Every marketer knows that discounts work. And while discounts are extraordinary at driving short-term gains, they can wreak havoc on your bottom line, and train customers never to buy at full price. That’s not to say brands shouldn’t discount at all — marketers are now focused on deploying discounts strategically vs. treating them as one-off conversion machines.

1. IN THEIN THEIN THE
DIGITAL
DIGITAL
DIGITAL
AGEAGEAGE
DISCOUNTINGDISCOUNTINGDISCOUNTING

2. Discounts work. But it’s not enough to simply throw out an
offer and hope for the best. Find out how today’s retailers are
using new strategies—backed by data and analytics—to reach
the right customers with the right offers in the right ways.

3. DISCOUNTS.
EVERYONE’S
DOING THEM.
DISCOUNTS.
EVERYONE’S
DOING THEM.
DISCOUNTS.
EVERYONE’S
DOING THEM.
97%
of retailers use
discounting as a
pricing strategy.1
68%
of e-commerce
retailers find it very
or extremely
effective1

4. Lift in performance metrics2
NO
COUPONSS.
48%
Revenue
per email
34%
Unique
click-through
rates
27%
Transaction
rate
COUPONSCOUPONSCOUPONS
BUT DISCOUNTS CAN WREAK HAVOC ON LONG-TERM REVENUE.
PERSONALIZATION CAN MAKE YOUR STRATEGIES EVEN MORE
SUCCESSFUL—AND CUSTOMERS MORE SATISFIED.

5. ALWAYS BE
TESTING
ALWAYS BE
TESTING
ALWAYS BE
TESTING
Extensive
testing is key
to an effective
discounting
strategy.
51%
75%
of retailers said discounts are one of
the digital marketing components
they most want to personalize.3
of shoppers want a
personalized experience.4
53%
SO WHERE
DO YOU
BEGIN?
50%
of digital marketers
conduct advanced A/B
or multivariate testing.6
of retailers said data-driven marketing
helps them achieve a competitive
advantage in customer satisfaction.7

6. TOP BENEFITS OF
REAL-TIME MARKETING
TOP BENEFITS OF
REAL-TIME MARKETING
TOP BENEFITS OF
REAL-TIME MARKETING
increased marketing
effectiveness
increased customer
satisfaction and experience
increased customer
retention8
67% 60%
76%

7. TWO TYPES OF TESTSTWO TYPES OF TESTSTWO TYPES OF TESTS
Are
customers
respond-
ing to the
offer?
Was the
offer more
effective
in the first
email or
third?
How did it
compare to
other
discount
levels?
Did it lift
customer
lifetime
value?
What was
the effect
on purchase
frequency?
Which
channels
are most
effective?
What’s
the lift in
short-term
average
order
value?
LONG TERM:
DOWNSTREAM EFFECT
SHORT TERM:
IMMEDIATE IMPACT

8. SMALL STEPS, GIANT LEAPSSMALL STEPS, GIANT LEAPSSMALL STEPS, GIANT LEAPS
CONVERSION
RATES
PURCHASE
FREQUENCY
AVERAGE
ORDER VALUE
LIFETIME
VALUE
WHILE MOST TESTS PRODUCE ONLY INCREMENTAL LIFTS,
OVER TIME THEY CAN HELP DRAMATICALLY INCREASE:

9. NEW
CUSTOMERS
NEW
CUSTOMERS
NEW
CUSTOMERS
NEW
OPPORTUNITES
NEW
OPPORTUNITES
NEW
OPPORTUNITES
===
59%
of digital marketers said discounts
and bundles are effective for
acquiring new customers.9
Segmenting new customers lets you measure
the effect of an offer on future behavior.
BUT HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU’RE
OFFERING THE RIGHT DISCOUNT?

10. No
incentive
10%
Discount
20%
Discount
$20 off
$100+
Free
Shipping
31%
of retailers
said
percentage
discounts
were most
effective
22%
of retailers
said free or
discounted
shipping10
18% of retailers said they don’t actively track success10
EXAMPLE TESTEXAMPLE TEST

11. Today or two weeks
from now? When you
offer a discount can
affect long-term
value.
Tailor discounts to
customers based on
specific channels or
search terms.
Jump-start a lagging
geography or
increase market
share where you’re
already successful
Personalize send
times to reach all
customers when
they’re most likely
to convert.
THE MORE VARIABLES YOU TEST,
THE MORE HELPFUL YOUR DATA WILL BECOME.
THE MORE VARIABLES YOU TEST,
THE MORE HELPFUL YOUR DATA WILL BECOME.
THE MORE VARIABLES YOU TEST,
THE MORE HELPFUL YOUR DATA WILL BECOME.
TIMING SOURCING LOCATION DAYPART

12. Which is why it’s so important for your discounting
strategy to reach them in the right ways.
WILL COME
FROM JUST
KEEPING EXISTING
CUSTOMERS ENGAGED
KEEPING EXISTING
CUSTOMERS ENGAGED
KEEPING EXISTING
CUSTOMERS ENGAGED
80%
20%
OF FUTURE
REVENUES
OF CUSTOMERS

13. MOVE BEYOND
“DEAR <FIRST NAME>”
1:1 personalization lets you customize
every aspect of your communications
EMAIL-ONLY
VISIBILITY
EMAIL-ONLY
VISIBILITY
EMAIL-ONLY
VISIBILITY
360-DEGREE VIEW
OF CUSTOMER
INTERACTIONS
360-DEGREE VIEW
OF CUSTOMER
INTERACTIONS
360-DEGREE VIEW
OF CUSTOMER
INTERACTIONS
of digital marketers cited this as their
biggest e-mail marketing challenge
VS.VS.VS.
51%

14. TIMING IS A BALANCING ACTTIMING IS A BALANCING ACTTIMING IS A BALANCING ACT
Discounting too
rarely puts customer
retention at risk
DISENGAGEMENT
Making offers too
often can negatively
affect your reputation.
BRAND DAMAGE
Use predictive analytics to better understand when,
how, and how often to communicate with customers.

15. LEARN MORE
Sailthru can help you reach customers more effectively by helping you
achieve a true single customer view backed by behavioral and interest
data collected across every channel.
READ THE FULL DISCOUNTING GUIDE TODAY AT SAILTHRU.COM/XXX.
CHECK IT OUT