2025 BFCM advertising and acquisition strategies that drive long-term growth

In 2024, Cyber Week (the Tuesday before Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday) drove $314.9 billion in global online sales, up from $298 billion in 2023.

Fast forward to 2025 and the stakes are high, with economic pressures forcing brands to scrutinize every marketing dollar spent.

That pressure is driving a shift in the way brands are approaching Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) advertising. According to Klaviyo’s future of consumer marketing report, 74% of consumers expect more personalized experiences from B2C brands in 2025. High-stakes shopping events like BFCM only amplify this expectation.

At the same time, paid ads have never been more expensive. During BFCM, advertising costs spike—Cyber Monday 2024 was the single most expensive day for ads on Meta platforms. With rising customer acquisition costs and ongoing economic volatility, brands need strategies that not only grab immediate attention, but also build long-term relationships with the right audience.

That’s why today’s BFCM winners are tapping into sophisticated advertising and acquisition strategies that go far beyond basic audience targeting. These strategies are based on real customer data, such as online behavior and stated preferences.

Let’s break down 6 strategies that reflect how leading brands are rethinking ads and acquisition this BFCM season.

1. Customer data-driven lookalike audiences for BFCM

Remember when advertising meant buying a billboard and hoping the right people drove by? Online advertising and lookalike audience targeting decreased our reliance on that hope.

Lookalike audiences are people who share similar traits to high-value customers. When you target these audiences, your ads are more likely to be seen by the right people—and your ad spend can go further.

But mobilizing lookalike audiences isn’t as simple as uploading your entire customer database and crossing your fingers. The quality of your seed audience directly determines whether someone is likely to click on your ad. Here are some levers you’ll want to pull on when putting together this segment:

Predicted CLV for targeting

Traditional lookalike strategies often focus on demographic information or one-time high spenders. That’s like judging a book by its cover—you miss the rich story inside.

Instead, build your seed audiences around behavioral patterns that signal long-term value. A customer who made 5 purchases of $50 each could very well be more likely to deliver greater customer lifetime value (CLV) than someone who made a single $250 purchase. The first person’s sustained engagement reveals a pattern of brand loyalty worth replicating.

Consider using predictive analytics to build and retrain a CLV model at least weekly for increasing accuracy. This continual refinement means your lookalike audiences evolve alongside your business, capturing seasonal trends and responding to changing customer behaviors in real time.

When creating your high-value seed audience, include customers who:

• Have made above-average purchases (based on your brand’s historic data)
• Have generated substantial revenue over time
• Have minimal returns (which removes habitual returners who drain profitability)

BFCM advertising tip: For optimal results, aim for at least 1,000 customers in your seed audience. This provides enough data points for platforms like Instagram and Facebook to identify meaningful patterns.

Cross-channel audience synchronization

Your customers don’t live in just one digital neighborhood—they browse TikTok while waiting for coffee, check Instagram during lunch, and ask Google questions before bed. Your lookalike strategy needs to follow them across this fragmented landscape.

Don’t stop at creating identical lookalikes across all platforms. Each channel attracts distinct audience segments with unique browsing behaviors. A customer who discovered you through TikTok may have different habits than one who found you through Google. Create channel-specific lookalikes using customer segments acquired through each individual platform.

For a truly omnichannel acquisition strategy, integrate your offline purchase data with your online advertising platforms. This means syncing point-of-sale information from physical stores with your digital CRM customer profiles, so you can better communicate with your audience throughout their full customer journey with your brand.

For instance, if a customer frequently purchases premium products in-store, you can target similar high-value shoppers online. This unified approach creates more accurate lookalike audiences by capturing complete purchasing behaviors across all touchpoints.

2. AI-powered creative optimization for BFCM campaigns

Creative fatigue happens faster than ever during BFCM. What worked on Monday might be stale by Wednesday, so you need to constantly refresh your creative to stay relevant.

But traditional A/B testing moves too slowly for BFCM’s compressed timeline. By the time you’ve gathered enough data to determine a winner, the shopping moment has passed. This is where AI-powered creative optimization becomes invaluable.

Dynamic creative testing

AI tools can test dozens of creative variations simultaneously across channels, quickly identifying which elements resonate with different audience segments. Rather than testing just two headline options, AI analyzes combinations of subject lines, content, and send times in real time.

Klaviyo AI makes it easy to conduct multivariate testing that reveals which specific creative elements drive engagement. For instance, you might discover that product images on a lifestyle background outperform studio shots, or that certain color schemes trigger higher click rates for specific audience segments.

Recipient-specific email and SMS personalization

With Segments AI, let AI take the guesswork out of the equation and build your segments for you.

For example, if your data reveals a customer who consistently purchases sustainable products, Segments AI can add them to a group that receives specific emails that highlight your eco-friendly practices. Similarly, a customer who typically buys premium items can be added to a segment that receives messaging about craftsmanship and quality rather than discounts.

This reactive, data-driven approach can help you launch campaigns with multiple personalized variations from day one. Rather than waiting to see what works, you’re using existing customer data to make informed creative choices. During BFCM’s compressed timeline, this proactive personalization strategy means you’re always meeting different audience needs.

3. Social media discovery strategies for BFCM

According to Klaviyo’s future of consumer marketing report, organic social media is the No. 1 discovery channel for retail and ecommerce brands. It’s crystal clear: your BFCM acquisition strategy needs a strong social presence across multiple platforms.

But driving discovery is only half the battle. Converting that social traffic into sales requires platform-specific approaches.

Platform-specific pre-BFCM content planning

The algorithms that power social platforms reward consistency and engagement. Start building momentum way before the BFCM rush with platform-specific content:

• TikTok: Create behind-the-scenes product teasers and countdown videos that capitalize on the platform’s authentic, unpolished aesthetic.
• Instagram: Use Stories for time-sensitive announcements and Reels for product demonstrations that highlight key features.
• Facebook: Build targeted events for exclusive BFCM sales and use Groups to foster community discussions around upcoming products.
• Pinterest: Develop seasonal inspiration boards that showcase your products within lifestyle contexts, capturing early holiday planners.

Capture early interest by offering platform-exclusive pre-sale access codes or early-bird promotions. This creates urgency and rewards your most engaged followers while generating valuable zero- and first-party data.

Creator partnerships across platforms

Different platforms attract distinctly different audience demographics. Identify creators whose followers align with your high-value customer segments, then develop platform-appropriate collaborations. For example:

• TikTok: Schedule creator-hosted livestreams during peak BFCM shopping hours with direct product links.
• Instagram: Coordinate product drops with influencer unboxing videos.
• Facebook: Partner with niche community leaders for authentic product testimonials.
• Pinterest: Collaborate with content creators on curated gift guides featuring your products.

4. Pre-BFCM cross-channel list growth

Your subscriber list is an owned marketing asset you control, regardless of social algorithm changes or advertising cost fluctuations. Pre-BFCM is a great time to take advantage of increased consumer interest and build your lists across email and SMS.

To make the most of that moment, it’s essential to understand what drives people to subscribe. According to Klaviyo’s future of consumer marketing report, exclusive discounts are the main reason people sign up for ongoing brand communications, ranking higher than personalized recommendations or early access to products. For retail and ecommerce brands specifically, 43% of consumers cite exclusive discounts as their primary motivation for subscribing.

But if it doesn’t make sense for your economics to rely on discounts alone for list building before BFCM has even started, here are some additional strategies that have been proven to work.

Strategic sign-up incentives for BFCM shoppers

Start your list-building efforts months before BFCM, when consumer research begins. Early-access incentives create a high-value exchange: shoppers provide their contact information in return for first dibs on limited-quantity items or time-sensitive deals.

Beyond simple sign-up forms, interactive elements like product finders and style quizzes capture both contact information and valuable preference data. For example, a beauty brand might offer a holiday gift finder quiz that recommends products while collecting information about skin type, fragrance preference, and budget range.

These interactions are the foundation for immediate, automated customer segmentation. When a new subscriber comes through your “best gifts under $50” page vs. your “luxury gift guide” page, those signals can tell you something valuable about their shopping intentions and price sensitivity.

Mobile-first acquisition tactics

With 53% of consumers now making retail purchases on mobile websites, according to our future of consumer marketing report, your list growth strategy should also prioritize mobile experiences. Forms should be thumb-friendly with minimal fields and one-tap submission options.

Physical retail spaces can also offer mobile list-building opportunities. QR codes on packaging, receipts, and in-store displays can create seamless transitions from offline browsing to online engagement. Each code can link to a specific landing page tailored to the product category, capturing context alongside contact information.

Connect these acquisition touchpoints to your CRM so you can track which acquisition sources deliver not just the most subscribers but the most valuable customers over time.

5. Unified cross-channel remarketing during BFCM

The No. 1 reason shoppers abandon carts is that they found a better price elsewhere, according to our future of consumer marketing report. This behavior intensifies during BFCM when deal-seeking reaches its yearly peak and consumers have dozens of browser tabs open simultaneously.

Rather than accepting these abandonments as inevitable holiday shopping behavior, unified cross-channel remarketing creates multiple opportunities to recapture attention and close the sale.

Coordinated remarketing sequences

Many brands send a single abandoned cart email and call it a day. Top-performing BFCM campaigns, however, create remarketing sequences that flow logically across channels. For instance, an abandoned cart sequence might start with a push notification, followed by an email highlighting the item’s limited availability, and end with an SMS or WhatsApp message containing a time-sensitive offer.

During BFCM, standard remarketing timing needs adjustment. Consider decreasing the delay between cart abandonment and your first recovery message from, say, 24 hours to 2–4 hours to catch shoppers while they’re still in buying mode.

Personalized cart recovery messages

Create hyper-personalized cart recovery messages by referencing browsing history, past purchases, and engagement patterns.

For example, a returning customer who previously purchased running shoes and has been browsing running jackets might receive messaging that emphasizes how the abandoned jacket complements their existing gear or improves winter running performance.

This personalized approach addresses the expectation among 66% of consumers that brands should make them feel valued and understood, according to our future of consumer marketing report. During BFCM, when consumers face overwhelming choice, this sense of recognition creates meaningful differentiation—and, ultimately, a long-term customer relationship.

6. Post-purchase value maximization after BFCM

BFCM weekend comes and goes in a flash, but the customers you acquire during this period are a source of long-term value far beyond their initial discounted purchase. While most brands pour resources into acquisition, the real BFCM winners focus equally on what happens after the order confirmation.

The highest-performing brands don’t just track BFCM revenue—they measure retention rates and CLV differences between BFCM-acquired vs. regular customers.

Here are a couple of strategies that can move the needle on those post-BFCM, long-term value customer metrics.

Specialized BFCM follow-up automations

BFCM shoppers often arrive through deep discounts and may know little about your brand story. This means they might require specialized automation sequences to convert them to repeat customers. Here’s what we recommend:

• Create dedicated post-purchase flows. These should acknowledge the holiday shopping context while gradually introducing your brand values and product benefits. For example, a sustainable apparel brand might first focus on product quality and care instructions before gradually introducing their ethical manufacturing practices and materials sourcing.
• Be proactive about delivery-related updates. Order confirmations and shipping updates are critical touchpoints for setting appropriate expectations. During BFCM, when fulfillment timelines often extend, communication about realistic delivery windows can prevent support overload and build trust with new customers.
• Encourage user-generated content through post-purchase prompts. A simple request for customers to share photos of their new purchases can generate valuable social proof during the peak holiday shopping season. According to our future of consumer marketing report, customer reviews and feedback are the most influential factors when consumers make initial purchases—even more than pricing or discounts.

New customer offers for the New Year

BFCM is your best opportunity to drive revenue growth into the New Year. Create segments for your highest-value BFCM customers—people who made multiple purchases or spent the most—and create personalized offers with Q1 expiration dates.

Analyze product usage patterns and browsing history to recommend logical next purchases. If a customer purchased a coffeemaker during BFCM, follow up with specially curated coffee bean selections or accessories, creating a natural path to continued engagement.

Streamline your 2025 BFCM ad strategy with a B2C CRM

The difference between good and exceptional BFCM performance doesn’t come down to steeper discounts or flashier promotions. It’s about creating a unified, data-driven strategy that connects every customer touchpoint.

The brands achieving record-breaking results this BFCM season will be those with a single view of their customer across marketing, service, and commerce—exactly what Klaviyo B2C CRM delivers.

As consumer expectations continue to rise and economic pressures demand efficiency, success requires more than disconnected point solutions. It demands a customer data platform that transforms fragmented interactions into cohesive relationships that last long after the BFCM buzz fades.