While you might be eyeing the Passion Pop, Anthony Capano, regional director, ANZ, at Intuit Mailchimp has his eyes firmly set on a course for growth in 2025. Here’s his strategy for conquering the new year.
With the holiday season upon us, retailers of all sizes are already implementing strategies to maximise their marketing budgets. But in an increasingly complex and fragmented digital landscape, tools like automation, artificial intelligence (AI), personalisation, and email help businesses connect with customers in smarter, simpler ways year-round.
New research from Ipsos, commissioned by Intuit Mailchimp, reveals that ‘performance-obsessed’ marketers may be turning challenges into growth opportunities with automation and data-driven personalisation, no matter the time of the year.
As the peak sales season swells for December and January, four key pillars detailed in Mailchimp’s study with Ipsos can help retailers boost engagement and sustain growth beyond this period.
Leverage the ongoing power of email marketing
We at Mailchimp may have a long track record touting email’s impact on marketing and culture, but the data says that most marketers agree. Nearly 70 per cent of marketers say that email remains the foundation of their marketing strategy, standing out as one of retail’s most effective tools. And with search declining, 59 per cent of marketers see email as a vital channel for customer engagement. But how retailers use it matters.
‘Performance-obsessed’ marketers often rely on targeted emails and automated journeys to create personalised experiences. For instance, they might send a welcome email series to new subscribers coming through for holiday shopping, followed by tailored product recommendations based on browsing behaviour that keeps them engaged during the rest of the year. They’re also more likely to use transactional emails—such as purchase confirmations or delivery updates—triggered by customer actions.
Pairing email with SMS can also deliver timely updates—like exclusive offers or back-in-stock alerts—right when customers are most likely to engage with them.
Automate throughout the customer journey
Email marketing is only as effective as the strategy behind it. A well-planned email automation strategy is essential for managing customer interactions across touchpoints, ensuring that timely, relevant, and personalised messages reach your audience when they’re most impactful—without outsized manual effort.
To build automation into your email strategy, start by mapping key customer journeys and designing tailored workflows. For example, you might set up a re-engagement email series to reach out to customers with a limited-time offer after a certain period of inactivity.
Triggering emails based on customer journey maps is a strong starting point, and ongoing performance analysis enables continuous improvement and personalisation. Analysing performance data—such as open rates, click-throughs, and site analytics—helps you test and refine workflows, uncovering missed engagement opportunities. Tactics like sending personalised emails or SMS messages with exclusive offers can re-engage customers who frequently browse specific products without purchasing.
Personalise with data-driven insights
Driving a successful automation strategy relies on effective personalisation, and that requires clear, reliable data. Zero-party data—information provided directly by customers—and first-party data, such as website behaviour, are some of the most valuable assets for retailers today.
Harnessing this data is key, and 57 per cent of performance-obsessed marketers use customer data platforms (CDPs) to centralise data from multiple sources, making it easier to query and analyse.
Such platforms let you organise your data so you can dig into important details like purchase history and browsing habits. Combined with analysis, they can reveal patterns and trends that help you better understand what your customers want and need—enabling a more personalised approach that delivers more value to the shopper and the brand.
Amplify business outcomes with AI
While generative AI (GenAI) has taken most industries by storm, performance-obsessed marketers are pairing it with human input to enhance brand identity—integrating logos, fonts, and fresh content into text, video, and audio assets. This approach amplifies human creativity rather than replaces it.
But to maximise AI’s broader impact, shift its role from simply improving efficiency to actively driving revenue growth. AI can serve as a strategic asset for customer acquisition, retention, and upselling by analysing behaviour, personalising outreach, and tailoring recommendations.
Together, these pillars create a foundation for a lasting competitive advantage, helping you anticipate customer needs, foster loyalty, and grow revenue well beyond the holiday season.
