This is Why Your Entire December Email Strategy Should Be About Gifting

Hey it’s Max from The Inbox Newsletter.

Now that Black Friday season is officially past, it’s time to pivot into gifting season.

In fact, I’ll go so far to say that your ENTIRE email strategy for the month of December should be focused on gifting.

Today we’ll be walking through strategy and how to tailor your marketing to gifting:

Key Takeaways:

• Launch bundles and new offers that specifically target the gifting angle

• Don't run one offer all December - shift your angle as the month progresses

• Implement shipping deadlines to create urgency without needing new discounts

• Add gifting upsells to your post-purchase flow for quick re-orders

• Extend gifting momentum into NYE (December 26-31 is an overlooked revenue window)

Launch Gifting-Specific Bundles Early

Your December strategy should NOT be to just one long sale. That’s a great way to kill all sense of urgency in your customers.

If you want to win December, your strategy should be to focus on building multiple “micro-offers” that include seasonal SKUs and limited-time bundles throughout the month.

Below we’ll be taking a look at a few brand’s previous holiday strategy so you can get an idea of what a successful holiday strategy looks like.

Dr. Squatch’s December Strategy:

Nov 29 – Dec 5: Bundle-led holiday strategy with sitewide markdowns up to 55% off. They lead with bundles because bundles solve the "I don't know what to get them" problem. Pre-curated gift sets make buying easy.

Dec 17-18: Free 2-day shipping. The offer shifts from discount-driven to convenience-driven. At this point, people aren't looking for deals. They're looking for guaranteed delivery.

Dec 20-22: Tiered discounts (20% off $65, 30% off $75). This boosts AOV right before Christmas by rewarding bigger purchases.

Why this works:

Instead of running a generic "30% off site-wide" offer, they're creating multiple urgency windows with different angles.

Early December = Bundles

Mid December = Shipping urgency

Late December = AOV-boosting tiers

What makes a good gifting bundle:

Pre-curated so customers don't have to think. Gift-ready presentation (bonus points if it looks like a wrapped gift in the email). Clear value prop like "Perfect gift for the coffee lover in your life." Price anchoring that shows the bundle savings vs buying individually.

Seasonal SKUs work the same way. Limited-edition holiday products create urgency because they're only available through December. Once they're gone, they're gone.

Shipping Deadlines Are Your Urgency Driver

Instead of creating new discounts in December, let the calendar create urgency for you.

After running aggressive offers during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, most brands are tired of discounting.

Shipping deadlines do the work:

December 14-15: Last day for standard shipping. This is your first major urgency window post-Cyber Monday.

December 20-21: Last day for express shipping. This is for procrastinators willing to pay extra for speed.

After December 21: Digital gift cards become the hero. "Too late for physical delivery? Send a gift card instantly."

How to message shipping deadlines:

Subject lines: "Order by tonight for guaranteed delivery." In-email callouts: "Ships by Dec 15 or your money back." Footer reminders in every email starting December 10th.

You can also use free shipping as the offer instead of discounts. "Free standard shipping Dec 14-15" or "Free express shipping Dec 20-21." It feels like a gift to the customer and protects your margins.

Dr. Squatch ran free 2-day shipping on December 17-18. No discount. Just convenience and urgency. That's all you need at this stage.

How Brez Extended Gifting Season Through New Year's Eve

Nov 12-28: $15 store credit + lifetime supply giveaway. Store credit feels like a gift and guarantees a return purchase.

Nov 29 – Dec 3: $25 credit + free shipping over $100. Strong BFCM offer that rewards bigger orders.

Dec 9-13: Holiday bundles up to $180 off. Massive perceived value. These bundles are positioned as gift-ready solutions.

Dec 23: Digital gift cards for last-minute shoppers. This addresses the "I'm too late for shipping" objection and still captures revenue.

Dec 21-31: They extended holiday bundles through New Year's Eve to capture revenue most brands miss.

Why this works:

Even though Christmas is on December 25th, people are still in gifting mode through the New Year.

Brez kept their bundle offers running through December 31st and positioned them for NYE gifting. Most brands shut down after Christmas and leave an entire revenue window on the table.

How to add this to your strategy:

Keep your bundle offers live through December 31st. Just shift the messaging from "Christmas gifts" to "NYE gifts."

Send emails like "New Year's Host Gifts" or "Ring in the New Year with [Your Product]" from Dec 26-31.

Also, add digital gift cards as a fallback for anyone who missed shipping deadlines. Brez offered these on Dec 23 and captured last-minute shoppers who would have otherwise bought nothing.

Final Thoughts

December is an entirely different buying season than BFCM.

People aren't shopping for themselves anymore. And the brands that win this season are the ones that help their customers figure out what to buy and ensure it arrives on time.

Launch bundles early in the month. Shift to shipping urgency mid-month. Use tiered offers or free shipping to boost AOV late in the month. And don't stop on December 25th - extend into NYE for one more revenue push.

Dr. Squatch shifted their offer three times throughout December. Brez layered store credit, bundles, and digital gift cards to keep buyers engaged for 6+ weeks and extended straight through New Year's Eve.

The brands that run one stale offer all month will get ignored. The brands that shift their angle and launch multiple offers will dominate December.

If you want help building a December email strategy that actually capitalizes on gifting season, my team has generated $200M+ in email revenue for clients and we know exactly what works. Book a call here.

Email Inspiration Of The Day

Brand:

Slaktin + Co

Email Design:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TJU4dUSW1KfBVomXHFWidFWmHCd9mX__/view?usp=sharing

Notes:
On point holiday promotion which features a gifting offer. This brand offers holiday SKUs creating the perfect holiday + gifting theming.

Template of The Day

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Reply to this email if you have any questions or further content you want covered.

Cheers,

Max | Well Copy Email & SMS Marketing

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