Hands down, my favorite retail emails this year are from West Elm. I strongly suggest you subscribe and take notes! Here are just a few reasons why they’re nailing it:
1. Ability to Stay Current
Date: 07/18/2015
Subject Line: #treatyoself #snoozeyoulose #thatsaletho
This email cashed in on current trends of mobile viewing and social media commenting. I loved how the comments they came up with both highlighted the discount as well as added cute takes on the products. My favorite: “My apartment’s gunna be like #yaaaassss.” The hashtags in the subject line were extra icing on the cake. Amazing.
2. Originality
Date: 04/01/2015
Subject Line: Thanks for your order!
“Your Receipt From the Future,” as the email states. It’s designed to look like a receipt, but it’s a promotional email. I’ve never seen anything like it and I found it so interesting. I’m sure anyone that saw the subject line “Thanks for our order,” had a double take – wait, did I order something? I loved how instead of listing products by name they used phrases like, “That sofa you’ve been eyeing.” Their incorporation of the links were also well implemented. It was a departure from their regular, graphic-filled emails and I found it very fun.
3. Clever Copy
Date: 04/20/2015
Subject Line: 1 day only! This one’s a no-brainer.
This is just one of many examples highlighting their fun wordplay. I have to admit, I got a little chuckle when I read the numbered list.
4. Fun Animations
Date: 12/08/2014
Subject Line: Snow joke! FREE just for today…
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I absolutely LOVED these “Gift of the Day” gifs that appeared throughout the holiday season! They were such fun and well made animations that I looked forward to seeing every time.
Date: 02/11/2015
Subject Line: 20% off is ON. Right now.
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It would have been easy to just use the image of the lamps, but West Elm went the extra mile. They really made this email stand out by making the lights switch on and off. Also, take note of the wordplay in the subject line.
Date: 05/20/2015
Subject Line: EVERYTHING’S on sale. Starting…NOW!
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The perfectly aligned square design is hard enough to achieve on it’s own, but West Elm took it a step further by animating and swapping words to give this email layers of meaning. I watched, entranced, waiting to see which combinations they had come up with.
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