Many retailers in Canada are preparing for one of the largest Shopping days of the year, Boxing Day – I’d put this on the same level as Black Friday in the US. Two of Canada’s leading Electronic retailers are getting out in front of subscribers to prepare them for the online shopping extravaganza.

Presentation is a big factor as well… Future Shop electing for a checklist like approach to getting ready for easy to follow account setup with reminder and short cut links. Where BestBuy.ca opted for a more visually pleasing message sectioned into 4 key parts (Flyer reminder, Shopping Tips, Online Advantage – not standing in line was left out – and Useful things to know). Both retailers also take full advantage of the Share to social features in these messages hoping that subscribers will share these deals and events with their extended networks.

Future Shop reminds users to check the online flyers and of some site management and modifications that will be taking place, and some key shopping tips ex: wait in the online checkout queue to save your place in line, place your order we will back order it if it is not in stock.

BestBuy on the other hand talks about some of the upcoming specials – free shipping, use your gift cards online and get help from the Geek Squad. You will also see the Checkout Queue reminder and the back order notification reminders here… Great execution on expectations.

Key Success features:

    – Both of these retailers are setting your expectations for sale times. December 24th at 8PM EST – around the same time the retail locations close
    – Reminders to confirm your account information
    – Login now and get your “forgotten password” email out of the way or create a new account
    – Confirm your postal/email address
    – Credit Cards – setup your verified by Visa account if you plan on using your Visa card – no time like the present)
    – Setup your reward accounts
    – Shipping reminders on purchases (free over 39$) or set a store pickup.

Samples (click for larger images):

Predicted issues – In the past and speaking from experience both of these retailers have had capacity issues with their website interfaces; infrequent timeouts, shopping cart issues and in some cases simply loading the login page has been problematic. Here’s hoping these issues are resolved and that the increased load on the sites have been factored into this years Boxing Day plans.

Happy Shopping!