Canadian retailers using personalized email marketing generated significantly higher online order values during the holiday shopping season, with tailored campaigns producing a 33 per cent increase in average order value compared with generic emails, according to new research from Intuit Mailchimp.
The findings, based on an analysis of 1.85 billion emails sent in Canada during the 2025 peak shopping season, suggest that customer data, generative artificial intelligence and targeted marketing strategies are playing an increasingly important role in ecommerce sales.
Personalization drives higher order values
The report, Breaking Through Peak Season Noise, developed in collaboration with research firm Datalily, examined more than 44 billion emails and 83 million text messages sent through Mailchimp globally during the period from Halloween through New Year’s Eve in 2025. The analysis included 1.85 billion emails and 1.2 million text messages sent by Canadian Mailchimp users.
Canadian businesses saw particularly strong results from personalized campaigns during Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend. Ecommerce stores using tailored emails recorded a 49 per cent higher average order value than those sending generic messages, compared with an 11 per cent increase globally.
The research also found that repeat customers accounted for 67.3 per cent of email orders among Canadian Mailchimp customers during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. That compared with 41 per cent globally, highlighting the importance of maintaining relationships with existing customers during the busiest retail period of the year.
“Peak season is an opportunity to deepen customer connections,” says Jack Tam, SVP of Product and Engineering at Mailchimp. “The businesses that thrive use their own customer data to understand when people are ready to act, which messages matter, and where to focus next. This research helps marketers make those decisions with confidence and build customer relationships that endure long after the season ends.”
Despite the significant contribution from returning customers, Canadian businesses also continued to build their potential customer base. Mailchimp customers in Canada added 18.3 million new email subscriptions during the peak season, creating opportunities for businesses to develop relationships with new subscribers through targeted communications.
Generative AI shows stronger campaign performance
The research identified a notable difference in performance between email campaigns that incorporated generative artificial intelligence and those that did not.
In Canada, emails using generative AI recorded four times higher order rates and four times higher conversion rates than campaigns that did not use the technology. Globally, 450 million emails sent during the peak season used generative AI, with those messages recording a 50 per cent higher order rate and a 33 per cent higher conversion rate.
The report also examined how businesses could use customer data and automation to improve the relevance of their marketing. Globally, campaigns incorporating abandoned-cart content blocks recorded 36 per cent higher open rates and 28 per cent higher click rates, suggesting that automated messages responding to shopping activity can generate stronger engagement.
Email and text messaging serve different purposes
The research found that email and SMS marketing played complementary roles during the peak shopping season, with each channel contributing differently to ecommerce activity.
Email remained the primary channel for sustained customer communication and overall revenue generation, while text messaging was more effective at capturing attention during time-sensitive purchasing opportunities.
At peak periods, SMS campaigns delivered order rates up to six times higher than email and generated three times more revenue per message. Among Mailchimp customers using both channels during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, SMS accounted for nearly 20 per cent of their combined ecommerce revenue.
The findings also pointed to opportunities outside the busiest shopping days. Globally, weekend order rates were twice as high as weekday rates, despite businesses sending approximately 60 per cent fewer marketing messages on weekends.
Around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the days immediately surrounding the major shopping events also generated stronger engagement opportunities. The Sunday between Black Friday and Cyber Monday saw 59 per cent fewer emails and 82 per cent fewer text messages sent than on Black Friday.
Research examines 2025 holiday shopping season
The report’s findings are based on aggregated internal data from active Mailchimp free and paid plan users, evaluated across two observation periods: Peak Season 2025, from Oct. 31 to Dec. 31, 2025, and Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025, from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1.
Revenue, gross order value, average order value, order rate and conversion rate measurements apply specifically to Mailchimp users with connected ecommerce stores. Revenue figures reflect gross ecommerce sales attributed to email and SMS campaigns, excluding orders synchronized through the QuickBooks integration.
SMS measurements cover markets where Mailchimp SMS was commercially available during the observation period. The company notes that past performance does not guarantee future results and that individual results and regional feature availability may vary.
In an interview with Retail Insider, Mailchimp’s Marketing Lead Katie Witkowski, Marketing Lead, who spearheaded the Peak Season study, talks about the report.
What do the Canadian findings tell us about why personalized email marketing appears to have a stronger impact on average order value during the holiday season than generic messaging?
Personalization is about much more than adding someone’s name to a subject line or email opening. It means leveraging the customer information already existing with the business to make the message, channel, product offering and timing more relevant to the person receiving it.
That becomes especially important during the holiday season, when shoppers receive a high volume of promotions and have to sort through the noise and make decisions quickly. A message that reflects a customer’s previous interactions, preferences or interests is more likely to resonate.
Personalization in this way can help businesses offer something more relevant to a customer’s needs, whether that's through a tailored email recommendation, a timely SMS reminder or another channel that aligns with how the customer prefers to engage.
While the research shows an association between personalization and higher order values, the size of the difference in the Canadian data reinforces a practical lesson for Canadian business owners and marketers. It points to the potential to create more value by using customer information to make thoughtful decisions about who you contact, what you communicate and when, rather than simply sending more messages.
With 67.3 per cent of Canadian email orders during Black Friday/Cyber Monday coming from repeat customers, what should retailers be doing to strengthen relationships with existing customers while still attracting new shoppers?
When two-thirds of email orders come from repeat customers during Black Friday/Cyber Monday in Canada, it serves as an important reminder that holiday business growth is not only about acquiring new customers and that the famous 80-20 rule applies here as well. Existing customers already know the business and have established relationships.
The holiday season and one of its marquee milestones, Black Friday/Cyber Monday, is an opportunity to deepen those relationships.
Retailers should use customer and engagement data to distinguish between existing customers, new subscribers and first-time buyers, then tailor their communications accordingly. That could mean using segmentation and personalization to make messages more relevant, while having welcome, post-purchase and re-engagement journeys ready for people who are new to the brand.
Acquisition and retention should be treated as connected parts of the same strategy. Retailers still need to attract new shoppers, but they should build the next interaction into the customer experience from the beginning.
Canadian Mailchimp customers added 18.3 million new email subscriptions during the peak season. What are the most effective ways for retailers to turn those new subscribers into long-term customers after the holiday period ends?
A new email subscription is permission to begin a relationship, but it’s not a guarantee that the person will become a customer or remain engaged.
Retailers should have a clear welcome and retention plan in place before the holiday rush begins. That includes introducing new subscribers to the value of the brand, using their interactions to make future communications more relevant and preparing post-purchase and re-engagement journeys for the weeks after the holidays.
The timing matters too. The global report found that 16.6 per cent of customers who made their first purchase during Peak Season purchased again in the first quarter of the following year. Among those who returned, the median time to their next purchase was only 26 days. With some customers returning within weeks, businesses should consider their retention strategy well before the holiday season ends.
The goal should be to think beyond holiday promotions to continue the conversation in a useful and meaningful way.
The research shows emails using generative AI had four times higher order and conversion rates in the Canadian findings. What role do you see AI playing in helping retailers personalize marketing, and what should businesses be careful about when using AI-generated content?
AI can help marketers shorten the time frame from customer insight to action. It can assist with identifying patterns, developing audience segments and preparing different versions of content, making it easier for teams to personalize communications at scale.
The Canadian result is encouraging, but the content is important. Emails using generative AI saw higher order and conversion rates overall, though results will vary depending on how businesses approach it.
AI should support human judgment, not replace it. Marketers still need to review content for accuracy, brand voice and relevance. Marketers and business owners also need clear practices around customer consent, privacy and responsible data use.
The most effective approach is to use AI to surface opportunities and prepare possible actions, while keeping the marketer in control of what is ultimately approved and sent.
For smaller marketing teams, AI can act as a multiplier, helping them create and refine tailored content in less time so they can focus more on strategy and customer relationships.
What can retailers learn from the finding that weekends and the days surrounding Black Friday and Cyber Monday generated strong engagement despite significantly lower message volumes, and how should that influence their 2026 holiday marketing strategies?
The global findings suggest that the busiest promotional days, like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, are not always the only moments when customers are ready to engage.
That means businesses should be examining their own customer behaviour, testing different days and times, and looking for less crowded moments when a relevant message may have a better opportunity to stand out or reach a client in the right mindset.
That doesn’t mean businesses should move every campaign to the weekend. The right timing will vary by business and audience. The broader lesson is to measure performance and customer behaviour and focus on the value and purpose of each interaction, not simply the number of messages they send.
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