Boxing Week Email Sequences
The days between Boxing Day and New Year's Eve are some of the most relaxed shopping days of the year. People are off work, scrolling on the sofa, holding gift money and returning presents that missed the mark. A short, well-planned Boxing Week email sequence meets them there with the right message on the right day, instead of one loud blast that gets lost in a crowded inbox.
Key takeaways
- Treat Boxing Week as a sequence of 4 to 6 emails, each with one clear job, rather than a single sale announcement.
- Segment by what people did in December: recent buyers, gift recipients, browsers and lapsed customers need different messages.
- Keep urgency honest. Real end dates and real reference prices protect your reputation and keep you on the right side of consumer rules.
- Write and schedule the whole sequence before Christmas so you can actually take a break.
Whether you run an online shop, a small boutique or a service business with gift vouchers, the week after Christmas is a gift in itself. Inboxes are quieter than in late November and people have time to read. The catch is that most small businesses are exhausted by 26 December and send nothing, or send something rushed.
This guide shows you how to plan a calm, useful Boxing Week sequence now, in mid-December, while you still have energy. You will get a day-by-day structure, segment ideas, subject line patterns and a template you can copy into your email platform. A quick note: this is general marketing information, not legal advice. Email and pricing rules differ by country, so check the official guidance where you trade.
Why a sequence beats a single Boxing Day blast
A single "Boxing Day sale is live" email has one chance to land. If it arrives while someone is out on a family walk, it sinks under a dozen other sale emails and never comes back. A sequence gives you several smaller, more relevant moments across the week.
- Different people shop on different days. Some are ready on the 26th. Others only browse once visitors have gone home.
- Each email can do one job. Focused emails are easier to write and easier to read.
- You learn as you go. Clicks on the first email show which products to lean on later.
In 2027, Christmas Day falls on a Saturday and Boxing Day on a Sunday. In the UK, that means the bank holidays move to the following weekdays, so many people will be off work through the early part of the week. Check the official bank holiday list for your part of the UK, and plan your send days around when your own customers are relaxed and online.
Plan your segments before you write a word
The fastest way to make a Boxing Week sequence feel personal is to send different versions to different groups. You do not need dozens of segments. Four or five, based on what people did in the last few weeks, are plenty for a small business.
Recent December buyers
These people just paid full price. A hard sell on the 26th can feel jarring, so thank them, share care tips and invite them to treat themselves later in the week.
Gift card and voucher holders
If you sell gift cards, some of your customers are now holding one. Tell them clearly how to redeem it online and in store, remind them that balances do not vanish when the season ends, and suggest products that sit near common card values. Keep any statements about expiry accurate to your own terms and local rules.
Browsers and cart abandoners
People who viewed products or left items in a cart in December are often your warmest prospects. A short reminder of what they looked at, plus the Boxing Week offer if it applies, is one of the most useful emails you can send.
Lapsed customers and everyone else
Lapsed customers get a short "here is what is new" note with a clear offer. Your general list gets the core announcement and the final reminder. If you are short on time, this segment plus buyers is enough.
Platforms such as Klaviyo, HubSpot and Mailchimp let you build segments from purchase dates, product views and tags. Check current features, pricing and privacy policies, and make sure the data you use was collected with clear notice.
Pro tip
Create a suppression rule before you build anything else: anyone who buys during the sequence drops out of the "sale is ending" emails automatically. Nothing annoys a customer more than a countdown email an hour after they checked out.
A six-email Boxing Week sequence, day by day
Here is a simple structure you can adapt. If you only have time for four emails, keep the first, second, fifth and sixth.
- 26 December, the opener. Announce the Boxing Week offer, what is included and when it ends. Lead with your strongest category, not a long list.
- 27 December, the gift card helper. Sent to card holders and recent gift recipients. Explain how to redeem and point to a curated edit of items that pair well with typical card values.
- 28 December, the best sellers. Show what other customers are choosing. Social proof works well once the first rush has passed.
- 29 December, the "treat yourself" angle. Many people spent the season buying for others. A gentle note about picking something for themselves fits the mood of the week.
- 30 December, the reminder. A short, plain email: the offer ends tomorrow, here are three items still in stock, here is the link.
- 31 December, the close. Sent in the morning, before people head out. Say clearly that the offer ends tonight, then stop. Do not extend it the next day.
Time your sends to match your audience. Look at when last year's holiday emails were opened and copy that pattern.
A Boxing Week sequence planning template
Copy this table into a spreadsheet or your project notes and fill in one row per email. The details below are made up for illustration only.
| Send date and time | Segment | Job of the email | Subject line (draft) | Main link | Exclude |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Dec, 10:00 | All subscribers except December buyers | Announce offer and end date | Our Boxing Week edit is open | Sale collection page | Bought since 1 Dec |
| 27 Dec, 11:00 | Gift card holders | Explain redemption, suggest picks | Got one of our gift cards? Start here | Gift card guide page | Cards fully redeemed |
| 30 Dec, 10:30 | Clicked but did not buy | Reminder with three in-stock items | Ends tomorrow: the pieces you looked at | Personalized product block | Bought during sequence |
Add columns for "open rate" and "orders" after each send so you have a clean record to plan next year's sequence.
Writing emails people actually open
Holiday week readers are relaxed but distracted. Short, warm and specific beats clever every time.
Subject lines
Use plain language that says what people will find: what the offer is ("Boxing Week: 20% off winter knits," with your real offer), who it is for ("For gift card holders: how to spend yours") or when it ends ("Last day of our Boxing Week offer"). Avoid all capitals, piles of exclamation marks and vague teasers.
The body of the email
Keep each email to one main message, one hero image and one primary button. Add two or three product picks at most. Say the offer, the end date and any key conditions near the top in plain words, so nobody has to scroll to learn what is going on.
An AI writing assistant such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini can help you draft variations of subject lines and short intros. Treat the output as a first draft, check every claim, and edit it so it sounds like you.
Hypothetical example
Imagine Ella, who runs a small online homeware shop from Leeds. Last year she sent one Boxing Day email and then nothing. This year she schedules five emails before 22 December: an opener, a gift card helper, a best sellers note, a reminder and a final-day close. She excludes anyone who bought in December from the opener and sends them a "care for your new throw" email instead. The writing takes one afternoon, and on 26 December the first email goes out while she is at her sister's house.
Keep your offer honest and compliant
Boxing Week is a prime time for pressure tactics, and that is exactly why honest offers stand out. They also keep you clear of regulators and complaints.
- Real end dates. If you say the offer ends on 31 December, end it on 31 December. Extending a "final day" again and again teaches customers to ignore you. In the UK, CMA guidance treats fake urgency as unfair to consumers.
- Real reference prices. "Was" prices should reflect what you genuinely charged, for a meaningful period. Misleading reference prices are treated as unfair under UK pricing rules, and similar principles apply in many other places.
- Clear terms. State which products are included, whether codes can be combined and any limits, right in the email or one click away.
- Unsubscribe and address. In the US, CAN-SPAM requires a clear unsubscribe option and a valid physical postal address in commercial emails.
- Consent. In the UK and EU, PECR and GDPR rules on consent apply to marketing emails. Only send the sequence to people who agreed to hear from you, or who fall under the rules that apply to existing customers where you trade.
Common mistake
Importing a list of everyone who bought a gift as a guest checkout and emailing them the whole sequence. Buying once is not the same as agreeing to marketing in every country. Check how each contact joined your list before you add them to a holiday campaign.
Practical setup before Christmas
The whole point of a pre-planned sequence is that you can rest. Do the setup work in the week before Christmas and leave yourself only light checks after.
- Confirm the offer. Decide the discount, the products, the start and end date, and write the terms in one short paragraph.
- Prepare the pages. Build the sale collection, the gift card guide and any landing page, and keep them hidden until the start date.
- Build segments and exclusions. Set up the groups and the "bought during sequence" suppression rule.
- Write and design all emails. Use one template so they share a look, then change only the headline, image and products.
- Test. Send test emails to yourself on a phone and a laptop, click every link and check discount codes in a real checkout.
- Schedule. Queue every email with the right date, time zone and segment.
- Plan your check-ins. Choose two short slots during the week to look at results and answer customer replies.
If your carrier or warehouse closes for part of the week, say so plainly in each email, with realistic dispatch dates. Customers forgive slower delivery over the holidays. They do not forgive surprises.
Measure the week and plan next year
When the sequence ends, spend 30 minutes noting each email's opens, clicks, orders and unsubscribes. Which day brought the most orders? Did unsubscribes rise late in the week? If so, send one fewer email next year. Then save the whole sequence as a template, so next December you only update dates, offers and images.
Your Boxing Week email checklist
- Decide the offer, products, start date and end date
- Write the terms in one short, plain paragraph
- Build 4 or 5 segments from December behavior
- Set a suppression rule for anyone who buys during the sequence
- Draft 4 to 6 emails, each with one clear job
- Check unsubscribe links, postal address and consent status
- Test every link and discount code on phone and laptop
- Schedule all sends before you close for Christmas
- Book two short check-ins during the week
- Record results and save the sequence for next year
Frequently asked questions
How many emails is too many during Boxing Week?
There is no fixed number, but most small businesses do well with 4 to 6 emails over the week, sent to the right segments. Watch your unsubscribe rate and replies. If people start complaining, scale back next year.
Should I email customers who bought at full price in December?
You can, but change the message. Lead with a thank-you or helpful content and keep the discount low key. Some shops offer recent buyers a small extra, such as free shipping on their next order, to keep goodwill.
Is Boxing Week only relevant in the UK and Canada?
Boxing Day is a holiday in the UK, Canada and several other countries, but the week between Christmas and New Year is a busy shopping time in the US too. If your customers are mostly in the US, you might call it an "after-Christmas" or "year-end" sale instead.
What if I run out of stock halfway through?
Update your remaining emails to feature items you still have, and remove sold-out products from scheduled sends. Honesty about limited stock is fine. Pretending something is scarce when it is not is not.
Related reading
The bottom line
A Boxing Week email sequence works because it matches how people actually shop after Christmas: slowly, across several days, with gift cards in hand and time to browse. Give each email one job, send the right message to each segment, keep your offer honest and schedule everything before you close.
Block out one afternoon this week to plan, write and schedule. Then enjoy the holidays while your emails do the quiet work.
