Black Friday Marketing: 10+ Powerful Tactics To Top Your Sales Records (2024)

Let’s talk about Black Friday marketing. There’s no denying it can be stressful stuff.

I remember my first BFCM weekend as a merchant. I felt like I had a million and one things to get done and no idea where to start.

So, I did what any self-respecting digital entrepreneur would do. 

I rolled up my sleeves, opened a Word doc to begin writing promotional email sequences...and then quickly hopped over to Instagram for three hours of looking at cat videos.

If this sounds like you, don’t worry. We’ve all been there. 

But today you’re in luck because I'm going to share 10 proven Black Friday marketing tactics you can use to get your store ready for the biggest shopping weekend of the year.

I’ve hand-selected these BFCM marketing ideas based on how easy they are to implement and their potential to deliver earth-shattering results.

But before we get to the specific marketing strategies, let’s step back and think in broad strokes to give context to what's to come.

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Black Friday Marketing: What We Can Learn From 2023

In 2023, consumer spending during the holiday season was predicted to grow at the slowest pace in five years. 

Inflation and rising living costs were top concerns, but consumers didn’t stop spending—they simply became more cautious. 

According to Forrester, shoppers stretched their dollars by spending more strategically, hunting for better deals, and waiting longer before making purchases.

Despite this, e-commerce still saw solid growth. 

Online sales increased by 7.5% from 2022, reaching a record-breaking $9.8 billion in total online spending. 

Brick-and-mortar traffic also saw a resurgence, with in-store visits up 4.6% from the previous year. 

Shopify reported record-breaking Black Friday sales of $4.1 billion, highlighting strong consumer interest in personal care, fashion, jewelry, shoes, and home décor categories.

Interestingly, mobile shopping dominated the scene, with 75% of Shopify’s sales taking place on mobile devices, and the remaining 25% on desktop.

Timing Was Especially Important for BFCM in 2023

One of the most notable shifts we observed in 2023 was when consumers chose to shop. 

Early holiday shopping surged, with October seeing a spike in activity as shoppers took advantage of pre-holiday discounts and early promotions. 

This trend was especially pronounced online, where consumers were quick to act on early deals.

Cyber Week (Black Friday through Cyber Monday) continued to be a major force in holiday spending, accounting for 8% of total holiday expenditures. 

The combination of in-store and online deals fueled consumer excitement, making these days crucial for any e-commerce strategy.

Black Friday Trends for 2024

As we head into 2024, many of the trends from last year are expected to carry forward, while new dynamics will come into play. Here are the key trends you should watch for:

• Mobile Shopping’s Continued Dominance: Mobile sales will likely remain a huge driver of revenue. Optimizing your site for mobile users is no longer optional—it’s essential.

• Early Deal Seekers: Consumers are increasingly hunting for deals long before Black Friday, so plan your promotions early. Starting your campaigns in October will give you a competitive edge.

• Earlier Promotions from Marketers: To keep up with savvy shoppers, marketers are expected to begin their holiday campaigns sooner than ever, ensuring they capture early-bird shoppers.

• Rise of Flexible Payment Options: With inflation still a concern, “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) options will continue to gain traction. Offering flexible payment plans can boost conversions and help consumers manage their holiday spending.

• Channel Switching is on the Rise: Shoppers are no longer committed to a single channel. Expect more consumers to browse on mobile, check prices on desktop, and finalize purchases in-store or through a hybrid approach.

• Paid Search Will Drive Sales: Paid search advertising is projected to lead the pack in terms of conversion-driving tactics. Make sure your paid search campaigns are optimized and tailored to your audience to maximize returns.

What These Trends Mean for Your Black Friday Marketing in 2024

As we prepare for Black Friday 2024, the key to success lies in understanding these trends and adapting your strategy accordingly. Here’s how you can stay ahead:

• Optimize for Mobile: With mobile sales continuing to dominate, ensure your website is fast, responsive, and offers a seamless mobile checkout experience.

• Plan Early: Consumers are shopping earlier every year. By launching promotions ahead of schedule, you can capture the attention of early-bird shoppers and reduce competition during the crowded Black Friday weekend.

• Leverage BNPL: Flexible payment options can be a game-changer, especially in uncertain economic times. Make sure you offer payment plans that cater to budget-conscious consumers.

• Diversify Your Channels: With shoppers switching between devices and platforms, make sure your marketing efforts span multiple touchpoints, from email and social media to paid search and in-store experiences.

By taking these insights from 2023 and applying them to your 2024 strategy, you’ll be better equipped to navigate the evolving landscape of e-commerce and make the most of this holiday season.

12 Super-Effective Black Friday Marketing Ideas

Ok, with the BFCM trends under our belt, let’s talk tactics. The following ten ideas will help you ramp up your sales and crush your revenue goals.

1. Skip Blanket Discounts

Okay, this piece of advice is a little controversial. I mean, how could you not offer a sitewide discount on Black Friday? Well, allow me to explain.

Heavy discounts are by far the most common type of BFCM offer. We’ve all been tempted to buy one of those gigantic flat-screen TVs off Amazon, just because it’s $700 off, right?

But while mega-discounts are great for publicity (and consumers), they often only make sense for larger companies, with big margins who know customers will be back to buy again later in the year.

On top of that, we know that consumers have a value association with the price of your products. So slashing your prices by 50% may not pull in enough sales volume to offset loss in profit.

Plus, given that holiday shopping fever is now essentially spread out from early November to year-end, offering a bulk discount makes it hard to maintain customer interest once the BFCM weekend ends.

Of course, if you’ve run the numbers and you’re in a position where a hefty blanket discount makes sense, by all means, go for it.

But if you're working with tighter margins or discounts don’t seem appropriate, there’s another mindset to build your BFCM campaigns off. Let’s learn about that now.

2. Focus on Average Order Value

As more and more retailers flood online, the competition is heating up. 

And if you’ve been around for a while you know that CPMs have been creeping up, making it harder to take home a decent margin.

In addition, If you’re handing out discounts for BFCM, you’ll see an even further drop in profitability. Not fun.

So, instead of offering a sitewide discount, what would happen if you focused on maximizing the value of each and every sale?

Well, to illustrate, let’s consider two types of BFCM offers: 

A 20% Sitewide Discount

• Average order value: $80
• Revenue after discount: $64
• Product & fulfillment costs: $30
• Customer acquisition cost: $25
• Profit: $9

Get 30% off when you spend $200

• Average order value: $215
• Revenue after discount: $150
• Product & fulfillment costs: $75
• Customer acquisition cost: $25
• Profit: $50

By focusing your offer on boosting cart value, you can significantly increase your margins and overcome rising CAC costs. 

For example, here’s an excellent example from The Perfume Shop. Sure, they’re offering discounted prices. But by offering 20% off a second item, customers are encouraged to double up their order and knock another person off their gift list.

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Remember, shoppers aren’t only looking for rock-bottom prices on BFCM. They are primarily looking for value for money. Think about how you can offer awesome value, while also encouraging customers to spend more.

And what’s one of the easiest ways to boost your average order value? Via post-purchase upsells and cross-sells. 

Let’s jump into that now.

3. Build a BFCM Post Purchase Funnel 

One of the most overlooked methods for boosting average order value is to build a post-purchase cross-sell and upsell funnel. 

Seriously, most retailers who want to boost AOV focus on pre-purchase offers. And sure, these can work, but post-purchase offers are better because:

• Too many pre-purchase offers can confuse buyers and cause them to bounce 
• Post-purchase offers are only served to qualified buyers
• Thanks to the principle of consistency, post-purchase offers typically convert better.

So, in the build-up to BFCM, don’t focus only on front-end revenue. Think about how you can extract more cash from customers after they’ve bought from you too. 

For example, on BFCM you might cross-sell gift-wrapping services, personalized greeting cards or premium shipping in your post-purchase funnel. These cross-sells have a high margin and can dramatically boost your target profit for each order.

Seriously, because shoppers are in peak-buying mode, post-purchase funnels are an untapped goldmine of revenue that most brands overlook. Don’t let that be you.

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4. Create a Slippery Checkout Experience

Your checkout is where the magic happens (or evaporates)- so it's imperative to get it right on BFCM. Firstly, you should audit your checkout experience to ensure there are no speedbumps that can tank conversions.

Adding one-click buying options like ApplePay, Shop Pay and Google Pay can help discourage abandonment and boost conversions. 

It's also worth considering 'But now, Pay later' options such as Klarna or Afterpay to capitalize on the increased shopper impulsivity around BFCM. 

Seriously these options are becoming more and more popular, with research from Grand View stating that they'll grow by 26% each year until 2030.

Another BFCM marketing strategy to consider is to add upsells and cross-sells to your checkout page to drive higher order values. These kinds of offers are powerful as you can tailor them based on the products in the customer's cart.

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Lastly, you should consider removing your 'return to cart button'. 

As eCom CRO expert Yusuf Shurbaji from CRO agency Prismfly says "We've run A/B tests hiding the 'Return to cart' link in checkout & we've seen this change increase order volume by up to 10% with over 95% statistical significance" he adds.

So, an increase in order volume by 10% from an upgrade that won't take you more than a couple of minutes to implement? Sounds like a smart move.

5. Use AI to Find Your Best BFCM Marketing Creatives

Creating marketing assets is time-consuming, to say the least. 

And with a million and one things to consider in the run-up to Black Friday, it can be challenging to create and test winning ad campaigns. 

This is where generative AI can turn a week's work into an hour's work.

Use an app like Minta-AI to help you streamline this process. Minta connects to your store & generates 1,000s of branded video assets in seconds. 

You can then publish, schedule, or auto-post your content across social media and to your FB ad account to generate more sales easily.

Plus, Minta has thousands of proven BFCM ad templates that are ready to go. And what's more, Minta will automatically find your best-performing ads and generate variants to drive your BFCM conversion rate even higher.

6. Create BFCM Product Bundles

Product bundling is a brilliant way to add value and drive more revenue. Remember, BFCM shoppers are looking for value for money. 

So, if your customer can get three products for the price of two, that can be a super tempting offer that doesn't involve discount codes.

For example, last year Lootcrate ran an offer where they offered 30% off all crates, but also threw in a free mystery bundle on subscriptions of 3 months or more.

This promotion added an element of curiosity to their BFCM campaign and made it stand out from run-of-the-mill discount offers. Plus, such an approach has the added benefit of allowing them to offload slow-moving stock before year-end.

Another excellent example of BFCM bundling e comes from 'A Kids Co. About'. They don't offer any price discount, but instead use a buy two get a third free offer:

Obviously, the type of bundle you create depends on your brand and product line. But think about how you can create BFCM bundles that make your customers say "Wow that’s a deal!"

7. Create a BFCM Pre-Launch Campaign

One of the keys to smashing your BFCM sales goal is to build buzz amongst your audience before the big weekend. This is advice you’ll hear everywhere.

But seriously, over the weekend your customers will be inundated with offers and promotions from every brand they’ve engaged with.

So, to stand above the pack, you want to carve out a special piece of mental real estate in their minds. How do you do that? With a pre-launch campaign.

There are several ways to build anticipation in your audience, but one of the easiest is with a pop-up on your site in the weeks leading up to BFCM.

A simple pop-up like this will help you build an email list of purchase-ready shoppers who’ll be waiting for your promotions.

But if you want to go beyond the basic pop-up and generate real excitement, here’s what to do:

• Use a tool like Shogun to build a pre-launch BFCM promo page where customers can sign up with their email - add a link to it using a banner on your homepage.
• Then, send an email to your existing subscribers that drives them to your landing page so they can opt-in
• Then, promote your BFCM landing page on your social media accounts to get even more sign-ups
• Lastly, run 14-day retargeting ads to drive website visitors to your landing page to round out your segmented list.

On your landing page, include an offer like a special VIP discount code, or the promise of getting first access to your BFCM deals and offers. 

People who sign-up are highly likely to convert because they've opted into your BFCM promotion. They put their hand up and said ‘I’m interested’.

When you go live with your promotion, you’ll stand out from the hundreds of other emails in their inbox because you’ve primed them in advance. You’re familiar, your competitors are not.

8. Plan and Schedule Your BFCM Email Campaigns

Ok, so you’ve created the BFCM pre-launch campaign and built a nice list of purchase-ready subscribers. The next thing is to create and schedule your BFCM email campaigns. 

The best advice I can offer here is this: don’t be afraid to send too many emails. 

Sure, at normal times of the year, sending too many emails is spammy and counterproductive.

But at BFCM your audience's inbox is going to be battered with hundreds of emails from brands trying to win their custom. 

So to ensure your brand gets noticed, set up at least four emails  to be sent on Black Friday (and the same on Cyber Monday):

• One at 12am to kick off the sale
• Another at around 9am (include reviews & social proof)
• One more at 4pm (more social proof)
• And a last one at 10pm (laced with scarcity and urgency!)

Of course, you can send out more than this - although in my experience I wouldn’t advise sending more than about six emails over the course of the day.

Spreading your emails out like this is especially important if you’re selling to a global audience that spans many different time zones.

Pro Tip: To step your email marketing up a notch, use personalized product recommendations and audience segmentation to tailor your marketing and achieve the highest possible conversion rates.

🔥Free Bonus: Free Black Friday Email Swipe File (30+ Emails)

9. Send Daily Deals on Black Week

Maintaining momentum throughout the entire BFCM sales period is challenging. One way to boost engagement and keep sales coming in is to hit customers with new deals for each day of the week.

For example, last year Target created different offers to keep customers coming back to check what was on offer throughout the sale period. By changing up both the offer and the product category, Target was able to keep things fresh and interesting.

If you sell several categories of products, this approach to BFCM is especially powerful. It creates opportunities to segment your customer base and provide personalized offers that appeal specifically to them.

Spreading out offers like this across the course of the week and sending them by email also gives you a chance to garner more opens, clicks and hopefully sales from your customers too.

10. Offer a Free Gift With Purchases

Another compelling way to capitalize on the holiday rush without slashing prices is to offer a free gift with every purchase.

Typically, such gifts are low-cost items. However, you may also want to offer higher-value gifts for customers who spend above a certain price threshold. 

For example, here’s one of Kiehl’s BFCM promotions from 2018:

Notice how they’ve created different price bands to encourage customers to nudge their order value up above $45.

Remember when it comes to gifting, we know that consumers aren’t solely motivated by price. Emotional perks play a key role too. So, gifts like exclusive limited edition items or access to a VIP community can work well too.

However, you decide to implement your free gift offer, make sure you add urgency by setting a specific end date to the campaign so customers take action before the deal is gone.

11. Use Influencers to Promote Your BFCM Campaign

Joining forces with influencers to promote your offer is a great way to build trust and awareness. 

If you play your cards right, influencer marketing can deliver a plethora of direct sales over the holiday period.

The most important thing is that you choose influencers based on how well their audience aligns with your buyer persona. 

If you’ve worked successfully with influencers in the past, get in touch now to book the dates for your promotion. For BFCM, choose the top-performing influencers from previous campaigns.

Get creative with influencer marketing - instead of just having them shout out your offer, why not work with them to create a special bundle of their favorite products? The more personalized you can make it, the more conversions you’ll get.

12. Donate to a Cause

As conscious consumerism continues to grow, many brands are choosing to skip out on Black Friday altogether. Instead many are opting to donate some or all of the proceeds to a charitable cause.

If your brand and audience aligns itself with a specific cause, Black Friday can be an excellent opportunity to tighten those bonds and reaffirm your convictions.

Patagonia is probably the most well-known brand for shunning BFCM, but other environmentally-conscious brands like Allbirds and Everlane have followed suit.

Instead of giving a discount, Allbirds increases their prices by $1 and matches it with a dollar before donating all additional profits to charity.

Staying true to your brand values and ethical standards builds deeper trust between you and your customers and enhances loyalty over the long run.

Implement These Black Friday Marketing Ideas Today!

The holiday season is an immensely important time for you as a merchant. With shoppers in peak-buying mode, it’s a huge opportunity to generate huge profits.

Hopefully, the ideas shared here help you capture more revenue than ever before. Here’s a quick recap of what we’ve covered:

• Getting your campaigns live early is essential for success
• Mobile optimization is an absolute must-have with 75% of all 2023 sales occurring via mobile.
• Mega-discounts aren’t the only way to drive sales
• Focusing on boosting AOV will likely have a bigger impact on your bottom line
• A post-purchase cross-selling funnel is a must-have to maximize revenue
• Product bundles are an awesome way to boost cart value
• A pre-launch campaign and email list can transform your sales revenue
• Email is king - don’t be afraid to send too many leading up to and over the BFCM weekend
• Daily deals can keep engagement high over the sale period
• Free gifts for spending thresholds can boost AOV
• Influencers can be a great way to build trust and drive direct sales
• Staying true to your core values is essential to win your customer’s business

Ultimately, a killer BFCM marketing campaign is the marriage of a standout offer with top-tier execution. Above I’ve outlined how execution on both these fronts can deliver the best BFCM your business has ever seen.

So, now there’s nothing left to do but get out there and get to work! Good luck.

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