From early access to gamified giveaways, these text messaging campaigns will inspire your Boxing Day and January sales strategies.
With the Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping rush behind us, it’s time to sit back…and start planning for Boxing Day! This holiday is the perfect end-of-year opportunity to clear out seasonal inventory and get ready for 2023. Plus, Boxing Day is one of the first big opportunities to nurture the new subscribers you gained during Cyber Week.
Now’s the time to start planning your Boxing Day strategies—whether you’re based in the UK or marketing to a global audience. Check out how top brands are using text messaging to level-up their Boxing Day promotions.
What is Boxing Day?
Boxing Day (December 26) is a traditional gift-giving day that originated in the UK. Today, the holiday serves as a time to gather with loved ones, watch sports, and hunt for shopping deals—both in store and online.
While Boxing Day is mainly celebrated in the UK and some commonwealth countries like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, many US-based brands now use this shopping day as a way to drive end-of-year revenue.
Though it takes place the day after Christmas, many brands extend these post-holiday offers for weeks and use similar promotional strategies for their January sales.
Golf Town: Using segmentation to personalize text messaging experiences
Canadian golf retailer Golf Town segmented their text messaging sends based on language to deliver a customized Boxing Day promotion to their French-speaking audience. They shared a “sneak peek” of their deals two days before Boxing Day, building anticipation and a sense of exclusivity (“first to know”) for their subscribers.
The French Canadian segment was excluded from this first send, and instead received the same message in French. Not only did this strategy limit any confusion that could slow or stop conversions, but it also showed that the brand delivers personalized experiences that resonate with each customer.
Bully Bunches: Capturing seasonal shoppers with mobile sign-up units
Natural dog food brand Bully Bunches launched a Boxing Day sign-up unit on their mobile site to simultaneously grow their text messaging and email subscriber lists. The festive background image and generous 40% off discount enticed shoppers to sign up and learn more.
After opting in, subscribers were greeted with a festive welcome message and coupon code to start shopping. The Canadian brand was already offering 40% off to existing subscribers for Boxing Day. So, this seasonal sign-up unit encouraged new shoppers to join without having to offer additional discounts.
Yours Clothing: Sparking action with limited-time messaging
Yours Clothing—a plus-size apparel brand from the UK—spiced up their Boxing Day promotion with limited-time messaging. The simple message prompted subscribers to click the link to learn more about the sale. The sense of urgency (“your size is selling out!”) combined with the direct nature of SMS drove subscribers to start shopping right away.
Promoting the start of the sale to their engaged SMS audience helped the brand clear out seasonal inventory while preparing for the new year. No matter what deal your brand is offering this Boxing Day, this type of limited-time messaging can help your promotions stand out to shoppers and make an impact.
Monos: Building brand loyalty with store credit deals
Canadian luggage brand Monos shared a special Boxing Day invitation with their text message community, featuring both a percent-off and store credit deal. They infused their friendly brand voice and personalized the invitation with the subscriber’s first name.
The eye catching GIF shared a recap of the sale details, and a best-selling product image helped inspire subscribers’ shopping list. On top of their product sales, the brand boosted their incentives with 10% back in store credit. Since engaged SMS subscribers are likely to be return customers, they were the perfect audience to claim the store credit offer and shop again.
NAMA: Gamifying Boxing Day promotions with giveaways
NAMA—a sustainable activewear brand—kept the Boxing Day celebrations going all week long with their leggings giveaway. The Canadian brand specified the contest’s details in a message to all SMS subscribers, making them feel in-the-know with exclusive messaging (“VIP OFFER”). Not only did the free leggings opportunity reward this engaged audience, but it also created a sense of urgency to shop before the twenty free pairs were claimed.
NAMA sent this campaign a few days after Boxing Day, keeping subscribers engaged throughout the sales period. While many brands are sharing sitewide deals and on-sale collections around this time, this gamified experience was a fun way to spark action and build customer loyalty.
Green People: Keeping subscribers engaged with timely sale reminders
Green People—a UK-based skincare brand—continued driving revenue long after Boxing Day with timely sales reminders. They gave their text messaging subscribers early access to the sale on December 22, and included a link for subscribers to be the first to shop.
After the majority of other brands' Boxing Day deals came to a close, Green People followed up with a “last chance” reminder two weeks later. They used segmentation to exclude subscribers who had already shopped the sale. This reminder used limited-time messaging (“be quick”), driving subscribers to take advantage of the final opportunity.
Now is the perfect time to start planning your Boxing Day promotions that will keep the attention of holiday shoppers. Try implementing some of these strategies in your post-holiday and January sales promotions to create memorable brand experiences and build long-time loyalty.
Browse hundreds of text messaging campaigns sent by our customers in our SMS gallery, Texts We Love, and bookmark some SMS inspiration for Boxing Day and beyond.
