Petit Peton finds e-mail to be shoe-in

High-end shoe retailer Petit Peton found the right fit with e-mail marketing services firm Genius.com.

The New York-based boutique turned to Genius, San Mateo, CA, for its e-mail platform last November to track and measure its deliverability and open rates, something the retailer had not done with its last e-mail program.

"Since we have been using Genius, we can see who is opening e-mails and who is looking at the site," said Michelle Gatton, consultant for Petit Peton.

Petit Peton sells high-end shoes to women, men and children who are willing to pay for the quality. Celebrity sports stars and rappers frequent the store, which sells products like Italian designer Baldinini high heels. The bricks-and-mortar store is located in New York's Greenwich Village and its e-commerce at www.petitpeton.com.

"The site is sexy like the store," Ms. Gatton said. "It's for people who like wearing sexy shoes and feeling sexy."

Since Petit Peton began sending e-mail, the retailer reports seeing an increase in open rate. On a recent mailing promoting new spring and summer shoes, and winter sales, the shoe store sent out 3000 e-mails. The Genius.com reporting feature found about 21 percent opened and 17 percent clicked through to the Web site.

The e-mails are usually sent once or twice a month, and are aimed at both the local New York audience, as well as out-of-town shoppers who've left their e-mail addresses at the boutique when in New York.

"Most of the people on the e-mail list are out of state, so we're driving them to the Web site," Ms. Gatton said.