Labor Day is Monday, September 3 this year.

Labor Day is consistently one of the biggest U.S. sale weekends, so email marketers need to plan for this holiday weekend as a last opportunity to grow their summer revenues.

Because Labor Day is the last three-day weekend before most schools start, it’s typically celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer and start of back to school season.

A survey by Offers.com found the average American spends $150 on his or her family during Labor Day weekend shopping.

Let’s look at just where consumers are shopping this holiday, what they’re buying, and how you can best market to them with your Labor Day email marketing.

where consumers are shopping

There are three places people historically have gone to shop on Labor Day weekend.

• 32% shop at large big-box stores
• 21% shop online or at a retail store
• 25% shop at mass merchants, online and retail stores

what consumers are buying

With deep sales on a large range of products and in a variety of categories, Labor Day is a prime time for folks to shop. But just what items are they spending their money on?

• 28% – school supplies
• 22% – clothes
• 18% – electronics
• 22% – indoor/outdoor furniture
• 10% – mattresses

Labor Day email marketing ideas

Now we know where consumers are shopping and what they’re buying. Now you have to plan out when you should start sending your Labor Day email marketing campaigns to get the most bang for your buck.

Many email marketers start their Labor Day email marketing campaigns in early August, but many are sent on Labor Day itself. The highest peak of Labor Day email volume happens on the Friday before Labor Day, and 8.5 percent of emails are actually sent after the holiday.

Labor Day email marketing planning

You should send Labor Day email marketing campaigns well before the holiday weekend. However, make sure you have a plan in place to send directly before and after the holiday weekend.

Here’s a sample plan to consider:

• Email 1- a week before Labor Day
• Email 2- a few days before Labor Day
• Email 3- on Labor Day
• Email 4- a day or two after Labor Day

A vast majority of email subject lines for Labor Day emails include some sort of promotion or sale. Free shipping offers tend to have the highest transaction rates.

Labor Day email marketing takes on many forms, but one thing’s for sure: People are expecting to save big! Offering rewards, promos, coupon codes, deals, free-shipping and product previews goes a long way.

Let’s take a look at some campaigns and themes you should consider for your Labor Day email marketing campaigns.

patriotic

Similar to July 4th, Labor Day email marketing should have a patriotic tie in. Deals consumers are looking for include rewards, promotions, coupons, and free shipping. To make these deals relevant to the season, use patriotic imagery and copy throughout the messages.

general sale

As with any time of year, a general sale email will work for Labor Day. When deciding what to include, be sure to use imagery that ties in with Labor Day themes that speak to the end of summer, winding down, and relaxation. Clearly tout the offer and benefit, and always use a clear CTA button.

For this example, up to 90% off will be nice bait for folks to click through to see if products they’re interested in are steeply discounted. One of the most appealing aspects of this message is the image, which emphasizes a Labor Day weekend activity and how the brand fits into the work-free day!

electronics

Labor Day weekend is a time when people can expect to see deals on electronics and will be looking for them in their inbox. If you sell electronics, you should highlight new electronics and how they can help people get the best of what’s left of the summer.

furniture

Shoppers looking for furniture will do a lot of their research online before stepping foot into the showroom. For retailers that sell furniture, be sure to send email campaigns in order to grab the attention of these subscribers who will be looking for furniture deals over the Labor Day weekend.

These email marketing campaigns should feature any sales prominently and tout quality over your competitors’ products. If free delivery is an option, that should be highlighted as well. This example offers free local delivery, which is an irresistible offer for those who don’t have the means to get the new furniture to their homes themselves.

In addition, promote in-store events via email marketing to encourage online shoppers to come into the showroom.

no offer

Not every company can provide an offer or run a promotion. For those who can’t offer anything for the holiday weekend, all is not lost. You should still consider sending a goodwill email campaign. This would simply wish the subscriber a happy and safe Labor Day weekend.

We see messages like this a lot during the winter holidays, and this approach can work well for Labor Day, too. The idea is to create goodwill with subscribers by wishing them a safe and happy Labor Day and by using patriotic imagery.

A goodwill message helps keep your brand top of mind.

Labor Day spin

This email is a great example of a good way to advertise for Labor Day even if you don’t have Labor Day related products. This shows that any business can find a way to spin their marketing messages to work for the holiday.

With so many folks cooking out for the Labor Day weekend, visuals that align with food work well – think grilling out and summertime foods.

Whether you sell products directly related to cookouts or not, you can easily incorporate visuals that harken to cookouts such as this Best Friends email does.

Always be sure to tout what the offer is and what you want subscribers to do. Also, consider incorporating some of your products into the imagery.

goodbye to summer

As we’ve already determined, Labor Day goes hand-in-hand with the unofficial end of summer. Since that’s the case, it’s not uncommon to see an end-of-summer theme woven into Labor Day emails as with this example.

For this type of approach, you should be sure to use summer-related imagery (like the beach theme here), provide an offer, and include CTA buttons.

Notice the email exclusive approach used here. Email subscribers get to shop a day earlier than everyone else. This is an effective approach for making email marketing contacts feel like VIPs.

What are some Labor Day email marketing strategies that have worked for you in the past? Let us know what some of your best campaigns have been.