A winning Black Friday strategy can make or break your year. For small and medium-sized e-commerce brands, Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) is a high-stakes sales period where preparation, execution, and creativity separate winners from those who get lost in the noise. Every year, competition gets fiercer, ad costs climb higher, and customer expectations rise.
Brands that wait until November to start planning are already behind. The result is often wasted ad spend, a weak offer that falls flat, or a poor checkout experience that sends shoppers straight to competitors.
The challenges e-commerce brands will face this BFCM
Before we dive into proven tactics, let’s look at the biggest hurdles e-commerce brands face this year:
-
Intense Competition: Shoppers’ inboxes and feeds will be flooded. Standing out takes more than another ‘30% off’ sale.
-
Rising Ad Costs: Meta and Google CPMs and CPCs spike every Q4. Without a solid Black Friday strategy, you risk burning budget with little return.
-
Poor UX: A clunky site or confusing checkout sends customers straight to competitors.
-
Weak Offers: Discounts that aren’t compelling get lost in the noise.
-
Late Starts: Brands that delay until November simply don’t have time to warm up audiences, test, and optimize.
The impact of these challenges? Lost revenue during the most important sales weekend of the year.
🌶️ Hot Tip: The most effective Black Friday marketing campaigns begin in October. Early momentum gives you stronger performance when the big weekend arrives.
15 Black Friday marketing tactics for 2025
Here’s a breakdown of practical, proven tactics to strengthen your Black Friday strategy and maximize sales this holiday season.
1. Warm up your Meta pixel early
Meta’s algorithm needs data to perform. Start running low-budget awareness or engagement campaigns in October to ‘season’ your pixel and expand custom audiences. Waiting until November means higher costs and weaker targeting.
2. Don’t rely on ‘% off’ discounts
Everyone’s offering a percentage off. Instead, think bundles, tiered discounts (spend more, save more), free gifts, or exclusive early access perks. These kinds of offers feel unique, preserve your margins, and encourage higher cart values.
🌶️ Hot Tip: Test a ‘Spend More, Save More’ ladder (e.g., $100 = 20% off, $150 = 25% off). It boosts AOV without cheapening your brand.
3. Run top-performing creatives
BFCM isn’t the time to experiment. Go live with two proven creatives:
-
The Offer Ad: a simple static with your deal loud and clear.
-
Your Top Evergreen Ad: the ad that consistently drives sales year-round. Update copy or design to highlight your BFCM promotion, but don’t reinvent the wheel.
4. Collect emails now (not in November)
Your email list is gold, but only if you start building it early. Use pop-ups, waitlists, and lead-gen ads with early access perks to capture subscribers in October. A strong list lets you sell without relying solely on expensive ads.
🌶️ Hot Tip: Offer a ‘VIP Early Access’ sign-up that guarantees subscribers first dibs on your Black Friday deal.
5. Build anticipation with early bird campaigns
Hype your sale before it goes live. Use teaser emails, countdowns, and VIP previews to get your audience leaning in. Customers who are primed before launch are far more likely to convert when the deal drops.
6. Segment your email list for BFCM
Not all customers should get the same message. Tailor campaigns for VIPs (extra perks), lapsed customers (win-back deals), engaged prospects, and brand-new subscribers. Segmentation drives higher opens, clicks, and revenue per email.
7. Optimize your automated flows
Flows like abandoned cart, post-purchase, and browse abandonment should be optimized and polished well before BFCM. Update copy to reflect urgency, double-check discounts, and test triggers. Automation ensures you don’t miss easy revenue.
🌶️ Hot Tip: Add a BFCM-specific abandoned cart email with a countdown timer to increase urgency.
8. Audit your UX and checkout
Nothing kills sales like friction. Audit your mobile speed, site navigation, and checkout process. Make sure you also reduce clicks, list multiple payment options, and test everything.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself as your audit your UX:
-
Are colours, typography, button placement, and images clear, engaging, and purposeful?
-
Is the overall design visually appealing and consistent with the brand?
-
Can users easily find specific products through your menu and footer?
-
Is the navigational structure simple, uncluttered, and intuitive for browsing?
-
Are product descriptions, images, and pricing information clear, accurate, and compelling?
-
Do product pages provide all the necessary details a user needs to make a purchase decision?
-
Is the checkout process simple, efficient, and free of unnecessary steps or complexities?
-
Is there an option for guest checkout, and is required account creation a potential barrier?
-
Does the site load quickly, and does it function smoothly without delays?
-
Are there any elements that might be slowing down the user experience?
A smooth UX can make the difference between abandoned carts and completed purchases.
🌶️ Hot Tip: Enable one-click checkout (Shop Pay, Apple Pay, PayPal). It can reduce drop-offs by 20% or more.
9. Add a personal touch
In a sea of generic emails, a simple thank-you from the founder goes a long way. It shows there’s a real person behind the brand, builds trust, and can turn one-time BFCM buyers into long-term customers.
10. Track your MER (Marketing Efficiency Ratio)
Don’t just chase ROAS on individual campaigns. MER (total revenue ÷ total ad spend) tells you whether your marketing is profitable overall. This big-picture metric helps you make smarter budget decisions during high-stakes weekends.
11. Run ‘last call’ campaigns
Shoppers procrastinate. Use urgency around shipping deadlines (‘Order by Dec 18 for guaranteed delivery’) or low stock alerts to drive action. These final pushes can capture hesitant buyers who are still on the fence.
🌶️ Hot Tip: Use dynamic countdown timers in emails to make shipping deadlines impossible to ignore.
12. Use influencer & UGC content
Creator-led or customer-generated video ads feel authentic and cut through polished, ad-fatigued feeds. Partner with micro-influencers, encourage reviews, or repurpose customer videos to add social proof during the rush.
13. Create a gift guide landing page
Make shopping easier by bundling products into themed collections like ‘Gifts for Him,’ ‘Stocking Stuffers,’ or ‘Under $50.’ These curated guides simplify decision-making and increase average order value.
14. Add upsells & cross-sells
Don’t let buyers leave money on the table. Suggest add-ons at checkout, recommend related products, or offer bundle deals. A small bump in AOV can make a huge difference during high-volume sales weekends.
15. Retarget post-BFCM traffic
Not everyone buys during the sale. Retarget browsers and abandoners in December with holiday gift messaging, gift cards, or last-minute shipping promotions. This helps you extend revenue beyond BFCM weekend.
🌶️ Hot Tip: Serve retargeting ads featuring gift cards; perfect for last-minute shoppers.
Our parting gift heading into gift-giving season
Even though Black Friday 2025 is another sales weekend, it’s the BIGGEST opportunity of the year to grow your customer base, increase revenue, and build long-term loyalty. The brands that win will be the ones that start early, stay disciplined with their plan, and execute with precision.
By leveraging these 15 Black Friday marketing tactics and following a phased approach (Early Bird → Launch → Retention), you can cut through the noise, protect your margins, and turn Q4 into your most profitable season yet.
Too many brands go all-in on launch day, and leave money on the table by skipping the excitement-building stage and ignoring retention strategies that fuel customer LTV (lifetime value). Don’t make that mistake.
Want a proven game plan built for your brand?
Black Friday growth package
Our Black Friday growth package is our 10-week partnership, offering you strategy, creative, and execution support across ads and email to make this your strongest holiday season ever.
Free Black Friday checklist for 2025
Not ready for the full package? Start by downloading our free Black Friday & Cyber Monday checklist; a step-by-step guide to keep your planning on track.
