The perfect Christmas campaign: A guide to meeting your customers’ expectations

Are you sure you have an accurate picture of what your customers expect during the winter holidays? Customers’ expectations of holiday emails often do not match what they receive, which leads to low conversions. How can we ensure that the potential of the holiday season doesn’t get buried under a snowdrift of unopened emails?

Bridging the gap between expectations and offerings is key. You can create more effective campaigns by aligning with customer preferences and developing creative and personalized offers. This approach not only enhances the customer experience but also improves engagement and loyalty, making the festive season rewarding for both parties. In the next steps, we will explore strategies for achieving this harmony, ensuring a joyful and prosperous holiday season for everyone.

What do customers expect from Christmas marketing campaigns?

We have studied data on customer expectations from resources such as the National Retail Federation, Statista, Shippo, Forbes Advisor, and Altavia Watch. We’re happy to share our findings to help you create an impressive Christmas campaign.

When do people start shopping?

Understanding when consumers begin their holiday shopping is crucial for planning email campaigns and promotions. The data shows that many shoppers start early, often months before December, giving brands an opportunity to engage with their audience well in advance:

• 50% of US consumers start Christmas shopping in October or earlier, 40% in November, 10% in December, and almost nobody continues shopping after the holidays;
• 40% of British consumers began their shopping before October, with 15% starting even earlier;
• in France, early birds represent 35% of consumers;
• in Italy, early purchases account for 22%;
• Christmas preparations in Australia, despite its hot season, are similar to those in other countries. In 2023, over 45% of Australian shoppers began their holiday shopping in October and November.

Online vs. in-store preferences

The shopping experience varies greatly by region, with some consumers favoring online platforms while others stick to brick-and-mortar stores. Tailoring your email marketing strategy to these preferences can significantly impact your success during the holiday season:

• 43% of U.S. consumers preferred online shopping, representing the highest rate globally;
• more consumers in Austria (38%), Finland (35%), New Zealand (39%) and Portugal (39%) favored physical stores.

What do consumers expect from retailers?

Consumer expectations are higher than ever, with convenience playing a key role. Features like free shipping and flexible delivery options can make or break a purchase decision. Crafting email campaigns that highlight these perks can drive conversions:

• 62% of consumers won’t purchase from a retailer that does not offer free shipping, and 47% are ready to add a few more items to their carts if there’s a minimum spending requirement for free delivery.

How much are people willing to spend?

Holiday budgets vary across countries, but shoppers everywhere are ready to invest in creating memorable celebrations. In November 2024, NRF forecast that holiday spending is expected to reach record levels during November and December and will grow between 2.5% and 3.5%, totaling $979.5 billion to $989 billion. 

Knowing the spending power of your audience can help you craft targeted offers that align with their purchasing behavior:

• 38% of American consumers plan to spend up to $1,000 on holiday gifts, and some are ready to spend about $255 on decor;
• in Canada, consumers spent an average of C$1,308 on gifts, C$616 on decorations, and C$451 on food in 2022;
• despite the fact that in Scandinavia, time with family is valued more than gifts, people still spend $1,000 on the holiday, including $600 on presents. One of the most popular presents is the advent calendar.

Most popular gift categories

The Christmas gifts consumers seek out reveal their priorities and preferences during the holidays. Highlighting popular product categories in your email campaigns can help you stand out and resonate with your target audience:

• the most desired gifts in 2024 are as follows: clothing (54%), gift cards (44%), toys (36%), books, video games, and other media (31%), and food/candy (30%);
• over 50% of Australians opted for clothes, shoes, and accessories as gifts, while around 38% planned to purchase gift cards.

(Source: NRF)

Where do shoppers find gift inspiration?

Knowing where consumers turn for gift ideas can help brands position themselves effectively during the holiday season. While online searches dominate, social media and personal connections also play a significant role, especially among younger shoppers in the 2024 Christmas season:

• 44% of shoppers use online search to find gift inspiration, making the internet the top source;
• 36% rely on friends and family for ideas;
• 30% look to in-store browsing for inspiration;
• 26% check wish lists;
• among younger shoppers aged 18-24: 28% find inspiration on TikTok, 27% look to Instagram for gift ideas, 30% plan to purchase jewelry as holiday gifts, more than any other age group.

Christmas email marketing campaign expectations: Stripo’s research

Stripo also ran our own survey. We asked 1,260 people in North America and Europe about their holiday email expectations. (Many thanks to everyone who participated!) Here are the results:

1. Content preferences: Most subscribers (70%) prefer emails that offer discounts or bonuses. 15% enjoy receiving heartfelt greeting cards, 10% like interactive games, and only 5% are interested in personal annual reviews, such as purchase summaries or app usage.
2. Match with current emails: Over half (54.5%) of respondents feel that their current holiday emails match their preferences. However, 45.5% find that the emails they receive don’t align with their desired content, indicating a gap between email content and subscriber expectations.
3. Best time to send Christmas emails: Most respondents (54.5%) prefer receiving holiday emails on the weekend before the holiday, as they don’t read messages on Christmas itself. About 31.8% like to receive them a few weeks in advance for early preparation, while only 13.6% want them on Christmas Day.
4. Number of emails: A majority of respondents (59.1%) favor receiving just one email. In contrast, 40.9% prefer a series of 2–3 emails sent over the two weeks leading up to Christmas to avoid missing these messages.
5. Importance of festive email design: A significant 91.3% of respondents believe that the design of the email matters, indicating that appealing and well-designed emails are more likely to engage recipients. Only 8.7% think that the design is not important.

Overall, the survey indicated a need for targeted, well-timed, and visually appealing holiday email campaigns to meet subscriber preferences. This can be either a single message or a short series of emails leading up to the holiday.

The best time to prepare and send your Christmas emails

Today is the right time to start preparations for the holiday season and reach out to your clients with Merry Christmas emails.

As we mentioned before, the Christmas shopping season starts early, and on December 25, most people will be opening their gifts under the Christmas tree, not emails.

In October, you can start making offers without reference to Christmas, and in December, you can start sending holiday newsletters.

You can also create intrigue and anticipation, as Pandora did with the Christmas collection announcement email they sent out on October 25th.

(Source: Email from Pandora)

What’s the optimal time to send these messages?

• if it’s a single email, send it the weekend before Christmas;
• if it’s a series of emails, start a couple of weeks before the holiday.

Keep in mind that these tips mainly apply to eCommerce businesses. Businesses in certain industries may need to consider these promotions at different points in the year. For example, it is better for travel agencies to start holiday promotions in the summer.

(Source: Email from Universal Orlando Resort)

Christmas email marketing ideas

In this section, we will share tips and ideas for making your emails powerful and what your customers really want to see when they open your happy holiday newsletter.

1. Tell customers about the terms of work for the festive season

Share about the delivery terms and highlight the "Free Shipping" offer. If this is too much of an expense, you can run a special limited-time Free Shipping Day promotion on the eve of the holidays to encourage customers to make last-minute purchases.

(Source: Email from Ameri Mark)

Present free shipping in the best ways:

• in the hidden preheader;
• in the email header;
• on a special banner.

Don’t forget to specify the terms and conditions of delivery

During the holiday season, brands and marketers should clearly communicate delivery timelines for purchases in consideration of the increased workload for postal and delivery services. This helps ensure customer satisfaction by managing expectations about when orders will arrive.

(Source: Email from Adidas)

Timers could be of great use to let customers know how many days they have left to order items so that they will arrive in time for Christmas.

Another idea: Surprise your customers by dressing up your delivery staff as Santa or his elves when delivering within your city!

Set your working hours

No matter if you run an online or offline business, customers need to know when they can reach you.

(Source: Email from Kittery Trading Post)

This is not optional, especially if you are not planning to work through the holidays.

2. Share about special offers for the holiday season

Customers are expecting Christmas discounts, so we offer the following tips to engage them.

(Source: Email from Crello)

Make the early birds happy

Launch special offers in October (or even sooner) for those who start their holiday shopping early. Tailor your early shopping promotions to different countries, taking into account the statistics we’ve provided above.

If you’ve missed this opportunity, don’t despair. There are still many more holidays to come, and you can take our tips into account next year.

Promote discounts:

• provide a regular offer;
• provide a purchase report and offer a discount depending on the amount spent. For example, "In 2024, you spent […], so your additional discount for all goods is 20%! If you make purchases for the same amount next year, then your personal discount will be […]”;
• offer a budget-friendly list of gift options;
• allow customers to win discounts in a game, such as Wheel of Fortune or Memory match games.

3. Entertain customers with interactive games

During the holiday season, we like to relax, have fun, and be entertained.

This is how email gamification can help. Depending on your business, you may let your customers have some fun or invite them to "win" their prize or discount.

Using Stripo's pre-built interactive modules, you can create a similar Christmas questionnaire or a Scratcher game. For more detailed tips on email gamification, please consult our eBook.

Another way to entertain your customers at Christmas is advent calendars! They can offer more than just chocolate; they can be filled with various products, such as cosmetics, jewelry or movie tickets. Another fantastic idea is a digital Advent calendar that is sent in a series of emails and contains discounts or promo codes.

(Source: Email from Vans)

4. Use real-time content to keep customers informed

Are you promoting a limited edition of a product? What should you do to prevent users from becoming disappointed when you run out of a product that you have already promoted in your Christmas email?

(Source: Email from Vermont Teddy Bear)

There’s a solution: Use real-time content in emails. You can connect your emails to Google Spreadsheets. Once you run out of a certain item, you will be able to notify users about it through the same email by simply making changes in Google Sheets.

New users who open this email will see updated information indicating sold-out items.

5. Offer gift cards as the perfect present

Highlight gift certificate options in your emails, and promote the ease of purchasing and sending gift certificates.

According to the NRF, 3 of the top 10 gift certificates that customers plan to give are for restaurants, coffee shops, and food delivery. So, if you’re in a related industry, don’t forget to offer this option to your clients.

Consider featuring a festive design for the gift card and personalization for recipients.

(Source: Email from Brighton)

This is one of many brilliant design solutions, especially for last-minute promos.

6. Provide a review of the year and/or share your plans for the next year

Remind your clients of what you’ve been through together. Annual review is one of the best business Christmas newsletter ideas for consulting and legal services and for SaaS products. First, your clients will know that you track their success. Second, you can remind them how helpful and supportive you’ve been all year.

You may also show off about your brand’s achievements so that customers know that they are dealing with an ambitious company.

It is reasonable to share your plans for the next year so if they are transformative and may impact your customers. People would like to know what you are up to and what to expect from you next year.

7. Send heartfelt greeting cards

In Stripo’s survey, the majority of respondents preferred information about discounts, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t appreciate receiving a greeting card as well. After all, it's important to build a friendly connection with your customers.

Here are some ideas for such emails:

• Christmas cards;
• photos or video messages from your team;
• email signed by the CEO.

(Source: Email from French Connection)

Don’t forget to address the reader personally. Send this email before Christmas Eve (say early morning on December 24th), as people are not likely to read your emails on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day — this is family time.

(Source: Email from Brighton)

Christmas email campaigns best practices

Apart from brilliant ideas, what you definitely need to pay special attention to when preparing Christmas emails are the texts, design, localization, and personalization.

Craft Christmas email content that shines

The holiday season isn’t just about boosting sales — it’s a chance to build stronger connections with your customers and leave a lasting impression. Well-crafted email content can create excitement, foster loyalty, and turn your audience into brand advocates. Let’s dive into the key principles to make your Christmas emails unforgettable:

• remember about clever copywriting: Strong copy will direct your readers and motivate them to take action. It will also help your emails stand out in a crowded holiday inbox. Focus on catchy Christmas email subject lines that grab attention when previewing the email, clear calls to action, succinct sentences, and engaging language;
• embrace storytelling: The holidays are a great time to share your brand’s story, express gratitude, or highlight important events from the past year. Stories create an emotional connection. When customers feel engaged in your story, they’re more likely to remember you.

Use a festive design for your holiday email

According to Stripo’s survey, a festive design is important. Even a couple of warm words and Christmas symbols can be enough to create a merry mood in your email. Here’s how to do it:

• make your email fully Christmas-themed (snowflakes won’t work for Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, but you can dress Santa up with sunglasses or use other creative graphics);

(Source: Stripo template)

• decorate only a few elements. For example, make a festive banner, header, email signature, or footer;

(Source: Email from Stripo)

• apply holiday colors to your regular graphics. For example, you can use a special logo in your Christmas emails;
• do NOT change the design of triggers. First, the process takes a long time, and second, after the holidays, you may forget to remove the holiday design from emails. In January, it will no longer be relevant.

To help you design your holiday emails, you can use more than 60 Stripo Christmas email templates.

Mind the localization gap

You noticed how we mentioned the design features of emails for subscribers from Australia in the previous point. And this is not accidental. During Christmas campaigns, brands often make a noticeable mistake — they overlook email localization. This can alienate customers or leave them feeling disconnected from your messaging. Tailoring your emails to specific countries, climates, and holiday traditions can make your campaigns feel personal and inclusive.

Here are five striking examples of effective localization in Christmas emails:

1. North and south: In countries where Christmas is associated with snow, such as Canada, the UK, and much of Europe, campaigns featuring cozy fireplaces, snowy landscapes, and warm beverages feel natural and engaging. On the other hand, in places like Australia, New Zealand, or Florida in the USA, where Christmas coincides with summer, brands succeed by showcasing festive beach scenes, ice-cold treats, and outdoor holiday activities. Seasonal relevance is key to connecting with your audience.
2. Scandinavia: Family and coziness take center stage. Email campaigns that resonate here emphasize intimate moments, traditional food, and Scandinavian design aesthetics, such as minimalism and warm color palettes.
3. Japan: Christmas isn’t a traditional holiday in Japan, but it’s associated with romantic dinners and festive cakes. Brands can highlight gifts for couples, limited-edition treats, or experiences rather than focusing on religious themes.
4. Middle East: Many countries in this region don’t celebrate Christmas, so brands that succeed here focus on New Year campaigns instead. Neutral greetings like “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy New Year” are culturally sensitive and inclusive.
5. Germany: Known for its Christmas markets and advent traditions, German audiences respond well to campaigns highlighting handcrafted items, seasonal foods like gingerbread, or advent calendars. Emails with countdown themes tied to Advent resonate particularly well.

By embracing localization, you’re not just showing that you understand your customers — you’re proving that you value their unique traditions and preferences. It’s the perfect way to strengthen customer relationships while boosting engagement during the holiday season.

(Source: MailCharts)

Surprise and delight your customers with personalizing Christmas emails

What will truly exceed your customers' expectations this holiday season? Offering them the chance to treat themselves to a Christmas gift from a list of products they’ve browsed, added to their cart, or even dreamed about but didn’t purchase throughout the year. The holiday spirit might just be the perfect motivation for them to indulge.

Of course, this is not a universal recipe for all brands because it requires a lot of preparation:

However, it's worth trying to use at least one of the personalization techniques because leveraging personalization based on data collected from your website, social networks, and emails, combined with smart automation, will allow you to:

1. Address subscribers by name: A personalized greeting, such as “Hi, Sarah! Wishing you a joyous holiday season!” creates a sense of connection. You can go further by referencing specific milestones or previous interactions, like “Thanks for being part of our family for three years!”
2. Congratulate them on the holidays in a unique way: Use dynamic fields to make your emails feel personal, such as including a festive animation or message tailored to their preferences. For example, if a subscriber loves outdoor gear, include a snowy backdrop with warm wishes.
3. Offer products they’ve browsed but didn’t purchase: Compile a “holiday wish list” of items they’ve viewed or left in their cart, framed as “Our gift ideas just for you.” This gentle nudge can turn a forgotten product into a holiday treat.
4. Suggest complementary products to past purchases: Dive into their purchase history to recommend items that enhance their previous buys. For example, “Love the jacket you bought last fall? Here are some accessories to complete your winter look!”
5. Make personalized holiday discounts: Offer tailored discounts, such as a special offer on an item they've browsed or a loyalty reward for frequent customers. Highlight exclusivity with phrases like “Just for you this holiday season: 15% off your favorites!”
6. Incorporate location-specific messaging: Use personalization to reflect where they’re celebrating. For example, “Sunny holidays in Australia? Stock up on these summer essentials!” or “Snowy Christmas in Canada? Check out our cozy winter collection!”
7. Send reminders with a festive twist: Use automation to send personalized countdown reminders, such as “Only 5 days left to grab your wish list items!” or “Hurry — holiday shipping ends soon!”

By combining the power of personalization with thoughtful automation, you can create emails that feel less like sales pitches and more like carefully curated holiday gifts. Your subscribers will appreciate the effort, and your campaigns will see a boost in engagement and conversions.

Feeling unique before Christmas is already a great gift.

Wrapping up

We hope you’ve been inspired by these ideas and best practices for your Christmas campaigns. Be sure to add them to your collection so that when preparing for the next Christmas you don’t miss a single important moment and create an email campaign that will not leave your customers indifferent. 

In the next article, we will turn to marketing experts to find out what results their email marketing campaigns brought them for Christmas.

Do you have little time left for Christmas preparations? Stripo is here to help with our email editor with tons of pre-built Christmas templates!