What is Black Friday?

Black Friday is a global shopping event that happens the Friday after American Thanksgiving. Alongside Cyber Monday, which happens the Monday after Black Friday, the event is recognised as one of the most important shopping days of the year.

What started as an in-store retail event in the US has evolved into a worldwide event across all channels. Today, Black Friday is synonymous with flash sales, early morning deals, and a massive surge in consumer spending, especially online and throughout the entire weekend.

Why Black Friday matters for B2C brands

Besides being the largest sales event of the year, there are some specific reasons why brands pour time and money into the event. Black Friday matters so much because it’s tied to:

  • High purchase intent: Black Friday shoppers are ready to buy. Many consumers plan purchases weeks in advance and wait for Black Friday discounts to act. And since Black Friday is no longer just an in-store event, brands invest in building up that intent across digital channels like email, SMS, social media, etc.—and their ability to convert that demand just depends on how well they can leverage the buzz.
  • Year-end revenue targets: Retailers forecast higher revenue for Q4 due to Black Friday sales. This means that Black Friday—which happens only a few short weeks from the end of the year—is a major opportunity for brands to hit their annual revenue goals. 
  • Opportunities to stand out among competitors: Most retailers participate in Black Friday, including most major brands. That means more brands than ever are sending offers, cluttering consumers’ inboxes, text messages, and social media feeds. If your brand can stand out through personalisation—which shows subscribers and customers how well you know them—it’s the kind of brand awareness that can generate future sales the next year. 

Black Friday by the numbers: online vs. in-store

According to Adobe Analytics, US shoppers spent a record $10.8 billion online on Black Friday 2024 (up 10.2% from 2023).  

But what’s interesting is that while in-store Black Friday sales grew by 0.7%, online sales grew by 14.6%. If you factor in inflation, however, online sales grew by 8.5%—and in-store sales actually declined by 8%.

In 2024, 126 million people shopped in stores over the holiday weekend, while roughly 124 million shopped online. An estimated 197 million people shopped the entirety of Black Friday Cyber Monday, suggesting people look for deals online and in-store during the event.

Black Friday shoppers are not your average shopper: their wallets are out, ready to spend on items they may have been eyeing all year. The difference here is intent—the average shopper is more of a browser, whereas Black Friday shoppers are typically ready to make decisions with the right offer.

But Black Friday consumer behaviour trends are also not that simple. Here are 4 behavioural considerations you’ll want to take into account when planning your BFCM campaigns.

1. Deal-driven with purpose

While Black Friday shoppers are motivated by price, they’re not just chasing discounts. Many are loyal customers waiting for the right time to buy again, or gift shoppers looking to check off their lists in one go.

Now that 74% of consumers expect personalised experiences from brands, according to Klaviyo’s future of consumer marketing report, there’s an opportunity for brands to recognise this intent with offers that are tailored to the needs of each customer. Avoid running blanket Black Friday campaigns and opt for segmented campaigns that reflect customer intent instead.

2. Early planners

Black Friday may be the day, but the truth is, consumers plan their purchases well before the holiday. Consumers look for sneak peeks, join VIP lists, and set budgets well in advance of the event. 

To get ahead of the competition, brands are starting their campaigns earlier every year. Brands that don’t run some kind of Black Friday deal on Thanksgiving are behind. Many launch their Black Friday deals as early as Halloween. 

Given that Black Friday is just as much about the anticipation of buying as it is about buying itself, make sure you’re building plenty of buzz before the actual holiday drops. 

3. Cross-channel expectations

A customer’s journey to purchase is rarely linear, and that includes Black Friday purchases. Today’s shoppers expect an integrated brand experience across email, SMS, mobile apps, and websites. A customer might open an email, tap on a social ad, receive an abandoned cart reminder via SMS, and complete their purchase in-store—all within 24 hours.

So, make sure your Black Friday marketing campaigns are omnichannel, meaning people can access the same deals across all channels. According to Klaviyo’s future of consumer marketing report, the biggest frustration consumers have when shopping the same brand in different places is inconsistent pricing and promotions. They may feel that frustration most acutely on Black Friday, so be sure to plan for consistency as well as reach.

4. Mobile-first

Black Friday isn’t just online now—it’s mobile. As more people shop using only their mobile phones, you’ll want to make sure your Black Friday marketing is reaching them there, too. 

So, don’t overlook mobile marketing as a way to increase Black Friday sales. Run campaigns specifically tailored for: 

  • SMS: Send early access to VIP customers.
  • Push notifications: Create offers tailored to app users who browse certain products.
  • WhatsApp: Connect shoppers directly to your WhatsApp catalog.
  • TikTok and Instagram: Use countdown stickers for limited-time deals.

Challenges brands face during Black Friday

Black Friday is just as much of a challenge as it is an opportunity. This is mostly because competition is so high, and everyone you’re targeting during the event is receiving “an offer they can’t refuse” from so many different brands.

Here are some of the challenges you might face during Black Friday: 

  • Message overload: Consumers are inundated with emails, texts, ads, and push notifications. Standing out requires personalisation, sharp creative, and precise timing.
  • High acquisition costs: Ad prices often spike during Black Friday. Brands need to maximise ROI from every dollar spent, especially when running on leaner budgets.
  • Limited internal resources: Many marketing teams are small. Running multiple campaigns across channels during Black Friday can be overwhelming without the right tools and automation.
  • Real-time performance tracking: Knowing what’s working during a fast-paced campaign can be tough. Without unified reporting, it’s hard to shift budget or messaging in real time.

Winning Black Friday marketing tactics and strategies

To help you overcome some of these challenges and stand out among your competition, here are a few winning Black Friday marketing strategies and tactics to fold into your planning for the event: 

Offer big savings

Sitewide sales and bundles are easy to communicate, and they help boost average order value (AOV). “Buy one, get one” or “20% off everything” promotions are popular among consumers, too.

If you’re running a flash sale or time-sensitive promo, countdown timers, “final hours” language, and limited inventory alerts can help you create urgency and drive faster conversions.

Make it feel exclusive

Some brands give VIP customers or loyalty members a head start on deals, creating exclusivity and incentivising signups. High-end brands, meanwhile, often release exclusive or limited-edition products instead of offering discounts, maintaining brand integrity while capitalising on the sales window.

For their BFCM sale, Patrick Ta Beauty, for example, offered a complimentary gift worth $96—an eyeshadow palette, lip crème, and mini tote—for customers who spent $150 or more. The idea drove 8x YoY growth in Klaviyo-attributed revenue during BFCM, as well as higher AOV—all without relying on a single discount.

Tease early and often 

Black Friday is just as much about the anticipation of a sale as it is about the sale itself. Many brands start teasing their Black Friday sales in the summer, as a way to build their email and SMS lists ahead of the event. 

When you can offer sneak peeks and holiday gift guides that help people plan their purchases, you’re offering valuable teasers that act as constant reminders that something great is coming up. And it’s a win-win, too, because teasing early also means you’re testing what people respond to before it’s go time.  

Segment and personalise

Generic messages get lost in crowded inboxes. To stand out, try segmenting by purchase behaviour, engagement, or loyalty tier to tailor content for different groups.

For example, you may want to send first-time shoppers a welcome discount and returning VIPs an exclusive early access code.

Turn off most of your automations

Black Friday is the busiest time of year for people’s inboxes. Make sure you’re not sending anything inessential that could clog up their inboxes even more.

This is why many brands turn off their non-Black Friday email and SMS automations so as not to overwhelm their audience. If you’re going to keep some essential automations on, such as your abandonment and post-purchase flows, make sure they’re holiday-focused. Once the holiday is over, you can turn everything back on and make them evergreen again.

Retarget lookalike audiences

Lookalike audiences are social media audiences that “look like” your actual customers. With enough zero- and first-party customer data at your disposal, you can actually improve your social media ad targeting and therefore improve your return on investment for those ads. 

Lookalike audiences not only scale your reach, but also increase the likelihood that your ads are shown to people who are more likely to engage with your offers. Just make sure to also set ad limits so you don’t blow through your entire ad budget at once.

Use every channel at your disposal

Klaviyo’s recent consumer spending report shows that consumers interact with brands through various channels, including email, SMS, social media, and mobile app notifications. You’ll want to leverage every channel for Black Friday, teasing and releasing your offers everywhere your customers are so they can buy at any point in their journey. 

You might, for example, send an email teasing your top BFCM deals early to your most engaged subscribers, while simultaneously posting user-generated content about what’s selling out quickly on Instagram or TikTok. For last-minute shoppers that need a final push, send SMS reminders featuring one-click purchasing links.

Black Friday metrics that matter

During and after Black Friday, track these KPIs to understand performance and optimise for next year:

  • List growth: How many new contacts are you adding to your list?
  • Email deliverability: How many emails are actually being delivered to inboxes?
  • Click rate: Which messages and offers are driving website visits?
  • Conversion rate: Are visitors turning into customers?
  • Revenue per recipient: How much revenue is each message generating?
  • Campaign performance: How much return on investment did your brand see from the holiday overall?

Black Friday + Cyber Monday: a unified BFCM strategy

When planning your Black Friday marketing strategy, it’s important to think holistically and combine those efforts with your Cyber Monday marketing efforts. Many consumers see Black Friday and Cyber Monday as one long weekend of deals. Brands should treat it the same way. 

Here are some BFCM strategies to consider:

  • Map out promotions across 4–5 days.
  • Stagger offers by product or category.
  • Use early access and teaser emails.
  • Coordinate timing across channels.

A unified BFCM strategy increases your odds of success—and makes it easier to scale your efforts year-over-year.

How Klaviyo can help you win Black Friday

While the strategies above apply broadly, Klaviyo B2C CRM can help you bring them to life—especially with limited time or team size.

With Klaviyo, you can:

  • Unify customer data across email, SMS, and ecommerce platforms.
  • Create targeted automations for key BFCM flows.
  • Use built-in AI for data-backed suggestions on subject lines, timing, and audience segments.
  • Track real-time performance and shift campaigns based on results.

Whether you’re sending a cart abandonment flow to new shoppers or a personalised SMS offer to returning customers, Klaviyo gives you the tools to make every Black Friday message timely, relevant, and high-converting.

Additional resources