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The holiday season is a time of celebration, and is one of the busiest moments of the year for you and your customers. Engaging your customers during the holidays is an effective way to help boost your peak season sales, but you're not the only one competing for attention. Every eCommerce and retail business wants to get in on the holiday rush and sell as much as possible. Your customers’ inboxes are overflowing with messages they see as spam, so how do you make yours stand out?
Customer engagement is only successful when you use the right communication channels. The best place to do that is where your customers already are: on their mobile phones.
Let's explore 5 essential conversational messaging use cases for the holidays, and how they help you stand out from your competition.
1. Send Deals and Offers
Hi {First Name}!
Happy Holidays! The jolly season is coming up, and we have some sweet holiday deals for you. Save up to 10% on all purchases and gifts for you and your loved ones!
Shop now {Shopping Link}
{Company Name}
Sending your promotions and deals to your customers can be a very effective way to encourage your audience, especially when you add some great discounts or attractive rewards for loyal customers.
But what conversational channel is best for this use case?
SMS is a simple and familiar channel for customers to use. It consists of plain text and has a character limit. It may lack the “wow factor”, but it makes up for it in reach. Every mobile phone has SMS built-in, so the infrastructure for receiving the messages is hard-wired into all mobile phones worldwide. And with 8.2 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide as of 2025, your branded messages are bound to reach your target audience. Here you can read more about how to use SMS during Black Friday.
If you want to send promotional messages that look better than just plain text. For example with images, video messages, colors, etc. Then WhatsApp Business and RCS are the channels for you! Both channels offer rich media, conversational messaging, and engagement features like product catalogs and suggested replies that can bring holiday charm to your branded messages.
WhatsApp has approximately over 3 billion active monthly users worldwide, making it the most used messaging app worldwide. That's why it's a great channel to use during peak sales periods! RCS has over 1.5 billion active monthly users, but this is predicted to rise after expanding support by Apple and other mobile operators.
Which channel works best for your business depends on your audience and use case. Read our WhatsApp vs RCS blog here to compare both channels and make an informed choice.
2. Advertise and Engage
Hello!
Are you thinking about {Product Listed in Advertisement}? Then we've got some exciting news! You can get an additional 10% discount on {Product Category}! Tell us your size and favorite color and we'll help you find the perfect fit for the upcoming holidays.
{Company Name}
It goes without saying that you should promote your brand during the holidays, but how do you make your campaigns stand out? The secret ingredient is direct engagement! WhatsApp Business Platform offers ads that click to WhatsApp, making it easier for potential customers to contact you directly on WhatsApp when they are interested in your ad. This immediate engagement with just a single click can offer valuable information or guidance to a consumer that can help seal the (purchase) deal!
But a concern that some people can have is: "What if it works too well? What if hundreds of people send a message? Who’s going to answer all those messages?"
That concern makes sense, and that’s where automation steps in to help. With the right setup, you don’t need a full team to manage WhatsApp. At CM.com, we combine our Mobile Marketing Cloud with HALO, our Agentic AI Platform, to automate both sides of the conversation.
Set up your campaign once and if someone sends a message, HALO picks it up. It reads the message, responds instantly, and can even take action like recommending a personalized product or starting an order.
3. Keep Customers Informed
Hey {First Name},
We have some special holiday offers for all our loyal subscribers: 20% off all our Christmas products! And guess what? Your favorite {Product Name} is also eligible for this discount. Don't miss out!
{Company Name}
Newsletters are no longer limited to email, you can now send them through conversational channels as well. Send your audience exclusive and personal discounts, or tailor these offers to special events, like the holidays!
Email newsletters are often a wall of text in an already full inbox, while newsletters over conversational channels look more like a flow of short messages (like a conversation). Customers can click buttons or answer suggestions in the newsletter to engage with the content, which creates an interactive experience and opens the door for deeper customer communications after the newsletter is consumed.
WhatsApp Business offers a newsletter feature within its platform, allowing you to send personalized and tailored messages to your customers.
The benefit of newsletters over WhatsApp? Feel free to take a look at the graph below!
4. Assist the Buying Journey
Hi {First Name},
Thank you for reaching out! Based on your previous purchases and favorite items, I would recommend {Product Name} for you. It is one of our fastest selling items in {Product Category} at the moment. We can offer you a one-time 5% discount to get you into the festive spirit!
Do you want me to add it to your shopping cart?
Some customers are more risk-averse than others when it comes to making a purchase. When shopping online, right before clicking “confirm payment,” that little voice can appear: “Is this really the right product?”
They still have questions or doubts, and if these aren’t resolved, the cart is likely to be abandoned.
Digital-assisted selling can boost conversions among hesitant customers significantly. When used well, it helps close the sale by offering advice or removing doubts right at the decision-making moment.
Research shows that 88% of consumers are more likely to buy when they receive help or recommendations during the buying process, making it crucial to be available at that moment. Add a click-to-channel button on your checkout page and ensure you can respond immediately, whether through an AI agent or live agent.
5. Recover Abandoned Carts
Hi {First Name} {Last Name}
It looks like you left {Product Name} in your online shopping cart.
They are one of our most popular items this season, so get one now if you want to have it under your Christmas tree!{Buy Now Link}
Complex checkout pages, technical errors or last-minute doubts can lead to abandoned carts. In fact, 41 different studies have found that the global average cart abandonment rate is just under 70%, which makes it one of the most persistent challenges for online retailers worldwide. Sending abandoned cart reminders helps customers complete their purchase.
You can send these reminders through any channel, but you’ll make the biggest impact by reaching your customers where they already spend most of their time: on their phones.
Join the Holiday Cheer
The holiday season is a moment of joy, connection and opportunity for both shoppers and businesses. As we've explored, conversational messaging through channels such as SMS, WhatsApp and RCS can elevate your holiday sales strategy by reaching customers where they are most active: on their phones.
With personalized offers, engaging ads, interactive newsletters and tailored buying assistance, you can stand out in a crowded holiday market. And with abandoned cart recovery, you secure those last-minute sales. Together, these elements create a seamless shopping experience that keeps customers coming back long after the holidays.
This holiday season, make every message count. Turn notifications into meaningful moments in your customer’s journey!
