November Retention Newsie 1

Welcome to The Retention Newsie by The Email Marketers, the retention-building experts for 7-9 figure ecom brands.

Every month, we bring you the best case studies, trending news, and tips for retaining more customers while turning them into raving fans and increasing revenue.

This Week’s Inbox Rundown

• Your Inbox, Your Call

• Your Post-BFCM Gift

• The Retention Gap McDonald's Doesn’t See

• Free Email Design Inspiration

Research shows that the average office worker receives 121 emails daily. You're probably juggling even more if you're a marketing pro or a brand owner.​

And we know long-form deep dives like this can feel like a lot some weeks.

That's why we’d like to get your input…. To deliver value the way you actually want to receive it.

BFCM is in full swing, or at least for most brands. Campaigns are being pushed, metrics are flying everywhere, and 3AM scares of using the wrong discount codes are at an all-time high.

While this is one of the most lucrative and exciting events of the year… Something else is creeping up.

The BFCM finish line. 

Yes, it’s a sigh of relief and a weight lifted off your shoulders. But then, on December 5th, a dreaded question opens the team meeting.

“Great job. Now, what are we doing to keep the numbers up during the holiday season?”

Luckily, we’ve already prepped for this. 

Joining forces with PostPilot, Ezra Firestone, and 24 other agencies and platforms, we’ve put together a playbook with only our top strategies. 

Keep the BFCM momentum going by grabbing your free playbook below. 

Download The Post-BFCM Playbook Here → 

What D2C Brands Are Saying About The Email Marketers

McDonald's Has a Retention Blind Spot

As of Q2 2025, McDonald's has 185 million loyalty members. They're on pace to hit 250 million by 2027.​

But the problem is that this number represents only 25% of U.S. customers.

By The Numbers

You probably already know push notifications are their loyalty backbone. App-only model. All notifications live there.

So let's look at what actually happens with push on iPhone vs. Android:

• iOS push opt-in rate: 43.9%​

• Android push opt-in rate: 91.1%​

This means McDonald's is reaching two completely different audiences based solely on what phone they own. On iOS alone, they're missing 56% of their app users entirely because those users never opted into push.​

You could argue, "So what? They still have the app."

But does having the app mean anything if you don't see the notifications driving the behavior McDonald's wants?

Now For The Uncomfortable Truth

Here's where most case studies start apologizing. We won't.

McDonald's loyalty members visit 26 times per year. Non-members visit 10.5 times.​

That's a 2.5x multiplier. Proof the loyalty program works.

But, and this matters, McDonald's can't reach 100% of their customers with push.

• Email? 100% land in the inbox.​ (yes, open rates vary)

• SMS? ~95% open rate in the first three minutes.​

• Push? ~50% average open rate even for high-performing apps.​

So McDonald's has mastered frequency.

But not reach.

The Missing Question McDonald's Never Asked

Look at McDonald's Monopoly game. It lives inside the app now. Download or miss out.

This creates urgency for app adoption. Great move.

But what about the customers who don't know Monopoly is even happening?

If McDonald's had captured an email address (with even a small incentive), they could send one email saying: "Monopoly is live. Tap here to download the app and win."

This gives them a re-engagement channel if those customers stop opening push notifications.

Email isn't prettier or more exciting.

It's just more reliable.

The Part Where We Admit Push Is Actually Better

• Push CTR averages 10%.

• SMS is 8%.

• Email is 1%.​

Push wins on immediate engagement and upfront cost. For flash sales, real-time inventory, location-based offers? Push is the play.

But push is also the only channel McDonald's is using for what SMS and email do way better: re-engagement and reach.

Why This Matters For Your Brand

McDonald's didn't become a $7.66 billion revenue juggernaut in the U.S. by accident.​

They also didn't do it by optimizing one channel to death.

So the lesson isn't "email is better than push."

But rather, it's "one channel will always have blind spots."

Here's your actual question…

If you're betting your entire retention strategy on one platform, whether that's push, SMS, email, or even in-app, who aren't you reaching?

And what percentage of your potential revenue is walking out the door because of it?

That's the McDonald's blind spot.

Free Figma File With 100+ Email Designs

Design fatigue is a REAL thing… Especially when it comes to BFCM. So we thought we’d put this back out there just in case your brand needs a little extra inspiration to get the juices flowing.