Holiday Promotional Emails Peaked Last Tuesday

December 22 was the most popular day to send retail emails last week, with 62% of major online retailers sending subscribers at least one promotional email that day, according to Chad White, research director at Responsys and author of the Retail Email Blog. This was followed by Monday, December 21, when 57% of major online retailers sending subscribers at least one promotional email.

Promotional email volume declined each day the rest of the week, hitting a week-low average of 36% on Friday, December 24 (Christmas Eve). This created the unusual situation where Saturday, December 18 was not the day of the week with the lowest volume (it narrowly beat Friday with 39% of major online retailers sending subscribers at least one promotional email).

The Retail Email Blog predicts New Year’s messaging will ramp up this week and spike next week as holiday messaging declines. The last holiday messaging is not expected to wrap up until the end of January or early February as retailers message after-Christmas sales, gift card redemptions, and other post-holiday offers.

1 in 4 Americans Uses Cell Phone for Politics

More than a quarter of American adults (26%) used their cell phones to learn about or participate in the 2010 mid-term election campaign, according to findings from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. The mobile political user group is more male than female, young than old, better off financially than less well-off, and better educated than less well-educated. African-Americans are also more likely than whites or Hispanics to be in this group.