails, marking a 14.2% year-over-year growth, with Black Friday generally showing even higher volumes.
