Listrak is a research partner for Internet Retailer, keeping track of what retailers in the Internet Top 500 and Second 500 are doing in the channel. With another short holiday season, I’ve been seeing some interesting attempts from top merchants to stand out in the inbox.

Perhaps as a “take-two” on a ho-hum Black Friday or to continue the success they saw on this important shopping day, Tiger Direct introduced the concept of a Black Friday sequel:

December 12 - Subject line: Black Friday II

Similarly, I saw Cyber Monday sequels from Vistaprint and Hayneedle:

December 8 - Subject line: CYBER MONDAY – it’s back for 2 days only

December 8 - Subject line: 15% OFF your order TODAY only. It’s Cyber Monday 2!

And even this week – less than 10 days ‘til Christmas – one from Overstock and one from Walmart:

December 16 - Cyber Monday + 15% Off Coupon – Extended Today Only!

December 16 - Don’t Miss Cyber Monday 2.0!

If this tactic was used in seasons past, I don’t recall it, but it is (perhaps) a clever way for these retailers to imply that their current offers are even better than the common percentages off and free shipping offers being touted by other merchants. Would you expect this to work?