Understand the competitive landscape
Black Friday weekend today looks much different than it did even just 10 years ago. It has evolved from a single day of door-busting deals to an event with 42% of shoppers begin deal-hunting before November, making early preparation not optional but essential. Black Friday has become a behemoth of a weekend: a multi-day shopping extravaganza, which means an extended selling opportunity.
This year, there are a few key themes that you can expect to see across the board:
- AI is transforming BFCM: Brands using AI chatbots and automation are seeing stronger engagement and higher order values.
- Early deal-hunting accelerates: Clearco reports that global ecommerce surged 45% in the 2 weeks before BFCM 2024 compared to the same 2023 period, signaling that early campaigns now matter more than ever.
- Mobile leads the way: Mobile now drives 79% of Cyber Week traffic, underscoring the need for mobile-first experiences.
Source: What No One’s Told You About BFCM Trends in 2025andBFCM 2024 Recap and Key Ecommerce Predictions for 2025
Discover emerging trends for each day of BFCM
Prepare ahead of time to engage customers and drive sales in a meaningful way during BFCM weekend. Find your unique approach for BFCM by considering what makes your brand stand out.
Remember that not every brand needs to offer massive discounts. In fact, higher discounts do not necessarily equate to higher conversions. With multi-day promotions, focus on the moments that give you the best chance to engage and convert shoppers. Take a look at day-specific trends to inspire your strategy:
Thanksgiving
Leading up to Black Friday, brands build excitement through a countdown. They typically tease upcoming deals, offer gift guides, and provide early access for VIPs.
Targeted segments:
- Engaged
- Deal hunters
- VIPs
- Impulse buyers
Black Friday
Brands kick off the weekend by announcing their Black Friday sales. They highlight top deals or popular items, and aim to differentiate themselves from competitors with curated product bundles.
Targeted segments:
- All active email subscribers
- Engaged
- Deal hunters
- VIPs
- Impulse buyers
- Window shoppers
Small business Saturday
Small businesses use Saturday to share messages that showcase their brand story and identity. This is used as an opportunity to highlight community impact and support for local economies against big-box retailers.
Targeted segments:
- Local shoppers (if you have a physical store)
- Engaged
- VIPs
- Window shoppers
- Impulse buyers
Sunday
Secondhand Sunday is a relatively new trend pioneered by Poshmark in 2022 to encourages shoppers to buy from brands that sell reused or secondhand merchandise. For brands that don’t fall in this category, they use this day to highlight their sustainability efforts or share Cyber Monday sales preview campaigns.
Targeted segments:
- Local shoppers (if you have a physical store)
- Engaged
- VIPs
- Window shoppers
Cyber Monday
Ending BFCM weekend strong, brands release their best deals for online shopping. They highlight last-chance savings and opportunities for last-minute gift shopping, and ensure holiday shipping guarantees.
Targeted segments:
- Engaged
- Deal hunters
- VIPs
- Window shoppers
- Impulse buyers
- Last-minute shoppers
Guidance on daily messaging frequency
The key to successful BFCM messaging is to target different customers with messages that speak directly to them. If you blast your list with the same generic messages day after day, you'll tire out your audience, hurt your deliverability, and see lower engagement.
When planning your email, text (SMS and RCS), and WhatsApp campaigns, mix it up by targeting different segments each time. With the right segmentation strategy, you could send 4 separate email campaigns that reach 4 distinct customer segments in 1 day without damaging your sender reputation.
Check out the schedule below for tips on how often to send messages each day and who to target.
Thanksgiving
2 emails
- Afternoon: Send BFCM deal teasers to your 30-day, 60-day engaged audience.
- Evening: Invite VIPs/select customers to start shopping early discounts.
1 text (SMS and RCS) or WhatsApp message
- Evening: Invite your text or WhatsApp VIP subscribers to start shopping early discounts.
Black Friday
3 emails
- Morning: Announce your sale to your full list of active subscribers.
- Afternoon: Follow-up campaign to 90-day engaged list and window shoppers.
- Evening: Top sellers/hot items email to deal hunters and engaged segment.
2 text messages (SMS and RCS) or WhatsApp message
- Morning: Shopping reminder text to VIPs or highly engaged text subscribers (SMS and RCS).
- Evening: Send a Black Friday campaign to your full text list (SMS and RCS).
*Exclude people who have actually made a purchase within the last day from Black Friday sales campaigns and continue this practice throughout the weekend to avoid over-messaging.
Saturday
2 emails
- Morning: If you’re doing Small Business Saturday, send an email to your engaged audience and local audience promoting your small business.
- Afternoon: Send a reminder to your engaged segment and window shoppers.
2 text messages (SMS and RCS) or WhatsApp message
- Morning: Share Small Business Saturday deals with your VIPs, offering an additional incentive to shop.
- Afternoon: Small Business Saturday reminder to 30-day engaged text subscribers (SMS and RCS), excluding VIPs.
*Exclude people who have actually made a purchase in the last 2 days from Saturday sales campaigns and continue this practice throughout the weekend to avoid over-messaging.
Sunday
2 emails
- Afternoon: Send a Cyber Monday teaser or gift shopping guide to 30-day engaged segment and last minute shoppers.
- Evening: Give an extra push with a recently viewed products feed email for your espresso shot and window shoppers segment.
1 text message (SMS and RCS) or WhatsApp message
- Afternoon: Send early access to Cyber Monday deals to your VIP text (SMS and RCS) or WhatsApp list.
*Exclude people who have actually made a purchase in the last 3 days from Sunday sales campaigns and continue this practice throughout the weekend to avoid over-messaging.
Cyber Monday
2 emails
- Morning: Promote your Cyber Monday sale to your full list of active subscribers.
- Afternoon/evening: Send a reminder to 90-day engaged and deal hunters for last chance to shop.
2 text messages (SMS and RCS) or WhatsApp message
- Morning: Send your best deals to VIPs/highly engaged text (SMS or RCS) or WhatsApp subscribers.
- Afternoon: Send a reminder for last chance to shop to all text (SMS or RCS) or WhatsApp subscribers.
*Exclude people who have actually made a purchase in the last 4 days from Cyber Monday sales campaigns to avoid over-messaging.