December Email & SMS Playbook: Week-by-Week Calendar for Shopify (2026)

Your december email campaign shopify store sends should not look like your November emails with a Christmas banner. December is a different game. Gift shoppers think differently. Shipping deadlines create real urgency. And the right email at the right time can drive more revenue than any discount.

This playbook gives you the complete holiday sms marketing ecommerce and email strategy for December. A week-by-week calendar. The five email types that actually convert. When to use SMS instead of email. How to segment your list. And how to fix your abandoned cart flows for gift shoppers.

Here is what the data says. 68% of holiday shoppers pay more attention to brand emails during Christmas. Email drives 27-33% of total ecommerce revenue during Q4. SMS has a 90% open rate compared to about 43% for email. Your audience is listening more closely in December than almost any other month. The question is: are you sending them the right message at the right time?

Why December Email and SMS Need Their Own Strategy

During BFCM, your email says "here is the deal." During December, it needs to say "here is the perfect gift" and "it will arrive on time." The messaging shift is huge. And most stores miss it.

Think about the three shopper waves. Early Planners browse December 1-10. Deadline-Driven Buyers shop December 11-20. Last-Minute Rescuers panic-buy December 21-25. Each wave needs a different email and different tone. Sending the same message to all three wastes the biggest opportunity of the year.

Most stores increase email volume in December. They send more messages. But they do not change their christmas email sequence strategy. More emails with the same approach does not work. What works is a december email campaign shopify calendar with the right message matched to the right week and the right audience.

And email is only half the story. Holiday sms marketing ecommerce stores use is powerful for time-sensitive moments. SMS gets a 90% open rate. When shipping deadlines matter, when a flash sale is live, when a cart is abandoned, texts get seen faster than any email. The stores that win December use both channels together.

The December Email Calendar: Week by Week

Here is your complete december email campaign shopify calendar. Five weeks. Each week has a theme, a target email count, and an SMS count. Follow this and you will never wonder "what should I send today?"

Week 1 (Dec 1-7): Gift Guide Launch

This is the highest-value email week of December. Early Planners are actively browsing. Send your gift guide launch email to your full list on December 1-2. "Our Holiday Gift Guide Is Here." If you can segment by recipient, even better: send "Gift Ideas for Him" to female subscribers. Follow up with a category spotlight email later in the week. Your christmas email sequence strategy starts here. 2 emails, 0-1 SMS.

Week 2 (Dec 8-14): Category Deep Dives

Go deeper into your gift guide categories. "Top 10 Gifts Under $50." "Best-Selling Gifts This Week." If you have BFCM buyer data, use it: "You bought [product] during Black Friday. Here is the perfect gift to pair with it." This cross-sell angle works because you already know what they like. 2-3 emails, 0-1 SMS.

Week 3 (Dec 15-20): Shipping Deadlines

THE most important email week of December. This is where shipping deadline email conversion peaks. Send shipping countdown emails: "Last Day for Standard Shipping: Tomorrow." Push express shipping: "Still time with Express. Order by Dec 22." Combine email with SMS alerts. A text message saying "Standard shipping closes tonight" gets opened fast. 3-4 emails + 1-2 SMS this week.

Week 4 (Dec 21-25): Last-Minute Solutions

Digital gift cards are the hero product now. "Still Need a Gift? Instant Delivery. No Shipping Needed." If you offer same-day pickup, mention it in every email. SMS works great here: "Gift cards deliver instantly. Send one now." 2 emails + 1 SMS.

Post-Christmas (Dec 26-31): New Angles

Do not go silent after Christmas. Gift card recipients are ready to browse. Self-gifting shoppers are buying for themselves after a month of buying for others. "You Deserve Something Too." "Ready to Spend Your Gift Card?" This is also the time for year-end clearance. 2-3 emails. Your december email campaign shopify strategy should cover the full month, not just the first three weeks.

Five Email Types That Convert in December

Not all holiday emails are the same. Your december email campaign shopify store sends should include these five types. Each one serves a different purpose at a different time.

Type 1: Gift Guide Launch Email

Send on December 1-2 to your full list. Use a product grid organized by recipient or budget. The CTA should say "Shop the Gift Guide" not just "Shop Now." Personalized subject lines get 26% higher open rates. Make the subject specific: "Christmas Gift Ideas for Everyone on Your List." This single email often sets the tone for your entire december email campaign shopify season.

Type 2: Shipping Deadline Email

The highest-converting email of the year. Shipping deadline email conversion rates are 30-40% higher than standard promotional emails. The subject line must include a specific date: "Order by Dec 17 for Standard Delivery." Specific dates outperform vague promises by 18-25% in open rates. This is genuine urgency. Brands that use false urgency see 30-40% higher unsubscribe rates.

Type 3: Holiday Abandoned Cart Email

Your regular cart recovery copy does not work in December. Gift shoppers compare across stores. They do not know what to buy. Add a shipping deadline to every december abandoned cart recovery email: "Your cart is waiting, but standard shipping closes Dec 17." Send the first email within 1-2 hours. Second at 24 hours. Third at 48 hours. Holiday carts have a 73.9% abandonment rate. That is even higher than normal.

Type 4: Last-Chance Email

Send on December 20-22 when express shipping is still possible. Feature digital gift cards as the hero product. "Still Time: Express Shipping Ends Tomorrow." Mobile matters here: 60%+ of holiday emails are opened on mobile. Keep the message short. Put the deadline and the offer in the first 35 characters of the subject line.

Type 5: Post-Christmas Email

Send on December 26. Self-gifting angle and gift card redemption. Target BFCM buyers, gift card holders, and new holiday subscribers. Fresh tone: "The holidays are over. Now it is your turn." This is part of a smart christmas email sequence strategy that covers the full season, not just the weeks before Christmas.

SMS Strategy: When Texts Beat Emails

Holiday sms marketing ecommerce stores use is not a replacement for email. It is a partner. SMS has a 90% open rate. Email has about 43%. When timing matters, SMS wins. During December, timing matters a lot.

When to Use SMS During December

Use SMS for time-sensitive moments. Shipping deadline day-of alerts: "Last day for standard shipping. Order by midnight." Abandoned cart recovery 60 minutes after abandonment: SMS gets seen faster than email during busy holiday browsing. Flash sales or low inventory alerts: "Only 12 left of [best-selling gift]." Gift card promotions on December 23-24: "Digital gift cards deliver instantly." Order confirmations and shipping updates: gift buyers want real-time tracking more than regular buyers.

SMS Frequency Rules

Do not over-text your customers. Maximum 2-4 SMS per week during peak (Dec 15-25). 1-2 SMS per week for other December weeks. Always pair SMS with email. Use SMS for urgency and email for content. Never send SMS without opt-in. Compliance matters even more during December because your list is larger. Smart holiday sms marketing ecommerce brands keep frequency tight and value high.

SMS + Email for Abandoned Carts

The best december abandoned cart recovery combines both channels. Hour 1: SMS reminder (short, direct). Hour 4-6: email with product images and shipping deadline. Hour 24: email with social proof or a small incentive. This combined approach outperforms either channel alone. Automated SMS abandoned cart flows achieve an 18% order rate compared to 0.24% for standard SMS campaigns. That is a massive difference for your holiday sms marketing ecommerce results.

Segment Your List or Waste Your Sends

Holiday email segmentation ecommerce stores use can increase revenue by up to 760%. Sending the same holiday email to your entire list is the most expensive mistake in December. Different shoppers need different messages.

Five December Segments That Matter

VIP/Repeat Customers: Give them early access to your gift guide (November 28-30). "Shop Before Everyone Else." These shoppers have higher AOV potential and need less convincing. A well-planned christmas email sequence strategy starts with your best customers first.

New Subscribers (Nov-Dec signups): Send a welcome email combined with your gift guide. Use social proof: "Our best-selling gifts this season." These people are new to your brand. Good holiday email segmentation ecommerce treats new subscribers differently because they need trust before they buy.

BFCM Buyers: Cross-sell with a gift angle: "You bought [product] during Black Friday. Here is the perfect gift to pair with it." These shoppers already trust your brand. Use their purchase data to suggest relevant gifts.

Holiday Abandoned Cart: Use gift-specific december abandoned cart recovery copy: "Still looking for the perfect gift? Your picks are waiting." Add shipping deadline urgency: "Standard shipping closes in 3 days." This is different from regular cart recovery.

Dormant List (90+ days no purchase): Re-engage with a gift angle: "We have not heard from you. Our holiday gift guide might change that." Clean this segment before December to protect your email deliverability. Bad deliverability hurts every other segment too.

Good holiday email segmentation ecommerce also means matching tone to shopper wave. December 1-10 emails for planners: "Browse at your pace." December 11-20 for deadline shoppers: "Time is running out for delivery." December 21-25 for last-minute buyers: "We have instant solutions." Your holiday email segmentation ecommerce strategy should cover both who the shopper is and when they are shopping.

Abandoned Cart Flows Need Holiday-Specific Copy

Cart abandonment peaks during the holiday season. 73.9% of all carts get abandoned. During December, that number is even higher because gift shoppers compare across multiple stores. They do not know what to buy. Your regular abandoned cart sequence does not work for december abandoned cart recovery during the holiday season.

Here is why. Gift shoppers compare more stores than usual. Shipping deadlines add real urgency that your regular flow does not mention. And the buyer is not the end user. So "treat yourself" copy falls flat. You need to switch to gift language. Your december email campaign shopify abandoned cart flow should sound like a gift shopping assistant, not a sales robot.

The Holiday 3-Touch Flow

Touch 1 (1-2 hours): SMS. "Still thinking about [product]? Standard shipping closes [date]. Grab it before it sells out." Short. Direct. Gets seen fast.

Touch 2 (4-6 hours): Email. Product image. Gift-wrapping mention. Shipping deadline countdown. "Your gift picks are waiting. Standard shipping closes in [X] days."

Touch 3 (24 hours): Email. Social proof: "This is one of our top-selling gifts this week." Add a small incentive if needed. This is your last chance to recover this cart.

Copy Changes for December

Replace "complete your purchase" with "complete your gift." Replace "treat yourself" with "they will love it." Add a shipping deadline to every december abandoned cart recovery email. Mention gift wrapping as a bonus, not a charge. These small copy changes make your holiday sms marketing ecommerce and email recovery feel like a helpful reminder, not a sales push.

How Growth Suite Strengthens Your December Email and SMS

Building a great december email campaign shopify calendar is step one. Making sure those email clicks turn into purchases is step two. Growth Suite connects your email and SMS strategy to your on-site experience.

Email Capture: Build Your Holiday List

Growth Suite Email Capture offers personalized, time-limited discounts in exchange for email signups. "Enter your email for 10% off your holiday order. Code valid for 3 days." Each subscriber gets a unique code, auto-applied at checkout. Captured emails sync to Shopify and integrate with Klaviyo and Mailchimp. You build a December list of subscribers who already have a reason to buy.

Growth Links: Track Every Email and SMS

Create a unique Growth Link for each email campaign and each SMS. Know exactly which send drove revenue: gift guide launch vs shipping deadline vs abandoned cart. Auto-apply discounts when shoppers click through. Pre-fill carts with specific products for curated gift recommendations. Real-time analytics show views, conversions, and revenue per link. This level of holiday email segmentation ecommerce attribution tells you what works and what does not.

Trigger Campaigns: Convert Email Traffic On-Site

Shoppers who click your email but do not buy get a personalized on-site offer from Growth Suite. Walk-away visitors see a time-limited discount. Dedicated buyers who are ready to purchase do not see the offer. This turns holiday sms marketing ecommerce and email clicks into actual conversions without blanket discounts. Your shipping deadline email conversion rate improves because the on-site experience matches the email promise.

Countdown Timer: Reinforce the Deadline

When your email says "Last day for standard shipping," the on-site countdown timer confirms it. Consistent messaging across email, SMS, and your website creates trust. The shopper sees the same deadline everywhere. That consistency drives shipping deadline email conversion higher than any single channel alone.