With Mother’s Day arriving this Sunday, brands have been racing to serve shoppers in the channel of choice for the 79% who are still concerned about COVID-19: online. And that has led to a surge in email, according to content provided by SparkPost and Contentsquare.

For instance, luxury marketers sent 208 million emails about Mother’s Day in April 2021 — a 26% increase YoY. And they must be working because overall Web traffic for luxury brands is up 45%, according to Contentsquare.

Moreover, the time per shopping session is up by 43%, and conversions are up by 28%. In March, mobile purchases made up 66% of conversions in this area compared to 32% on desktops and 2% on tablets. 

Beauty/cosmetics brands sent 312 million brand emails in April, a 101% rise over 2020. And web traffic up 28% Contentsquare says. 

The time per shopping session is up +16% However, global conversions are down by 3%. Here, too, mobile is the most popular shopping engine, accounting for 61% of all conversions, compared to 37% for desktops and 2% for tablets. 

Online sales in this area grew by 6% between 2020 and 2021

Beauty brand e.l.f. Beauty “adapted to the recent digital acceleration by putting the customer experience at the heart of our brand and business strategy, and working harder than ever to align our product and content with our customers’ priorities,” states Ekta Chopra, chief digital officer at e.l.f. Beauty.

Chopra adds: “For us, that meant launching two new site initiatives: e.l.f. Cares, to show our commitment to the issues that matter to us and our audience, and e.l.f. Discovery, for guides, lookbooks and tutorials, and generally to deepen our connection with our community.”  

Fashion brands sent 567 million brand emails in April, a 90% over the same month last year. Web traffic is up 26%,  

The time per fashion shopping session rose by 25%, Contentsquare reports. And conversions leaped by 14% in March, with mobile contributing 59%. In contrast, 37% of conversions were on desktop and 4% on tablets. 

The Webster, a multi-brand fashion house for high-end apparel and luxury goods, “got creative, both with our products and services,” states Adrien Levinger, vice president of Digital at The Webster.

That meant “meeting our customers’ demand for luxury leisurewear, further developing our Digital Stylist Services, and generally embracing a digital mindset to create seamless and relevant journeys for our audience,” Levinger adds. 

Levinger ruefully notes: “We quickly realized last year that people weren’t in the market for ball gowns and stilettos during shelter-in-place. Indeed, it could be argued that sweatpants became the little black dress of 2020.”

What should marketers do going forward?

Above all, make sure your emails are mobile-friendly. 

“With mobile driving two thirds of all online traffic (a +16% increase YoY), retail brands need to adopt a mobile-first mindset,” says Niki Hall, CMO at Contentsquare. 

Hall adds, “Smartphones are no longer just another way for your users to interact and shop with your brand — they’re becoming the preferred way consumers discover new products and services, and the +202% YoY increase in mobile screen views is evidence of growing mobile app adoption.”

Then there are sensitivity issues. Numerous brands, including Marketers are taking note. In the weeks leading up to Mother’s Day, brands including Etsy, beauty brand Three Ships, and  Fly By Jingm have asked asked consumers if they want to opt out of Mother’s Day emails, Morning Brew reports.