BFCM and the holiday shopping season bring some of the highest mobile messaging volumes of the year. To help maximize deliverability, maintain compliance, and ensure the best possible customer experience, follow these six best practices from Listrak’s Mobile Compliance Team.

1. Optimize Send Times

Schedule SMS and RCS campaigns strategically during periods of elevated traffic to help maximize throughput and delivery speed. Expect higher traffic volumes during major promotional periods, particularly Black Friday and Cyber Monday mornings.

Listrak recommends a slight strategic shift in your deployment timing over the holiday season:

1. Schedule campaigns approximately 15 minutes before the hour, but not before 8:00 AM local time
2. Alternatively, schedule sends 5–30 minutes after the hour
3. For large audiences, consider staggering sends across campaigns and customer segments
   

2. Optimize Your Messages for Clear Sender Recognition

During the holiday shopping season, customers receive more promotional messages than usual. That makes clear, consistent sender recognition even more important for helping your brand stand out and creating a better customer experience.

To maximize message visibility:

1. Use consistent sender information and branding across your SMS program
2. Encourage subscribers to save your contact information so future messages are easily recognized
3. Keep messaging clear, concise, and focused on immediate value and relevance
4. Test message rendering across both iOS and Android devices before major holiday campaigns
5. For MMS campaigns, keep image and media files as small as practical, targeting approximately 250 KB or less whenever possible, and review image dimensions and compression settings before deployment
   

3. Put RCS to Work for High-Impact Holiday Moments

RCS brings interactive, rich media experiences to your mobile program. During the holiday season, focus those capabilities on the campaigns and moments where they can have the most impact. Before peak periods, complete sender verification and testing, and use your verified brand profile consistently.

Reserve RCS for your highest-value campaigns and moments, including:

• Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions
• Holiday gift guides
• New product launches
• Shipping deadline reminders
• Loyalty and VIP communications

Leverage rich media strategically, including hero images, carousels, product cards, and quick reply buttons. Before deployment, test images, buttons, links, and fallback SMS experiences when applicable.

Throughout the holiday season, monitor engagement and response patterns and adjust as needed.

4. Reach Customers at the Right Time

Deliver messages based on each subscriber’s local time zone whenever possible. Time Zone Optimization can help improve relevance and the customer experience, distribute message volume more evenly throughout the day, support faster delivery during high-volume periods, and reach subscribers when they’re more likely to be active.

Respect quiet hours throughout the holiday season:

1. As a best practice, send promotional messages between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM local time
2. If Time Zone Optimization is not enabled, use a narrower window between 12:00 PM and 7:00 PM ET
3. Review applicable state-specific requirements and consult legal counsel regarding any additional compliance obligations
   

5. Prepare Your Automated Messages

Before holiday traffic increases, make sure automated journeys are prepared to operate alongside your promotional campaigns. Listrak recommends testing your welcome messages, cart abandonment journeys, browse abandonment flows, back-in-stock alerts, and post-purchase communications.

1. Confirm timing, suppression rules, and frequency caps are working as intended
2. Validate that triggered messages will not unintentionally conflict with promotional holiday campaigns
3. Review holiday cadence and priority rules to ensure critical messages are not delayed by frequency restrictions
   

6. Review Your Compliance Readiness

Holiday volume makes compliance readiness especially important. Carriers and the broader messaging ecosystem prioritize consumer experience, transparency, and responsible messaging, making it critical to review your program before peak sending periods.

As you review your compliance readiness:

1. Confirm all subscribers have documented, auditable consent records and that SMS, MMS, and RCS campaigns align with the scope of consent originally provided
2. Verify opt-out requests are promptly honored and HELP and STOP keywords are functioning as expected
3. Review sign-up forms, pop-ups, landing pages, and checkout opt-in experiences to ensure disclosures remain accurate and current
4. Verify quiet hours and frequency capping remain enabled within sender code settings
5. Clearly identify your brand in every message and use clear, accurate language and transparent offers
6. Monitor unsubscribe rates, complaint rates, and delivery performance throughout the holiday season, and maintain documentation supporting subscriber consent and program compliance

Frequency capping and quiet hours are enabled by default in Listrak. Your Client Success Manager can assist you with reviewing these settings.

Prepare Now for Peak Holiday Performance

Reviewing your mobile program before peak holiday season can help maximize performance, strengthen the customer experience, and ensure your program is ready for increased holiday volume.

Listrak clients: Visit the Listrak Help Center for additional guidance and compliance resources, or contact your Client Success team with questions.

NOTE: The information herein is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. You are responsible for ensuring your marketing program complies with all federal and state laws. It is recommended that your legal team reviews and approves your marketing program.