The Monday after Thanksgiving has become known as Cyber Monday, officially starting the online shopping season. It’s almost as well-known as Black Friday, the day after T-day that kicks off the bricks-and-mortar shopping countdown.

No wonder that 80 percent of online retailers had Cyber Monday-specific campaigns ready, according to the National Retail Federation. The NFR cites research showing that email messaging is one of the most popular campaigns being deployed–32.7 percent of those surveyed said they’ll be using email to promote their websites and sales specials.

Something that can be adapted to message marketing is the fact that 24.5 percent of retailers said they would be promoting one-day sales. mobileStorm client Broad River Furniture enjoyed great success with limited “secret” sales it announced only to SMS message subscribers. If you missed the boat this Cyber Monday, then consider having a one-day sale later this season–and use texts to promote it. SMS gives consumers the feeling of urgency (“I’d better hurry since it’s only one day!”) and personal relationship with the retailer (“wow, they sent me a text!”).

With message marketing (via email, SMS, RSS, or whatever platform you choose) you can immediately nab holiday-busy consumers’ interest, and offer them an incentive to buy from you–and not your competitor.