For many retailers, the most wonderful time of the year is also by far the most lucrative. Surveying retail marketers, Marigold Engage by Sailthru found that 41% of them expect to make more than 30% of their annual sales during those few weeks alone. As a result, brands naturally ramp up their communications. However, messaging fatigue is real and nobody converts on an email they haven’t opened. Predictive analytics can ensure that doesn’t happen.

Here are three strategies to keep in mind as the holiday season gets into full swing:

Identify Your Most Likely Purchasers

Dig into last year’s data and then do the same with more recent data. You might first build segments on last year’s gift givers, people who purchased within the past 30 days, and those who are predicted to buy again, for example. Go beyond those segments to predict open rates from individuals within each one. Then increase your communications cadence to those who are more likely to open. Lastly, use predictive analytics to suggest items at specific price points to get the most out of those customers’ propensity to buy.

Suppress Strategically

Predictive analytics can help customers who are at a high likelihood of opting out and those with a low likelihood of converting. Examine the overlap between those groups, and consider suppressing some or all communications to them. Those customers are unlikely to generate revenue now, but you don’t want them to opt out. Instead, preserve the option of persuading them to become a purchaser later.

Add Predictive Analytics to Your Recommendations

Who’s most likely to buy? Predictive analytics can forecast not only that, but the likelihood they’ll purchase specific items, even ranking them in order. Once you’ve leveraged technology to identify these items, feature those recommendations across your communications: email, website, mobile. When customers engages with you, they should find these products thoroughly integrated into your brand’s look and feel.

Looking to cut through the clutter this holiday season? Of course you are. Click here to download Marigold Engage by Sailthru’s 2020 Holiday Marketing Playbook to learn more about this year’s holiday season must haves, promotional strategies, growth marketing tactics and more.