16 Black Friday Marketing Strategies for a Successful 2024 Holiday Season

With Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) looming, it’s time to make plans.

Chances are, your customers are already thinking about BFCM: approximately 6 in 10 consumers start their holiday shopping in October or November, and 44% make a shopping plan of action more than a week in advance. These ecommerce Black Friday marketing tips and strategies will help you make the most of these hectic sale days.

For many businesses, Black Friday weekend is the high point for online sales and represents a significant opportunity to attract new customers. A successful BFCM can make a brand’s Q4, and, in many cases, their year. A digital marketing agency can help you execute an integrated BFCM strategy.

We expect consumers will be budget-conscious this year, but that doesn’t mean they’re not planning to spend. Savvy shoppers will be strategizing and holding out for the aggressive deals they have come to expect. And they may be distracted by the election in early November, so we may see a later curve in spending than in previous years. These factors should inform your Black Friday marketing strategy and offers.

Why Consumers Shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

The deep discounts, free shipping, and other special BFCM offers are too enticing for consumers to ignore. Consumers spent $22.2 billion on Black Friday/Cyber Monday in 2023, a clear demonstration that significant savings motivate buyers. However, there are psychological factors, such as the scarcity principle or fear of missing out (FOMO), that feed the shopping frenzy.

The scarcity principle, where offers are bound by time or amount, creates urgency. Paired with loss aversion – not wanting to miss out on deals – and you have a clear case of FOMO that can drive BFCM sales. In addition, some people enjoy the BFCM shopping experience and consider it a part of their holiday tradition, whether in-store or online. BFCM shopping is becoming channel-agnostic, with consumers looking for deals in-store and online.

Tips for Selecting Holiday Marketing Strategies for Your Business

You can’t get where you want to be if you don’t know where you are going. Heading into BFCM unprepared is the best way we know to miss opportunities. That’s why defining your goals before you start is key.

Test your website and digital campaigns well before the Black Friday season. We often recommend running promotions in the summer months to test offers and tweak them ahead of Black Friday. Early and frequent testing will help identify the right audiences and budgets, ensuring optimal performance. Tools such as Google Analytics, Hotjar, and SurveyMonkey can give you valuable insights you can use to fine-tune campaigns and improve user experience.

We do not recommend making major website changes during November. However, it’s a good idea to review your holiday marketing strategies from 2023 and determine what worked and where you need to adjust.

Setting up your Black Friday marketing campaigns properly, creating captivating ads, using FOMO marketing, and optimizing everything before BFCM sets you up for a successful holiday shopping season. Defining your goals before you start helps you choose the Black Friday marketing strategies needed to achieve them, and the flexibility to adjust your Cyber Monday marketing strategy if needed.

We highly recommend having a backup promotion and creatives in case your initial offers don’t have the impact you’re expecting. Of all the marketing tips, this one may save you the most heartbreak.

Understanding your profitability on specific products is key to having a proper user acquisition strategy. Take the time to learn your break-even and first-order profit numbers so you can dial up and down anytime during the month.

We’re likely to see very early starts, as early as October, with marketing messages targeting loyalty members and previous customers through email. This is a smart move as we anticipate high media costs during the election. We also recommend getting ahead of the election with easy sign-up for BFCM early to avoid paying for expensive media in November. Consider running month-long sales after voting day (November 5) with aggressive discounts.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday are by no means mandatory, it is one of the biggest shopping events of the year, with millions of customers actively looking for deals. Keep in mind that 86% of BFCM shoppers are looking for holiday gifts, while 64% of shoppers also plan to purchase something for themselves during the holiday shopping period, so that’s a lot of sales opportunities you won’t want to miss.

1. Not Participating – considering the amount of sales opportunities, we recommend offering something inline with your brand values.
2. Consider Your Offers – gifts with purchases and other less aggressive offers can cause customers to look elsewhere. A gift with purchase AND a discount or free shipping might be more attractive.
3. Changing promotions – don’t change your promotions too many times during this period; this can be confusing and overwhelming to the shopper.

How to Plan Through Q4

We believe that the three Ps – planning, planning, and planning – critical to any initiative, and a successful BFCM strategy is no exception. Getting the timing rights is always critical, but it is even more so this year with the election happening just before Black Friday. Creating a calendar that maps out all your Black Friday marketing strategies will help you navigate the hectic holiday season.

When devising your Black Friday marketing strategy, dividing Q4 into phases will help keep your plan on track and ensure you meet or exceed your holiday revenue goals.

Phase 1: Before Black Friday

As you get ready for BFCM, check your inventory and best-selling products to be sure you will be able to fulfill customer orders during the busy season. Determine which products have been revenue-generating for your brand throughout the year and apply your discounts and offers accordingly.

Phase 2: During the Black Friday/Cyber Monday Weekend

Whether online or brick-and-mortar, this is when your traffic is at its peak. Make the most of it with messaging that creates a sense of urgency and boosts more impulsive purchases.

Phase 3. Post Cyber Monday

Consider extending your offer past the traditional four days of BFCM. We anticipate the trend of extending the sale over multiple days or even weeks is likely to continue. It’s a good time to capture last-minute sales and increase your profits.

Get Your Website Holiday-Ready

A key part of planning for your holiday marketing strategy is getting your website ready for the deluge of holiday traffic coming its way. These are things you can do now to help your holiday sales.

Optimize Site Speed

During BFCM, customers expect online stores to load fast so they can quickly take advantage of the best deals. The optimal loading time for an ecommerce store is zero to four seconds; this yields a 12%-30% conversion rate. Any longer than that and transactions decrease as shoppers start abandoning their purchases.

Optimize for Black Friday Searches

Black Friday is chock-full of ecommerce sites trying to get on Google’s front page. To help ensure you rank, we recommend optimizing your website for online shoppers. Seed your copy with keywords that shoppers use when searching for holiday deals.

Create a Smooth User Experience

Make sure your site is mobile-friendly and easy to navigate since consumers increasingly use their phones for holiday shopping. Make the checkout process fast and easy so shoppers can complete their purchases and look for more deals. Enable guest checkout and ask for only the most relevant billing and shipping information so that shoppers can quickly purchase their items. And prepare your payment systems for increased traffic to prevent crashes and slowdowns.

Optimize Your Product Pages

Your customers will spend a lot of time on your product pages. Optimizing these pages will ensure they have an enjoyable BFCM shopping experience. Review your product descriptions to ensure they contain relevant keywords.

16 Black Friday Marketing Strategies for 2024

As we look ahead to the 2024 Black Friday and Cyber Monday season, several trends and strategies stand out for retailers and digital marketers aiming to maximize their impact. Businesses of all types and sizes participate in BFCM. The competition is fierce, so using the right combination of marketing strategies is key to success. Here are 15 Black Friday marketing strategies that can help you stand out.

1. Plan Your Social Strategy Early

Social media will continue to be a powerful tool for driving sales and can influence consumer’s purchase decisions by 76%. Plan your social strategy early to tease sales by sharing previews of exclusive deals and engaging content.

Use Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, and other appropriate social channels to showcase products, generate social proof, and facilitate direct purchases. Collaborations with influencers, celebrities, and micro-influencers can create authentic content that resonates with consumers and drives conversions.

Here are some interesting holiday insights we’ve pulled from TikTok ecommerce about consumers’ BFCM shopping behavior, including pre-and post-holiday trends.

• 190% increase in shopping content in the week before Halloween to the week after Christmas
• 21% are shopping 1+ month before holidays
• Turn Q4 gifting into Q5 shopping
  • 1 in 2 TikTok users plan to shop post-holiday sales
  • 39% looking for personal finance and travel advice at the end of Q4 into Q5
• 6x higher ROI than other platforms
• 3x more likely to impulse purchase
• 87% of users treat themselves
• 60% more travel-related items during holiday
• Shoppertainment: How are you keeping your audience engaged and entertained during the shopping experience?

These insights can also inform broader social media trends and how social media can drive shopping behavior. With shoppers engaging in early and extended sales, we recommend brands focus on creating engaging, entertaining content as a key strategy across all major platforms. Because we know shoppers often buy for themselves, consider how to maximize your gift with purchase or buy-one-get-one offers, and how to leverage shoppertainment by keeping your customers engaged.

2. Create a Gift Guide

Gift guides are great for promoting specific products, driving traffic to your website or store, and generating excitement for your brand. A gift guide can help shoppers decide what products are suitable for their mother, mother-in-law, hard-to-buy-for, coworkers, budget, and so on. You can take it one step further and feature discounted items or bundled goods to drive sales and capitalize on holiday shopping. And you can reuse these categories throughout the year for future promotions.

3. Start Collecting “Early Access” Subscribers

Build an “early access” email list that will get the first look at your Black Friday promotions. Start building the list a few weeks to a month or so before BFCM with special campaigns that build up anticipation by offering early access to deals and discounts. As the date gets closer, tease again with a pop-up to increase the sense of urgency.

When Black Friday gets closer, send a special email to those who subscribed and include a discount code and a link to the early access offers.

4. Create a Video Counting Down to Your Deals

A video focusing on your limited-time BFCM deals will create a sense of urgency that encourages shoppers to act before the deal goes away. These videos are highly effective because they tap into the principle of loss aversion or FOMO. Whether you are promoting a special offer or discount that is time-bound or quantity-bound, these videos are especially effective for shoppers who are in the evaluation or decision stage.

5. Offer Hourly Promotions a.k.a. Flash Deals

This BFCM marketing strategy will keep your customers active and engaged. Create a campaign with a new deal for every hour. The deal can be anything: free shipping on any purchase, a free gift, a discount on a specific product or product category, or anything else your data tells you is relevant to your audience. This brings customers back to your site multiple times during the day or week, depending on how you structure your campaign.

6. Create Limited-Time Offers with Countdown Timers

Countdown timers enhance shoppers’ sense of urgency—perfect for a limited-time event like a Black Friday sale. It recreates the anticipatory feeling shoppers used to get by showing up early and standing in line for limited offers. When shared on your social channels, a countdown timer can drive traffic to your site. The timer sends a clear message: buy now or miss out on the discounts offered.

7. Paid Search and Display Ads

With shoppers in the mood to spend during BFCM, a robust paid search strategy is an obvious requirement. We recommend examining shopping data from past BFCM sales and the current year so far to inform your marketing. The data below provides a comprehensive overview of evolving holiday trends.

• 1/3 of holiday shoppers plan to shop in October or earlier
• More than 2/3 shop familiar brands first (or exclusively)
• Millennials are more likely to shop for co-workers and neighbors
• Gen X are more likely to shop for pets
• Gen Z are more likely to shop for friends
• Fewer people are holding out for Cyber Monday, choosing to lock in deals during Black Friday or earlier
• Cyber 5 (Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday) is important for ecommerce, though retailers should focus on the full holiday season
• 2/3 of November holiday sales can be traced back to October clicks
• 90% of holiday conversions occur outside of Cyber 5, when CPCs are much lower, which can be advantageous for those with extended sales
• Shopping takes over search as the predominant ad type starting in late October
• More users are searching for buy now, pay later options
• Expedited shipping interest is up 23% over last year

This data shows shoppers are already strategizing their buying by October, with strong brand loyalty and generation-specific preferences. Because of this, we recommend starting campaigns early, focusing on brand relationships, and being flexible with payment and shipping options. Brands should shoot for consistent engagement and sales opportunities throughout the extended holiday shopping season and beyond.

8. Use a Spin Wheel

Adding an element of gamification to your ecommerce store can generate more engagement for your BFCM offers. A spin wheel turns shopping into a fun game with special offers such as additional discounts, coupons for future use, free shipping, or a free gift. It’s a great way to increase new visitors’ SMS and email opt-ins and re-engage repeat customers by giving them a new way to save on products they love.

Make it simple and easy by adding the spin wheel to pages that get the most traffic and require only email or name and email so that it doesn’t disrupt the shopping experience.

9. Offer a Free Gift with Minimum Purchase

Often, luxury brands fear losing their appeal by discounting their merchandise, even during BFCM when most shoppers expect it. Offering a gift with purchase is a way to offer their customers something special without reducing prices and affecting their cachet. Tying the gift to spending over a certain amount helps increase average order and engages undecided shoppers. Use any gift or bonus to foster a sense of urgency by encouraging shoppers to take advantage of the deal before it disappears.

10. Discount Product Bundles

Product bundles are one of the easiest and most popular ways to entice shoppers while bumping up your store’s average order. You can up the ante by offering a mystery bundle that includes some of your bestselling or popular products at a huge discount for shoppers willing to take a chance. List most of the items and mention that there are one or two more mystery items as a surprise. This is a great strategy to keep your profit margin healthy and clear out underperforming or old products.

11. Cross-sell and Upsell

BFCM shoppers are in the mood to buy, so why not encourage them to buy more? That’s exactly what this Black Friday marketing strategy does. By increasing the average order value, you gain more profit without raising the cost of acquiring new customers.

Holiday marketing ideas to increase average order value:

• Free shipping with a minimum order threshold to encourage shoppers to buy more to qualify
• Cross-sell related items on the product page or at checkout.
• Bundle deals, buy one get one (BOGO), or buy one get one 50% off
• Free gift card for a certain amount of purchase

Let your customers know how much they’ve saved with their BFCM discount. This makes them feel like they’ve scored a great deal and encourages them to keep shopping.

12. Use an Exit Intent Pop-up

The longer a shopper stays on your website, the more likely they’ll buy something. An exit pop-up can capture shoppers who haven’t purchased before leaving your site with messaging that draws them back in. The pop-up should be clear, easy to scan, and timed right. Be mindful of user experience and ensure that the exit intent pop-up appears only when shoppers haven’t taken any action.

13. Offer Targeted Discounts to Different Customer Segments

Tradition says you need to offer the same discount to everyone. But we don’t always recommend doing it this way. To make customers feel special, consider personalizing discounts based on different groups of customers. For instance, offer a percentage off for first-time customers and a dollar amount off plus free shipping to repeat customers. You can also reward loyal, long-time customers with exclusive deals to encourage repeat purchases.

14. Launch Exclusive Products for Black Friday

Customers are always excited about exclusive, limited-edition products, and Black Friday weekend is a great time to launch them. Teasing and then launching these products can drive customer excitement and boost sales. Highlight these products on your website and in your marketing. In addition, offer attractive discounts on bestsellers or bundles, giving shoppers lots of options. By showcasing a mix of exclusive and favorite products with compelling deals, you give your customers an exciting shopping experience that entices them to buy.

15. Reduce Cart Abandonments

Although the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend has the lowest abandoned cart rate of the year, it does happen. You need as many effective ways to prevent abandoned carts as possible. Ensuring checkout is fast and easy and guest checkout is effortless will help keep shoppers from abandoning their items. The exit intent pop-ups we discussed earlier can give you one more chance to prevent a lost sale while shoppers are onsite.

If shoppers do leave your site with items in their cart, send reminders using email or SMS to remind them they’ve left something behind. Consider including a discount code to increase the chances they’ll come back and complete their purchase.

16. Nurture Customers Post-Holiday

Selling a ton of products during BFCM is great. Chances are, you attracted some new customers to your brand. And since a customer’s value grows over time, you’ll want to turn those new customers into lifelong brand loyalists. Follow up with your newly acquired customers with a thank you email, a short customer service survey, or by soliciting comments on their experience. These small actions will show that your brand values their business and is committed to providing the best possible customer experience.

Retail vs. eCommerce Strategies for the Holidays

With BFCM becoming increasingly channel agnostic, brands that have both brick-and-mortar and ecommerce channels must tailor their strategies to leverage both. This means ensuring a seamless experience online and in-store by synchronizing inventory and promotions across all channels.

Schedule holiday-themed in-store events to generate foot traffic and offer exclusive discounts. But allow shoppers to order online in the store if the size or color they want is unavailable at that location. Set up a concierge station to help shoppers find the perfect gift and offer personalized recommendations. And offer both buy online and pick up in-store options to make the shopping experience easy and convenient.

Adjusting marketing tactics when needed will ensure retailers stay competitive, while well-prepared staff will maintain high service standards during the busy season.

Improved Personalization with AI Integration

By integrating personalization and AI into BFCM strategies, brands can create highly targeted and effective marketing campaigns that resonate with their audience, enhance customer experience, and drive sales. AI algorithms use consumers’ past purchasing behavior to recommend complimentary products. This provides enhanced customer experience and satisfaction, leading to increased engagement, customer satisfaction, and purchases. AI can also provide tailored discounts based on real-time demand and customer activity.

The Role of Email Marketing in Holiday Campaigns

Overall, email is a great personal communication channel. It supports one-on-one communications and fosters trust and authenticity — attributes we all want in our human relationships. Black Friday email marketing can bring life to your communications and deepen your relationships with your customers.

People on your email list already know your brand and what you have to offer. Enhance your relationship by sending them an exclusive BFCM email campaign with an extra discount just for your subscribers or giving them early access to deals. This type of promotion builds customer loyalty and gives you a direct communication channel with interested shoppers.

Successful Black Friday & Cyber Monday Campaign Examples

Although your BFCM creatives play a critical role in conversion, you shouldn’t overthink them. Consumers are in a shopping mood, so clear, compelling messaging, making the offer easy to find, and a CTA button that stands out are the clear winners. Below are examples of successful 2023 black friday campaigns.

Cancun Escapes

The middle of winter is when most people yearn for a warmer climate, and that’s exactly what Cancun Escapes offers. The compelling copy paired with the offer makes this an irresistible deal. The creative used simple, straight-up offer messaging combined with a single string of lights. The offer is clear, compelling, and front and center. The CTA headline is the icing on the cake, capitalizing on savings but also highlighting that it can be used later/booked at later times to get full value.

Capitol Lighting

Capitol Lighting sells high-quality lighting for home and offices. They capitalized on Black Friday traffic with beautiful and compelling ads that ended in high conversions for the brand.

Simple and elegant. The offer is clear and the Shop Now button stands out in red. The ad links to an interactive online catalog that features many products and room inspirations which led to higher conversion rates. Buyers could order from the catalog or visit a location in person.

This carousel ad featured the offer clearly on the front followed by 5 bestselling products. These two ads had higher clickthrough rates than a static ad or video creative that did not feature products.

Black Friday Cyber Monday Debrief

Although Black Friday and Cyber Monday cap off a business’s year, it’s important to remember that more than revenue is collected during these sales. The data collected during BFCM makes post-Cyber Monday a great time to convert one-time and new shoppers into loyal customers through personalized follow-ups, loyalty programs, and exclusive offers. Retailers can also refine future marketing tactics and enhance customer experience by looking at data and analytics from each campaign.

Sources:

https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/thanksgiving-draws-nearly-190-million-shoppers

https://www.tapcart.com/report/bfcm-consumer-trends-2024

https://business.adobe.com/resources/holiday-shopping-report.html

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/social-media-statistics/

https://news.gallup.com/poll/513788/shoppers-plan-buy-themselves-holiday-season.aspx