Our Black Friday Marketing Lessons from 2023 and Strategies for 2024 (2024)

With the holiday shopping season fast approaching, now it’s a perfect time to get ready for Black Friday — the biggest sales event and business opportunity to capitalize. According to Shopify, their merchants shattered Black Friday and Cyber Monday records, raking $9.3 billion in sales in 2023. Adobe Analytics cited a record $9.8 billion in Black Friday online sales (7.5% up from 2022). Based on Statista research, most US retailers agreed that industry-wide sales events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday were powerful revenue stimuli, highlighting the importance of developing an effective Black Friday marketing strategy.

Let’s dive into the Black Friday strategies from VIDEN’s digital marketing expert, Vadim Smoylak, to make this Black Friday season the most profitable one.

The History of Black Friday
Why is Black Friday so Important for Business?
2024 Black Friday Marketing Tends to Follow
What is the Best Time to Start Your Black Friday Marketing Campaign?
Black Friday Marketing FAQs
Boost Sales By Implementing Best Black Friday Marketing Strategies With VIDEN

The History of Black Friday

Black Friday — usually referred to as the day after Thanksgiving — is the busiest shopping day in the US, where retailers offer special deals, sales, and other Black Friday promotions. This year the Black Friday event is expected on November 15.

But did you know that the Black Friday moniker originally came from Philadelphia where the Army-Navy football game had been played on the Saturday following Thanksgiving every year?

In the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s, the game drew in massive crowds, with most people arriving on Friday, forcing a problem for the police, who had to handle all sorts of trouble and chaos. That was how the “Black Friday” appeared. Retailers in Philadelphia, who usually experienced a surge in sales from all the visitors, also started referring to the day as Black Friday. By the 1980s, the term had spread nationwide, shedding its less-than-appealing origins and embracing the more positive idea. But why has this event become so crucial for all businesses? Let’s find out.

Why is Black Friday so Important for Businesses?

The Black Friday shopping event is the best bet to increase brand awareness, attract customers, and thus drive sales. It’s more than just a day of special discounts and deals for shoppers looking for the best products or services.

Black Friday is a great chance to hit monthly sales goals in one day. With millions of eyes glued to the best deals, businesses can reach more potential customers than ever, thus capitalizing on this high-traffic event. By strategically planning the Black Friday promotions and leveraging the heightened consumer interest, businesses can drive significant sales volume that might take weeks to accomplish.
Black Friday is the perfect time to turn shoppers into loyal customers of your brand. By implementing powerful marketing Black Friday ideas, businesses can win from this high-demand shopping event. Build a strong connection by providing exceptional customer service, exclusive deals, and personalized offers; businesses have a great opportunity to turn a single purchase into a long-lasting relationship.
Black Friday is a data source about customers, their buying habits, and the products they adore. By leveraging this data, businesses can make data-driven strategic decisions and scale their business year-round.

And, of course, the numbers speak for themselves. Let’s delve into the key 2023 Black Friday statistics.

Black Friday 2023 Key Numbers

According to the annual survey by the National Retail Federation over the five-day holiday weekend (from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday), the number of shoppers has reached 200.4 million, exceeding NRF’s expectationsby 18 million.

“Shoppers exceeded our expectations with a robust turnout. Retailers large and small were prepared to deliver safe, convenient, and affordable shopping experiences with the products and services consumers needed at great prices.” described the 2023 holiday weekend by the NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

Black Friday continued to be the most popular day for online shoppers. About 91 million consumers engaged in online shopping during Black Friday, up from 87.2 million in 2022 and with the average shopper spending $313. US consumers planned to purchase electronics, clothing and accessories, and toys during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In comparison, 73 million consumers shopped online on Cyber Monday, a slight decrease from 77 million in 2022.

70% of US consumers spent specifically on gifts.The top gifts shoppers purchased during Thanksgiving weekend were clothing and accessories (49%), toys (31%), gift cards (25%), books, video games and other media (23%), and personal care or beauty items (23%).

2024 Black Friday Trends to Follow

In 2023, such trends as earlier started sales, the general uptick in advertising costs on Amazon, fast eCommerce sales growth and others drove such numbers. This year, our experts highlighted global and US trends that can influence Black Friday deals:

AI-powered shopping experience

This year, we can see that Al’s rapid advancement and integration into the retail sector are more prominent than ever, and retailers expect to leverage the power of AI tools for personalized shopping experiences. Businesses should use AI for targeted advertising and customer segmentation and ensure promotional content reaches the right audience at the right time.

Extended Black Friday promotions

Black Friday has been gradually evolving into a long shopping event. Most retailers start their promotions well before the actual day, and we consider this trend will likely continue, with more brands launching early deals in October. Businesses need to be strategic about timing, ensuring their campaigns capture early shoppers while maintaining momentum through the extended sales period.

Omnichannel seamless experience

Nowadays, consumers see no difference between doing shopping online and offline. They expect seamless experiences across all channels. Therefore, we see that omnichannel strategies become increasingly important. Retailers providing a cohesive and convenient shopping experience, such as buy-online-pickup-in-store, easy returns, and other options, will likely see higher customer satisfaction and drive more sales.

In addition to the global trends, there is a US-specific event that can influence 2024 Black Friday sales:

The US presidential elections

This year, Black Friday occurs just weeks after the US presidential election. Historically, election years can significantly impact consumer behavior, with uncertainty leading up to the election sometimes causing a temporary dip in spending. However, consumer confidence often rebounds once the election is over, especially if the results are clear and market stability is expected.

Political campaigns heavily invest in digital advertising during an election cycle. This surge in demand for ad space increases competition, especially in key demographics and geographic areas. More advertisers compete for the same audience, resulting in higher CPMs and, thus, increased costs to reach their target audiences.

With the high volume of political ads, users may experience ad fatigue, making them less responsive to all types of ads. This lower engagement can reduce ad effectiveness, leading advertisers to increase their bids to achieve the same level of visibility and interaction, which drives up CPMs.

Our strategic responses:

Plan and adjust budgets. Keep an eye on performance during peak days and make sure to adjust once CPMs go up too much.
Refine creative. Create highly engaging and relevant ads that stand out even in a crowded feed to maximize ROI despite higher costs.
Adjust timing. Shift ad spend to periods of lower competition, possibly after the election when CPMs may decrease.

Continuing with the theme of timing, we’ll provide some recommendations below on how to kick off your Black Friday marketing campaign effectively.

What is the Best Time to Start Your Black Friday Marketing Campaign?

The truth is, there’s no single answer that fits every ecommerce business. The ideal start date for BFCM promotion depends largely on your unique brand, target audience, and overall marketing goals. However, we can offer a helpful timeline to take into consideration:

Early November is a great time to start planting seeds and building anticipation for your Black Friday deals.
Mid-November. Ramp up your efforts and start showing specific Black Friday offers, share sneak peeks of new products, and run targeted ads to reach your ideal customers.
One to two weeks before Black Friday to intensify your campaigns, plan all the Black Friday tactics, and create a sense of urgency.

15 Black Friday Marketing Strategies to Try from VIDEN’s Expert

Now let’s discover our 6+9 Black Friday strategies from our expert:

6 Meta Ads Black Friday Strategies

Meta Ads is a unique opportunity for eCommerce brands to achieve explosive sales growth and attract new customers. However, the competition is intense, requiring careful planning of your strategies. To help you win Black Friday sales, we’ve pulled together some expert Meta Ads strategies so you can generate high-value conversions.

1. Early bird gets the Black Friday deals

Don’t wait until the last minute to start planning your BFCM marketing campaigns.The earlier you start, the better prepared you’ll be to cash in on sweet sales. Starting small and gradually increasing your marketing efforts as the big day approaches gives you more control and allows you to adjust your strategy as needed.

2. Don’t wait for Black Friday to fix your problems

If your sales struggle before the big day, don’t hope that your online marketing on Black Friday will work miracles. Take action now! Instead of waiting for a temporary increase in traffic, use this time to identify and address the root causes of your low sales. Here are some questions to think about:

Are your conversion rates low?
Are customers abandoning their carts before checkout?
Are your products and services priced competitively?
Are your descriptions clear and compelling?
Do your offers resonate with your target audience?

If your current advertising efforts aren’t bringing in results, it’s time to shake things up. Experiment with different ad formats, targeting options, and messaging to see what resonates best with your audience. Make sure your website is user-friendly and optimized for conversions.

3. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

Focusing only on BFCM marketing can be a bad idea. It’s a short-term boost that can be unpredictable and puts huge pressure on your company. It can also create unrealistic expectations and make your financial future less stable.

Instead, aim to build a brand that thrives year-round. Here are some ways you can do that:

Craft a strong brand identity so that people love and trust your brand 365 days a year
Offer consistent deals and discounts; regular promotions and discounts throughout the year keep them engaged and coming back for more
Prioritize top-tier customer service
Explore new opportunities to attract more customers
Invest in digital advertising services to keep your business top-of-mind with your target audience

4. Don’t reinvent the wheel

Stuck on Black Friday marketing ideas? Look at previous campaigns you ran this year and do something that did convert. Which ones generated the most clicks, engagement, and conversions?

Identify the elements that made your ads successful. Was it the captivating visuals, the compelling copy, or the targeted audience? Once you understand what resonated with your viewers, you can recreate these ads for Black Friday or even get creative with variations to reach an even wider audience.

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5. Combine Advantage+ and DPA (dynamic product ads)

Use Advantage+ to skim the cream and Dynamic ads (DPA) to cover broader audiences and boost your sales.

Advantage+ campaigns and audiences are perfect for short-term sales like BFCM because they push your ads on people who are about to make a purchase. Use them with the “Existing customer budget cap” so you don’t overspend on your existing customers’ targeting.

DPAs are very strong, but most advertisers neglect them. Use your evergreen dynamic product ads and launch new ones with BF ad copy and special BF-themed frames.

6. Combine Advantage+ and DPA (dynamic product ads)

A recipe for your best Black Friday campaigns is to take your best evergreen ads and add some BF theme or BF ad copy. Just use your best ads and add a BF banner or experiment with BF messaging in your ad copies.

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9 Google Ads Black Friday Strategies

While Meta Ads spark interest, Black Friday demands conversions. Google Ads is a great option if you want to zero in on motivated buyers ready for deals. Use our nine tested tactics to turn clicks into conversions!

1. Start scaling your campaigns yearly

Just like with Meta Ads, launching an early Black Friday marketing campaign is a must-have to capture high-intent users actively searching for BF deals.

2. Target BF shoppers with search campaigns & ad groups

Launch a Black Friday search campaign or even ad groups in every active search campaign (depending on the business and GAds structure). This way, you catch highly relevant users looking for BF deals in your industry.

3. Improve your ads with BF assets

Enhance all Search, PMax (Performance Max), Video, and other campaign types with Black Friday campaign assets, also known as extensions (sitelinks, image, promo extensions). Reflect the best deals and select a Black Friday occasion in promo extensions.

4. Create BF text ads

Create a new Black Friday responsive text ad for every ad group in Search campaigns and add it to the rotation with other ads. Make sure to have at least 40% of headlines and 50% of descriptions with Black Friday messaging. Pinned BF headlines can also be tested.

5. Optimize products for visuals

Optimize your products in the Merchant Center by updating their main images to be more appealing and impressive:

6.Use Merchant Center promotions

Promotion extensions in the Merchant Center are also a great way to stand out from the competitors and pay more attention to your ads.

7.Power up your Performance Max campaigns

If you have PMaxcampaigns with assets, make sure to create an additional Black Friday asset group with appealing messaging and BF banners. This asset group can be run as the main one or in the rotation with others (depending on the performance).

8. Prospect & remarket with Discovery & Display ads

Discovery and display campaigns are also a great option to inform your prospecting and remarketing audiences about the current or upcoming Black Friday offers. Make sure to focus on the best deals and incentive messaging to attract new customers and convert your remarketing audience.

9. OptimizeBF performance with seasonality adjustments

Seasonality adjustments can be a powerful tool to signal the algorithm when you’re expecting a CVR lift — as well as a drop. It can regulate your bids and budgets during the Black Friday season and automatically increase and decrease the volume for your account within set date ranges.

FAQ about Black Friday Marketing

What is the meaning of Black Friday in marketing? Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year after Thanksgiving in the US. It’s the start of the holiday shopping season and is known for its massive sales and discounts.
How do I advertise on Black Friday? Start early and create buzz by announcing your Black Friday deals in advance. If you’re unsure where to start, contact a digital advertising agency that providesGoogle Ads services and Facebook Ads services to reach a wider audience.
What is the goal of the Black Friday campaign? The primary goal of a Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing campaign is to boost sales and clear inventory.
Is Black Friday effective to drive sales? Absolutely! Black Friday is a proven driver of sales for businesses. Consumers are actively looking for deals during the holiday season. And the limited-time nature of offers creates a sense of urgency.
When is Black Friday in 2024? Black Friday in 2024 will be on Friday, November 29th. Mark your calendars and start planning your Black Friday marketing strategy early!

Boost Sales By Implementing Best Black Friday Marketing Strategies With VIDEN

Book a 15 min Black Friday strategy call with us. Let’s develop a winning Black Friday marketing strategy together!We’ll help you use data strategically, implement innovative ideas, and build a customer-focused approach that guarantees sales success and an unforgettable brand experience. Let’s turn BFCM 2024 into your biggest shopping event ever!